Payphone

Chapter 3

       She answered. Part of me was so happy to hear her voice but the other part was like shit Im screwed. Like I really didnt think Id get this ffar. How am I supposed to tell my parents that Im stuck in London with next to nothing and staying with a complete stranger?!

       "Oh Bob its our baby Anabel! Honey Im gonna put you on speaker phone! So how was your trip? Did you land safely? How much time until your next flight? Honey tell us everything!"

       "Well, uh, actually," I stuttered, "I'm still, uh, kinda, ummmm, in London." I cringed, waiting for them to start ripping my head off.

       "Oh really? Thats great!" said my dad. "They extended the trip!" Oh right, I forgot my parents are complete fucking idiots.

       "No, Dad. I missed my flight. I dont have my luggage or my wallet. Only my backpack."

       "Whaaaaaat???" questioned Mom. "ANABEL PILLOLEAF STARLEAH EAGLE EXPLAIN RIGHT NOW!!!" she screamed so loud into the phone im 99% sure that Tom heard because I could see him wince. (AN: its pronounced pillow-leaf star-leah btw) I explained to my parents the whole situation.

       "Wait whos apartment are you in right now?" my Mom interrogated. "I swear if your with some strange man, Anabel-"

       "No, its an old friend from school who moved to London a few years back," I lied. I didnt need them to freak out any more than they already were, nor did I want to sit through another lecture. "His names Tom."

       "Tom? Tom who?" asked Dad.

       I covered the phone and whispered to tom, "Hey whats your last name?"

      " 'ollend." he replied.

       "Its Ollend, Dad. Tom Ollend." He seemed like he was about to protest but instead just chuckled. Theres something about him, that I dunno, is just so familiar. His name rolls off my tongue like Ive said it a million times. It has a nice ring to it. "I promise you have nothing to worry about." But of course my parents were not completely buying that shit, even if they are clueless.

       "I want to speak with him," demanded my mother.

        I covered the phone againand frantically waved him over. "My mom wants to talk to you," I whispered.

        "No prublim," he agreed as he took the phone from me.

         "American accent!!!" I mouthed to me, but he just nodded and winked at me. I guess this isnt his first rodeo.

       "Hello Mr. and Mrs., uhhh," he started.

       "Eagle!" I mouthed.

        "Eagle, of course." Quick recovery. I think they were too distracted to even notice. They asked him a lot of questions but I couldnt really tell what. Nothing too personal by his answers. And his American accent was so authentic, like I guess he must practice it for fun or something. "I promise your daughter is in good hands here," he finished. After a moment, he handing my phone back to me, looking pretty confident.

       "So?" I asked.

       "He seems like a nice boy,' Mom started, "but Im still not feeling too great about you staying at his place for three weeks even if he said its fine."

       "Wait WHAT?! THREE WEEKS?!" I screamed in surprise, so shocked I nearly fell off the kitchen chair. "I thought you would just pick me up!"

       "Oh no, honey. Our trip just started and you know how important this is to your father and I."

       "Yeah, we just got to Machu Picchu!" added my dad. "We cant just stop the tour now. We'll pick you at the end of our trip since London is on the way back."