I had never been on a plane before.
I was a little bit anxious. The closer we got the the airport, the harder it became for me to say goodbye to Ben and Jack. It was a bit rushed, really. Jack, Ben, and I immediately crammed into Jack's gray Nissan, I taking the front seat and Jack taking the wheel. Of course, Celeste wouldn't let us go alone. She and Zoe sat in the back with Ben.
It was a hassle getting through the airport. Zoe wouldn't stop crying. When it was time for me to get on the plane, her crying had gotten worse. I promised that I would get her something and give it to her (though I wasn't even sure if I was going to come back to the United States). Jack pulled me into a hug before I left, and he was extremely reluctant to let go. Ben, however, didn't even look at me. He stood stiff and straight, and when I was just about to get on the plane, he started crying. Benjamin Hemmings: the true definition of calm and collected.
"First time on a plane?"
I turned to the person next to me. She was a middle-aged woman with tired eyes and frizzy brown hair. She was probably on a business trip, judging by the professional-looking jacket and the pencil skirt.
I nodded, my jaw still shaking.
"It's not all that bad," the woman said. "Then again, I'm used to it... But my first time was okay. Well, it wasn't terrible..."
I don't know how this was supposed to make me feel better.
Even though she told me it wasn't all that bad, my palms were still sweaty and my leg was still bouncing up and down. I think it seemed to bother the middle-aged woman next to me. My bouncing leg seemed to shake the seats, and the woman kept staring at my leg with a slight glare, but she couldn't bring herself to tell me to stop. I didn't want to stop, anyway. Too bad for her.
Attendance ladies were walking down the aisles once the plane was intact. She asked me if I wanted peanuts. I told her no, but thanked her anyway. She told me to get some sleep.
"It's a fifteen hour flight, after all," she said.
I almost laughed. Sure, tell an insomniac to go to sleep. (Then again, she didn't know I was an insomniac, so I guess my previous comment did not apply.)
The business woman beside me fell asleep immediately. Her neck was craned and her head titled to the side. She looked extremely uncomfortable. If I just moved her head just a little bit more, I'm pretty sure I would snap her neck—
I shouldn't be having these thoughts.
This was going to be a long flight.
✘✘✘
"Hello, passengers! We have just arrived at Sydney, Australia."
I just really hoped that my 3G worked here.
Never mind, it doesn't.
I grabbed my duffel bag from the top compartment. I put the strap on my left shoulder, having the strap go around my shoulders so that my bag rested on the right side of my body. I followed the crowd of people leaving the plane, trying my best to make sure that nothing was taken out of my pockets.
Once we walked out of the plane and onto the airport at Sydney, I already felt it cooler than in America. Of course, Australia is on the other side of the equator. It's fall here. Damn, it was getting to a nice and warm spring weather back in the States. Not that it'll matter, anyway. I'm wearing my Fall Out Boy pullover about five thousand percent of the time.
Everything seemed so different. A little less polluted, perhaps. There were so many beer brewing factories in California... It wasn't as humid as it was back in America. It was nice and cool. I loved autumn—it was my favorite season. It always brought an excuse for me to wear my pullover, not to mention that it's not too cold or too hot. I like the falling leaves. I just really like autumn.
Maybe it would be a little bit different here.
I'd also have to have to get used to the time difference. Calum was always a good eighteen hours ahead of me. I'm eighteen hours ahead of myself. I don't even know what time it is here, much less what time it is back in the US. I'm pretty sure I'll get used to it soon. I'm bound to.
I was completely, hopelessly, and utterly lost.
I just walked.
Walking always helped calm me down.
I remember leaving Liz and Andrew's house to go walking. When something happened with Ben and Jack, or if Liz or Andrew yelled at me, or even if I was feeling down, I'd leave the house and I'd go walking. I'd get lost and I'd try to find my way back home. I liked being left alone with my thoughts, even though they weren't the best thoughts sometimes. But I like walking. Walking is good.
I was hungry.
Snacks were the one thing I didn't think about. Well, I have a lot of money on me. I guess I could just stop and buy a little something...
There was a little diner at the end of the block. I didn't expect anything else. This was Sydney, the capital of Australia. There were going to be many small businesses trying to get the attention of all the tourists. It looked homey, so I stepped inside. A little bell attached to the door rang, and I quickly skidded to the furthermost booth. There was already a menu on it. Convenient.
A girl stepped out of the kitchen. She was chewing gum. Her hair was blonde, but I could see the black roots. Nonetheless, the hair dye looked good on her. She wore light-washed skinny jeans and an expensive looking shirt with a red apron around it. She looked bored. She grabbed a notepad from the counter, a pen from a pocket in her apron, and started walking to me.
