Unforgotten | Calum Hood

Chapter 1

"We have now arrived in Sydney, Australia. We hope you enjoyed your trip and choose to fly with us again! Thank you, and have a great day!" The pretentious flight attendant says into the speakers. Her high-pitched voice only makes my headache worse, and I fight the urge to flip her off in front of everyone. My mother notices my frustrated expression and gently places her hand on top of my thigh as an attempt to comfort me.

"Lennon, I know how much you didn't want to move, but please understand that this is what I want best for you." She reminds me yet again ever since we boarded the stupid plane. I roll my eyes and unbuckle my seat belt, while placing my backpack under my seat onto my sore shoulders. She simply sighs and unbuckles her seat belt, retrieving our shared luggage from the compartment. She struggles but I don’t attempt to help.

"I was going to wait to tell you this," she starts saying to me as we stood in the aisle waiting to leave this cramped plane. "Our new house is only a few houses from Joy's. You remember Joy Hood, right Lennon? Don't you remember Calum?" My mum's irritating questions only frustrate me more and I start rubbing my temples.

"Yes mum, I remember Calum." I say with a rude tone as if I could care less. Truthfully, I was a little anxious knowing I get to see Calum after, maybe ten years. He was my only friend as a child, not that I had much of a choice though. A stranger pushing my shoulder rather harshly interrupts my thoughts.

"Watch it." I turn around and face a girl about my age, my anger catching her off guard. Her irritating hot pink nail points behind my shoulder, and I turn to see that everyone is exiting the plane. I roll my eyes and don't apologize, continuing to follow my mum.

"Oh Lennon, isn't it so lovely here?" My mum asks as we step out into the warm, Australian air. I mentally tap myself on the back for wearing shorts and a light knit sweater, remembering how unforgiving the weather is in Australia in December. I continue to follow my mum into a small building directly across from where the plane had landed. As soon as we entered, the cool air conditioning in the building replaced the air from outdoors. The shrieks from other passengers reuniting with family and friends irritate me further.

"Rebecca and Lennon Ward, is that you?" A small, slightly aged familiar woman asks while standing a few feet ahead of us. I can't help but smile when I see the joy in my mother's eyes when reuniting with her old friend. She runs into Joy's arms as if there were both teenagers again. Joy turns towards my direction and smiles. 

"Lennon, you look beautiful," she compliments me and I can't help but walk into her open arms too. "Calum was so excited to see you, I brought him along. He should be back-" she starts saying when a male voice interrupts her.

"Lennon?" A boy with a tall frame and short black hair says behind his mother with a huge smile. Without saying anything else, he walks over and wraps his long arms around me. I admit I was happy to see Calum, but the fact that I was no longer at home ruined my mood. I politely hugged him back and stepped away quickly.

"Come on now, we should get going!" Joy says excitedly while we follow her back outside into a crowded parking lot. Calum is walking by my side, carrying our luggage. We stay silent and I can feel Calum staring at me, but I don't pay him much attention. When we reach Joy's car, Calum effortlessly places the luggage in the trunk and joins me in the back seat.

"Uh, how was your flight?" Calum nervously asks me while playing with his hands in his lap.

"Long." I answer while reaching for my headphones, trying to make it obvious to Calum I was in no mood for "catching up."

"I really like your nose piercing, and your Vans, and your tattoos." Calum says all too fast. I can't help but laugh at how nervous he is. In a way it's quite pathetic.