And it all started with this meet & greet - Ondreaz Lopez

Chapter 1: "You do your best friend a favor?"

Stubbornly looking at my hand, I tried to ignore Amy, who had been jumping up and down for ages. I also missed the looks of the other people at the airport, where I had been waiting for what felt like two hours, hoping that the incredibly annoying - but in this case relieving - voice would announce our flight.

"Amy, I beg you. Can't you just sit down and wait?" My best friend paused for a moment. "But I'm so excited," she moaned. "After all, I'm going to meet the hypehouse. How could I sit still?"

Eye-twisting, I turned back to my smartphone screen "yes yes". Still, I saw her fidgeting again.

."Amy, I beg you. Can't you just sit down and wait?" My best friend paused for a moment. "But I'm so excited," she moaned. "After all, I'm going to meet the hypehouse. How could I sit still?"Eye-twisting, I turned back to my smartphone screen "yes yes". Still, I saw her fidgeting again.

John - my best friend had already sent me five messages.

Smiling, I quickly answer: No, I'm still alive ;) But maybe not for much longer. The flight is leaving soon and then I have our Amy sitting next to me for 4 hours and can't escape. Cross your fingers for me."What are you grinning about?", my best friend asked, who obviously noticed that I was no longer totally annoyed by everything except the way I paid attention to her, astonished. "John..." I explained and waved my cell phone.

An announcement thundering through the large waiting hall immediately caught my attention "United Airlines, Flight 922 from New York to London Heathrow, please come to Gate 25" A grin flitted across her face and she hopped to our gate in front of me.

I had to put up with quite a lot until we finally sat in our seats. Rude passengers who wanted to get on the plane as quickly as possible and therefore pushed me aside, annoyed staff at the counters and overfriendly stewardesses who wished us a good flight.

The blue leather seats were in the second class, directly at the passage to the first. I sat down on the seat next to the window and Amy sat down beside me.

It took another twenty minutes until the plane finally took off. And as soon as we were in the air and Amy had forgotten her fear of flying, the words began to gush out of her so that I could hardly follow her. "And Nick... Nick is my absolute favourite of the boys," she raved and showed me her screensaver which showed a pretty boy with dark brown hair. On his head was a bear's cap. He did not look really happy.

"I know them, Amy. After all, you can't miss their heads on Instagram." I sighed and switched my smartphone into flight mode. "Leave the headphones where they are," she hissed and I pulled my hand out of the pocket under my seat again.

"Can I at least sleep? My brother kept me up all night long. With his one-night stand," I yawned and she nodded annoyingly. "Matt should find other hobbies," she complained. "Sorry, but he just lives by the motto fuck once, send on," I quoted his wisdom and leaned back.

"Hard to believe he's only a year older than you." I nodded affirmatively.

I think I could safely say that my brother was an asshole when it came to women. In his life I was the only constant female person and he seemed to feel no need to change that.

Every attempt to convince him to rethink his way of life ended with him arriving in the evening with a new acquaintance from the bar where he worked and enjoying himself with her in his room, which was also right next to mine - at a volume that easily penetrated every earplug.

Last night had been the same. I could only close my eyes for two hours before my alarm clock had rung. And so it was all the easier for me to glide to sleep now, the slight hum of the engines working better than any lullaby.

---

Someone jolted at my shoulder. "Soph, wake up! We're about to land," squeaked a voice next to my ear. My head throbbed and I massaged my temples moaning. "How long was I asleep?" I whispered.

"All the time," she said and I opened my eyes in horror. "I've slept almost four hours?", I asked in a raised voice and everyone turned to us. I gave them an annoyed look and they looked away again.

"You're always so mean to everyone," she grumbled. "Not true. Not to the people I like," I grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. A smile flashed across her face. "Okay, okay... you're right."

As we got out of the car, we were greeted by rain. "This is gonna be the best two weeks of my life," I mumbled sarcastically and Amy gave me a killing look. "I don't know what made me spend part of my already short semester break here," I sighed and put the hood of my jacket on.

"You're doing your best friend a favour?" she said with a questioning undertone and we squeezed into the far too full bus. "Besides, the holidays would seem longer to you if you didn't have to study for two classes," she came back to me with this argument.

She was absolutely right. It was clear to me at a very early stage that I would study law later. Since the fifth grade I wanted to become a lawyer and in less than two years I would be one too.

However, I had been playing the piano for fifteen years, my parents thought I had a talent for it and - without me knowing it - had been watching me since I was very small.

So it came about that I was offered a scholarship, which I rather reluctantly accepted. Actually only to make my parents happy. Music was very important to me, no question. But I had never considered making it my profession and the time I invested in it was far too valuable.

Although my parents had disappointed me so often that they did not deserve that I struggled for them, I could not stop wanting to make them proud. It was like an urge. Always the best grades, always the fastest progress. 

All to end up collecting criticism again, a sceptical, half-appreciative nod and a "good, but you'll do better next time" before they left me with my shattered self-confidence.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to leave the country and focus on nothing but myself and the people I cared about and knew I meant something to them.