Carpe Aestatem (original)

Chapter 18

Jenna

We just gate-checked the guitars and now we're waiting in the gate-hold area for our flight after buying some things at Hudson News. Each flight was a step closer to finally meeting them. I was on my phone, texting my brother, who was sending me pictures of Mittens.

Stinker:
Mittens misses you

Stinker:
[attached image]

Stinker:
She was looking for you this morning so I had to bring her into the den to play XBOX so she could be with me.

Jenna:
Which you're not mad about, I guess?

Stinker:
Mittens was walking over the controls the whole time 😂 but I still won

Jenna:
Cats tend to do that. Tell Mom and Dad I say hi and send millions of kisses to Mittens!

Stinker:
I will. Hugs. I miss you so much. It's weird not having you around.

Jenna:
Get used to it. By the time you get used to it, I'll be back 😈

Stinker:
HEY! Ok I have to go. Skating practice.

Jenna:
Miss you, Grant.

I closed the app and switched a few things around for my backpack. It was nice of Grant to send me some photos of Mittens, who I miss so much. I brought out my tablet, my sleep mask, a change of clothes, my noise-canceling AirPods and charging cables. I kind of wish I had my stuffed dog, Lulu, but she was in my checked luggage, so I won't get to see her until tomorrow. But I did have a backup, a stuffed cat that looked just like Mittens which I named Buttons. I shifted Buttons into my backpack and closed it.

I then checked Find My for my suitcase and the guitar. They were both on the plane, thank goodness. And it was only 3:45. We have half an hour until we board. But we cant leave the gate hold area, not even to use the bathroom! I also had my wallet ready to roll with my boarding pass, passport, my ID, my credit card and I was ready to board.

Olivia was scrolling through TikTok, Sam was on the phone with her sister, and Avery was on Netflix, watching Heartstopper. I then decided to look at the Slovenian dictionary that we bought at Barnes and Noble the other day. I had my tour diary and scrapbook, my anxiety meds (just in case) and my best friends. "How much longer?" I asked, closing the dictionary.

Olivia checked her phone. "25 minutes."

"Ugh. I wanna walk around." Sam groaned.

"Can you stop acting like little kids, please?" Avery said.

"I'm boooooored." I groaned. "And we can't leave the gate-hold area." (A/N: me when I went to Israel in the spring of 2022 in the gate hold in Newark. I remember being hot and sweaty and my feel were hurting and it was 10:00 at night)

"If you stop complaining, we'll board faster." Olivia said, since she was an expert traveler.

If I was bored at home, I'd usually pick up my guitar and play something. But it's under the plane right now and the only thing to keep me occupied was making friendship bracelets or listening to music. I started another bracelet, this one in the colors of the Slovenian flag (which was also in red white and blue). Fifteen minutes later, an announcement was made. "Attention all passengers traveling on LOT Polish Airlines flight 2 will be boarding shortly. This flight will be a full flight, so make sure you are taking no more than two carry-ons into the cabin: a large item for the overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you. If you wish to gat-check an item, we will do it free of charge and we'll make sure it gets to your final destination. Thank you." (A/N: When the gate agent was making an announcement similar to the one I just wrote, she was looking over my travel documents at the exact same time)

"FINALLY!" I shouted.

Then they repeated that announcement in Polish. "Now I wish Blanka was here to translate what they're saying." Olivia said, having Google Translate dictate the Polish to English. "None of this is accurate."

Avery had just finished another Dutch lesson. "Aves, we'll be boaridng soon." I said, poking her.

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Duo is seriously stumping me on this sentence." Avery said, closing the app and getting her boarding pass and passport out.

Sam stopped her movie and put her tablet into her backpack. We then got on line, me doing small hops to let the excitement out. "Oh my gosh! In 24 hours we'll be in Ljubljana! It's crazy!" Avery exclaimed.

"It's party!" Olivia added.

"The flight will be crazy. And party!" I giggled.

"Especially because we're in business class!" Sam said, pulling out her video camera.

"Attention passengers flying on LOT Polish Airlines flight 2 is now baording Business Class passengers, Star Alliance Members and premium economy passengers. Thank you."

We got on line with a few people in front of us. "Ljubljana here we come!" I exclaimed as I scanned my ticket.