Untitled

                      Chapter One

      I passed the plane ticket back and forth in my hands, turning it over and over again nervously as I watched all the people. Most of them were dressed in business suits and fancy ties, and then there was an occasional family. I suspected that the businessmen were traveling, as most of them do so frequently, I should know. A family of four walked by, all huddled together. The parents were gripping their children by their frail arms and glancing down at them every few seconds, as if the world would end if one of them were to get lost in the rushing crowd. I snorted at the thought of that, knowing that my parents wouldn't have a full-blown panic attack if I got lost in a crowd as that family would. Heck, they dropped me off right outside the airport with my suitcases as if they were dropping me off at youth group.

I met eyes with a businessman who was talking on his expensive-looking cell phone across the room. He looked at me, seeming to take in every detail, with his corners of his mouth curved down slightly, eyebrows narrowed, and his face twisted in what I recognized to be disgust. I rolled my eyes, and looked away from him. He was a businessman, whereas I was just some punk, teenage girl, and that obviously didn't give me much, if any, credibility. We were different. We were much different. Not necessarily so different that he had to act like I was offending him by just being in the same room as him, glaring at me for as long as he could, though. But I ignored him as he continued to glare at me, probably willing me to disappear into thin air. He was older than me, and was supposed to be an example to kids like myself I suppose, but in this case, I had found it somewhat flipped around.

Actually, that was what most of the people in there were like. They were all dressed proper and grown-up-like, and then there was me, dressed in a Rush shirt and black skinny jeans. Yet they were all shooting judgmental glares at me, and, some, whispering among themselves while doing so. I honestly felt like I was in a giant building full of five year old's rather than grown adults.

I stood up as I heard a woman's voice announce that the plane I was getting on was ready for boarding. I walked over to the line of other people who I would be flying with.

I had never flown before, so I was nervous about that, along with the fact that I would be enclosed nearly thirty thousand feet up in the air. We started walking and I took in a deep breath.

This will be fun, Fern, something new. Just forget about your claustrophobia and fear of heights... I tried to convince myself as I stepped onto the plane, that was much smaller than I thought it would be.

I was wrong.

Oh, I was very, very wrong. It took a lot in me not to collapse on the ground once the plane landed at the Colorado airport.

My aunt was waiting for me outside in the car since it was so cold, so I got my bags, headed outside and stared at the line of cars. As I did, I realized that I had no idea what my aunt, or her car, looked like. Then, a woman with mousy-brown hair waved her hands rapidly from a black car, a few feet away. As I got closer, I recognized her. Her eyes were brown, and her face was slightly round. Her hair was short and fell past her shoulders, and she was a little heavy, but she wasn't overweight.

I quickly tossed my suitcases in the back of the car, then got in the passengers seat and got buckled.

"Oh, Fern! Look at you! You're so beautiful and grown up! I haven't seen you in so long." my aunt Sandy said, smiling as big as she could.

"Thank you. And yeah, it has been a long time." I said, smiling at her.

"Richard will be so glad to see you."

"Yeah..." I nodded, staring out the window as we drove away from the airport.

"It won't take long to get there." she said, and we staid quiet the rest of the way there.