She stopped at my booth, opened her notepad, and already started writing.
She spoke in a bored tone, but the Australian accent was fun to hear.
"Hi, I'm Mali-Koa and I'll be your server to—ohmygoshyou'rehot."
Mali-Koa the waitress rested her palm on the edge of my booth. She smiled foolishly at me, flashing her pearly white teeth, and I pursed my lips in a smile.
"Um, I'll just have a grilled cheese—"
"Ohmygoshyou'reAmerican," Mali-Koa said with a giggle, and I pressed my lips to a thin line.
"—and a strawberry lemonade," I finished.
Mali-Koa smiled at me again. She scribbled it on the notepad, clicked the top of her pen (I was half-expecting it to turn into Riptide), and she gingerly took my menu. She smiled at me as she made her way to the kitchen.
Her name seemed a little bit familiar. Where have I heard that name before?
I think one of my classmates had the same name.
Maybe a person from high school?
"That's my big sister Mali-Koa. She's a bi—mean...person..."
Holy shit. That's Calum's sister.
Mali-Koa came a few minutes later with my strawberry lemonade and my grilled cheese sandwich. She set them in front of me. I thanked her. She giggled and stared at me.
"Um...hi," I said, my mouth full of grilled cheese.
"Hi," she said with a giggle.
She sat down in my booth, but facing me.
"So, why is the American in Australia?" Mali-Koa said, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.
"Your brother," I told her simply.
She was confused. She was no longer twirling her hair around her finger. There was no foolish smile on her face. She sat with her back straight and without a smile on her face.
"How do you know I have a brother?" Mali-Koa asked me. She shook her head. "No, never mind. Why did you come for him?"
"Long story short, I'm in love with your brother."
"You're gay?"
"Bisexual. There's a difference."
"Calum's gay?"
"Don't think so. You should see him obsess over some girls." 'Some girls' meaning Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
"Are you together?"
"Yeah, he's my boyfriend."
"My little brother has a boyfriend?!" Mali-Koa shrieked.
I pouted, slumping my shoulders. "The boyfriend is right here—"
"And he didn't tell me?!"
"Well, um—"
"Have you guys had sex?"
"Well, we were sort of eight thousand miles apart—"
"How does gay sex work, anyway?"
"Er, I'm a virgin—"
"Have you guys been on a date?"
"Unfortunately not."
"Had your first kiss?"
"No, but I've been dying to know what his lips taste like—"
"Are you treating him right?"
"Well, I'd like to think that I do—"
"YOU BETTER TREAT MY LITTLE BROTHER RIGHT, OR ELSE I WILL BEAT YOUR SORRY ASS—"
"Well, I haven't met him in person yet!" I snapped, slamming my fist on the table.
Mali-Koa stopped.
"Sorry," she said softly. "It's just that—well, my baby brother has a boyfriend! We're brother and sister, and we should tell each other this stuff..."
Now I felt sorry for snapping at her. I took one more sip of my strawberry lemonade, and I put the glass down. I sighed, twirling the straw around for a little bit. "Thank you for the meal," I said quietly.
"No problem," Mali-Koa said. "So, um, how'd you meet Calum?"
I paused. "Online."
"You were both on online dating websites?" she asked with a slight chuckle. I let out a small chuckle, too. Imagine that, two seventeen-year-olds on dating websites. Well, Calum was nineteen now, and I was turning nineteen in three months. I almost gasped. 2013 was two years ago... Time flies by so quickly.
"Not exactly," I told her.
Mali-Koa smiled. "How old are you, exactly?"
"Eighteen," I told her.
Mali-Koa smiled. "You're younger than you look."
"I'm easily stressed," I told her. You can tell by the deep bags in my eyes and the creases in my forehead. Not to mention my height adds to my appearance. I do, in fact, look older than I actually am.
"That's not a good thing."
"I know."
"What I don't understand is," Mali-Koa said, "is why you would come to Australia."
"I needed to meet him," I told her.
"Were you in uni?"
"UCLA," I told her.
Mali-Koa clicked her tongue as if she revered me. "My little brother must be special, then, if you would throw your life away to meet him."
"As cheesy as it sounds, he is my life."
"You can't fall in love with someone that quickly," Mali-Koa argued, her eyebrows furrowed.
"They say if you like a person for four months, you're in love with that person."
"Oh, yeah?" she pressed. "How long have you liked Calum, then?"
"Two years," I said.
Mali-Koa stopped talking again. I took another sip of the lemonade, and put the glass down.
"I really want to meet him, you know," I said softly.
Mali-Koa smiled. "I guess I could take you to him."
I don't think I've ever smiled more.