Paris, A Story about Change

Chapter 2

Along the drive, we stopped at many different places on the way to Virginia Beach. We saw the famous battleships and battle cruisers one last time, and then set off. The drive wasn't very long, only 35 minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. Not ever seeing my friends again would be hard. I kept telling myself to shut up and grow up to no avail. Once we arrived at the Air Force base in the city, we showed our IDs to the gate and were let in. My heart was racing. I kept thinking that this was the last time I would ever be on American soil. I opened up my bag and hesitated for a second. Should I show father the letter? I thought. I decided it was best not to, considering the fact that we were all going under stress. The city we were supposedly stationed in was Normandy, under orders to be prepared for a future naval defense. The Russians have advanced technology, therefore we need to set out and prepare for any future invasions. All I could know about the defenses was that if I was told anything, they'd have to kill me, under orders. I asked them no more, as provoking a Navy captain was never a good idea. My father said goodbye to his ship, and passed over ownership to another captain, of the navy. My mind was racing. I couldn't think about anything but whether or not I could go home again. My mother always said be calm in these situations, but in this case, she said nothing, looking as locked up as the gates we passed through. When we walked in, I looked at the shear size of the airport and gulped harder than ever before. It was massive! The ceilings were so high I could stack a million books and still not reach it. It looked big enough to hold a plane, too! When we went to the gate, I found the biggest surprise of the whole trip. My grandfather was at the gate, looking like he was waiting. A crowd passed by, and he vanished out of sight along with the crowd. Am I going insane?! I asked myself. I must be! When we entered the gate, I pulled out my ticket from my pocket and gave it to the man in front of the desk, looking like he was overworked. When we boarded the plane, it hit me like a bullet. "Mom, who is Mons... monsioor Avery?!" I said in rapid speech while pulling out the letter, "And what it this?!" It was as if she was a predator on the hunt. She grabbed the letter with the speed of a gazelle being chased by a lion. "Where did you get this?!" she asked with the anger of a mother bear, "This is mine and your fathers, where did you get it?" "My closet... I found it there." I replied sheepishly. "It was in the corner and I packed it, so..." She returned to her plane seat and beckoned me to come. "Your father and I... we have something to discuss when we get to Paris." She went without a word the rest of the flight. I couldn't find anything to do, except watch the big movie titles that were on the tv in front of me. Flying a military aircraft, we found it hard to get comfortable, paired with my insomnia it did not work out well. But, in the end I got some sleep.
When I woke up, I could hear whispering coming from the window where my mother and father were sitting. Me, sitting in the middle aisle, could only make out a few words such as she found it? and a couple of words I couldn't understand, obviously a stream of 4 letter words considering the harshness of their tones. When my mother and father caught me looking, they sat back up and were quiet. Too quiet. I pulled out my phone, an iPhone, and tried to open up the app for learning French from 2 years ago, and studied with the intent of being fluent by the time I got to France. Upon our arrival from the 18 hour flight, I decided it was time to get up and use the restroom. When I returned, my mother beckoned me over. "Darling, we're so sorry, for putting you through this, but Monsieur Avery is a very good friend of ours, he's the French ambassador for the UN. He is why we are going to France, and not somewhere else." I heard my Father say. I decided that packing up was a good idea, especially with customs officers searching the plane for illegal contraband. I sat up once I was done and unbuckled my seat belt and headed for the door of the plane with my parents. The view was unrivaled by anything I've ever seen. I could see the Eiffel Tower and many other historical locations from the window of the building, and my mother decided leaving me there would be the best idea while my father went and got food. While eating, I wondered how much I would actually enjoy my new home.