Status: I wrote this when I was in seventh grade. Look away.
Far From Home
Scarlet.
“So, she already knows about me, right? I won’t have to explain that I’m not-” “Relax, Jess, everything has been taken care of,” Danny assured me as our cab pulled into the airport parking lot. Shortly after breakfast, we arrived in Topeka, Kansas, and Danny, Jorel, and I all caught a cab to the airport to pick up Theresa and Scarlet.
“Her flight should be here soon, and I want to greet her at the gate, so we better hurry,” Danny said, tossing the cash onto the center console of the cab. We all climbed out and looked up at the towering building as the cab pulled off behind us.
Looking over at Danny, I could see a peculiar look in his eyes. Want. Withdrawal. Love. No telling how long it had been since he’d last seen his own family. What an excellent husband, and an excellent father of course. I couldn’t help but imagine his wife, then morphing them together to form Scarlet.
That certain smell all airports have surrounded us as the automatic doors slid open. “You know where she’ll be coming in at?” Jorel asked, looking around at all the signs. “Umm… no, I have no clue, let’s see what’s this way.”
We began walking down a long stretch of wide open space, several clerks behind desks rushing to get tickets printed for passengers, endless amounts of people scrambling to get to their flight, dozens of screens showing departures and arrivals.
“I think it’s this way,” Jorel said, climbing onto an escalator. I climbed on behind them, taking in the sights and smells and sounds of the airport. The airport back in Oregon was much smaller, and was never this busy. No one ever traveled to Oregon, it just wasn’t a popular state.
The intercom buzzed in, “The twelve o clock to Oregon, now boarding.” I stopped dead in my tracks. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? I could fly home. But, the question was, did I want to go? Surely a ticket wasn’t that much, maybe I could scrape up all my money, and maybe some of the guys would pitch in. Charlie would probably pay the whole ticket.
A shudder ran through my body. I couldn’t leave them, I couldn’t return home to the ridicule I lived with. What would my parents say? What would Bailey say? How could I explain to them this whole mess? Would they even understand? Doubtful. And How selfish of me, expecting the guys to throw in what little money they have. I’m lucky they chose to hold onto me.
I snapped out of my daydream just in time to notice my step about to reach the top of the escalator. I shuffled off, my arms growing shaky. My mind had reminded me of my worst nightmare, going home. Only three days had passed since I had been found by the men, why had I grown so close to them? Isn’t this exactly what I told myself not to do from the beginning?
“Jess, you feeling okay?” Jorel asked, slowing down so that I could catch up. Danny was far ahead, eager to find the gate through witch his wife would come. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just, that intercom reminded me of home.” “Oh, I’m sorry. I bet it’s hard, but don’t worry, we’ll be taking you home soon.” “But, J. That’s the thing. I don’t want to go back. I can’t go back.”
I felt the world pause around us, though in reality it kept moving, and he stared into my eyes. Could he tell what I was thinking?
“Guys! I see her! My baby!” Danny chimed, his face pressed against a window leading out to the runway. Both Jorel and I turned to face him, and we continued on like nothing had happened, no words had been said. Down on the runway, a small woman with a large bundle of blankets stepped off the plane, dressed in a blue sun dress.
As she walked in through the gate exit, I felt awkward just staring. She was beautiful. Long, dark hair, brown eyes, a small figure. Danny all but flew over to where she stood, but instead of embracing her in a hug like I had imagined he would, he gently slid the bundle of blankets out of Theresa’s arms, and cradled it against his chest.
Fact, cute people make cute babies. Scarlet was just as beautiful as her mother, with Danny’s eyes and Theresa’s nose, she was a spitting image of both of them. I offered to hold her as Danny hugged Theresa, and lifting her off her feet.
This man was truly remarkable, I thought to myself as we walked back to the cab, Scarlet cooing In my arms and Jorel trailing behind us with the luggage.
“Her flight should be here soon, and I want to greet her at the gate, so we better hurry,” Danny said, tossing the cash onto the center console of the cab. We all climbed out and looked up at the towering building as the cab pulled off behind us.
Looking over at Danny, I could see a peculiar look in his eyes. Want. Withdrawal. Love. No telling how long it had been since he’d last seen his own family. What an excellent husband, and an excellent father of course. I couldn’t help but imagine his wife, then morphing them together to form Scarlet.
That certain smell all airports have surrounded us as the automatic doors slid open. “You know where she’ll be coming in at?” Jorel asked, looking around at all the signs. “Umm… no, I have no clue, let’s see what’s this way.”
We began walking down a long stretch of wide open space, several clerks behind desks rushing to get tickets printed for passengers, endless amounts of people scrambling to get to their flight, dozens of screens showing departures and arrivals.
“I think it’s this way,” Jorel said, climbing onto an escalator. I climbed on behind them, taking in the sights and smells and sounds of the airport. The airport back in Oregon was much smaller, and was never this busy. No one ever traveled to Oregon, it just wasn’t a popular state.
The intercom buzzed in, “The twelve o clock to Oregon, now boarding.” I stopped dead in my tracks. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? I could fly home. But, the question was, did I want to go? Surely a ticket wasn’t that much, maybe I could scrape up all my money, and maybe some of the guys would pitch in. Charlie would probably pay the whole ticket.
A shudder ran through my body. I couldn’t leave them, I couldn’t return home to the ridicule I lived with. What would my parents say? What would Bailey say? How could I explain to them this whole mess? Would they even understand? Doubtful. And How selfish of me, expecting the guys to throw in what little money they have. I’m lucky they chose to hold onto me.
I snapped out of my daydream just in time to notice my step about to reach the top of the escalator. I shuffled off, my arms growing shaky. My mind had reminded me of my worst nightmare, going home. Only three days had passed since I had been found by the men, why had I grown so close to them? Isn’t this exactly what I told myself not to do from the beginning?
“Jess, you feeling okay?” Jorel asked, slowing down so that I could catch up. Danny was far ahead, eager to find the gate through witch his wife would come. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just, that intercom reminded me of home.” “Oh, I’m sorry. I bet it’s hard, but don’t worry, we’ll be taking you home soon.” “But, J. That’s the thing. I don’t want to go back. I can’t go back.”
I felt the world pause around us, though in reality it kept moving, and he stared into my eyes. Could he tell what I was thinking?
“Guys! I see her! My baby!” Danny chimed, his face pressed against a window leading out to the runway. Both Jorel and I turned to face him, and we continued on like nothing had happened, no words had been said. Down on the runway, a small woman with a large bundle of blankets stepped off the plane, dressed in a blue sun dress.
As she walked in through the gate exit, I felt awkward just staring. She was beautiful. Long, dark hair, brown eyes, a small figure. Danny all but flew over to where she stood, but instead of embracing her in a hug like I had imagined he would, he gently slid the bundle of blankets out of Theresa’s arms, and cradled it against his chest.
Fact, cute people make cute babies. Scarlet was just as beautiful as her mother, with Danny’s eyes and Theresa’s nose, she was a spitting image of both of them. I offered to hold her as Danny hugged Theresa, and lifting her off her feet.
This man was truly remarkable, I thought to myself as we walked back to the cab, Scarlet cooing In my arms and Jorel trailing behind us with the luggage.