2. Drip Drip

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Candelaria

The flight attendant places a small tray onto the mini table in front of me. I smile "thank you," I say carefully peeling off the layer of shiny aluminum foil covering my meal. The thing resembled a TV dinner fresh out of the microwave. 

I glance over the description of the airplane meal in the menu, the saliva inducing words that bore no resemblance to the sad plate before me. A piece of chewy meat with the texture of gum beneath by a sheet of cold neon cheese that had to be plastic, with a side of brown vegetables.

Who puts sliced cheese on chicken like this anyway? What the hell going on in here?

I look at Claudia's tray. She had chosen the second option, pasta soaked in a smooth sauce of parmesan.

My stomach growls like a bear and a bit of drool forms in the corner of my mouth. She grimaces and says "Is this airplane food disgusting or what?" I roll my eyes tabbing my fork into the meat.

"Shut the hell up" I hiss shoving the slob in my mouth.

I turn my attention to the clouds pressing my face on the tiny window. Clouds move constantly, flowing as sheets hundreds of feet apart, yet giving the appearance of one dense layer from the land below.

I was over the food. I smelt something good but it wasn't this mess. Probably first class. We could've been in first class but we all agreed to spend most our money on the trip not the arrival or departure.

The total flight duration from Seattle, WA to Bora Bora is 10 hours, 3 minutes.

That's a long time to go without food.

It was midday, the worst time to arrive. As we came out of the plane, I felt the heat reflecting off the tarmac. It was hard to breathe. The air was heavy and reek of diesel. I was sweating even before I reached the bottom of the steps, and the arrivals lounge offered no relief. 

The air-conditioning was broken and I soon found myself trapped in a confined space with two or three hundred people and no windows. The terminal building was more like a large shed than a modern airport building. The walls were a drab, olive green, and decorated with faded posters of the island and looked twenty years out of date...

"This is what you get when you be cheap" Claudia states as we all struggle to get out of this hellhole.

Fatigue covers my body in waves but it was the same as any other long flight. At least it held an edge of anticipation for new days in a new place.

We find a shuttle ready to take us to the island. The bus was packed ear to ear; I dread finding my luggage. The dude tossed everybody's shit on the bottom of the bus with no kind of organization. I gaze at all the different kinds of people arranged in all categories of sorts and sizes. I couldn't wait to get my hands on somebody's daughter.

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