Affection // irwin

Chapter 1

This has been the longest flight of my life. After connecting flights in LA, it was now only 1 hour left before we finally reached our final destination, Sydney. We’re moving to Australia, over 9000 miles from Toronto. From snow to sun. I’m tired even though I’ve slept most of the trip. My legs and feet hurt. They’re not the most comfortable seats in the world, but I don’t complain. We’re in economy class and do have more room than the others, further in the back.

“Are you excited?” My mom asks me.

I shrug.

“You’ll love it!”

Dad has gotten a job offer at a software company and is starting to work there on February 1st next year. It‘s only November, but we are spending two weeks in the city, to fix some papers with the new house and the new school for my younger brother, Adam. Mom is going on a job interview and I’m just going to relax. Go to the beach or go shopping. I promised dad I would take a trip to the University where I was going to study in February. I don’t know what I want to do in the future though. High School had just ended in June and now I’m supposed to have made up my mind what I want to do with the rest of my life? No, thank you. I’ve never had a problem with school and learning, just the exams and the people there. I hope it’s different between the two countries. Much, much more different. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if it’s the same. 

Choosing subjects was easy. I have always liked English, even though I‘m not very good at it, and History, because…honestly I don’t know why. Maybe because I’m tired of being stuck in the present? Or because it was easy getting an A in it.

“What do you want to do when we get there?”

I look at my mom again. She’s beautiful. Her eyes are grey, barely blue. Her blonde hair pushed up in bun. Her teeth perfectly white. I look nothing like her. My eyes are more green-blue, my hair brown. I kind of like my lips though, they’re not thin but not too full either. I don’t look like dad either, except for the eye color. His hair is a bit darker than mine, too.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh. You okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine. Just tired.” I say and close my eyes.

The next time I open them, we’ve landed.

A couple of days later, mom takes Adam to check out his new school so I’m either stuck at the hotel for the rest of the day or I can follow my dad at his new office. I take the latter. There’s no way I’m staying here in this overheated hotel room for another day.

When we arrive at Youngman Inc., dad’s soon-to-be-office, he tells me I can’t go inside. That I have to wait here, outside. I sigh. Really dad? Why couldn’t he have told me earlier and I wouldn’t be stuck here in this heat.

“I’ll text you. Be close.” He winks at me before entering the tall concrete building.

It looks like jail but instead of prisoners there are men and women walking in and out, everyone wearing suits. There are even two guards by the port. How can they wear suits in this heat? Okay, I shouldn’t say anything. I’m wearing black jeans.

I find a café just across the street, where they sell juices and smoothies. Unfortunately, it isn’t as cool inside as I thought it would be. It’s crowded and I overhear someone say the air condition is broke. How terrific. Now I definitely regret wearing these jeans.

I order a blueberry-chocolate smoothie with some coconut and take the only available table in the room. Sitting outside is not an option, I have already burned myself on the walk over here. I fold the map over the city I got from the airport and use it as a hand fan. The heat is too much.