Friends With Benefits

Chapter 8 - Introductions

The week flew by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it I was on the train heading to London. It was hard saying goodbye to Emily, knowing that I will not see her for awhile. However, she promised she would visit me and come out to as many shows that she can. I felt reassured that she would make the effort to see me. Hopefully I'm not too busy and I will be able to spend time with her.

I settled in on the train and put my headphones in. Emily had stocked me up with a lot of music she liked and my dance music.

"It will get you through the train ride and any other time you travel. Trust me," Emily smiled as she handed me her old iPod.

I put the music on shuffle and closed my eyes as the first song began playing.

I thought back to yesterday and how I stopped by the studio. I went to say my goodbyes and gather a few of my things that I had left behind. Turns out the entire studio threw a surprise party for me. All of my dance friends and instructors were there to send me off. Even Emily had a hand in setting it all up. It was amazing to see so many people who care about me come together and say goodbye. I laughed as I thought of my goodbye with Mia. I probably hugged her and thanked her a million times. After all, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.

I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes the train was pulling into the station. I quickly put my iPod in my backpack and gathered my bags. I couldn't help but smile as we came to a stop. Finally, I'm here. 

I stepped off the train with my bags and began heading towards the exit. Even though I fell asleep I'm still absolutely exhausted. All I want to do is lie down and sleep for a few hours. Hopefully it won't be too difficult for me to get a cab. I'll have to find the hotel address they sent me.

I made my way towards the exit with the intention of getting out of here as soon as possible. There are a lot of people in the train station, and a lot of them have signs indicating that they are picking up people. I didn't thin much of it until I saw one with my name on it. I had to do a double take to check if I read the sign correctly. Sure enough in big, bold letters was, "Katrina Miller".

I walked over to the man holding the sign and gave him a nervous smile. "Um, hi."

The man easily towered over me as he looked down at me. "Are you Katrina Miller?"

"That's me," I said as I slowly nodded my head.

He smiled as he put the sign down. He held out his right hand. "Nice to meet you, Katrina. I'm Paul Higgins, the head of security. I'm here to make sure you get to the hotel okay."

Wow. They sent the head of security just to get me to the hotel? I must say, I'm impressed.

I took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Paul."

"Let me help you with those bags," he said as he grabbed my rolling suitcase.

I smiled as I handed it to him. "Thanks." I decided to give him my duffle as well but keep my backpack for myself.

"I have a car waiting for us. Follow me," he said as he turned around and began walking towards the exit.

I picked up my speed to keep up with him as I followed him out of the train station. It's a typical, dreary day in London. I guess it was wrong of me to be optimistic about having nice weather for my first day. Oh well, hopefully there will be good weather for my days off.

A black SUV was parked a few feet away. Paul walked towards it and opened the trunk. He put my duffle bag and rolling suitcase in the trunk while I climbed in the backseat. When he was done with my bags he closed the trunk and headed towards the passenger side. "To the hotel, please."