Roulette

One

Terminal 4, London Heathrow Airport, England.

The terminal was buzzing with large crowds. Excitement filled the air, the sound of suitcases wheeling across the floor and bumping into things. Sounds of children running around with excited screams and parents telling them to hush. The smell of coffee and baked goods, and the flickering boards of flight times and gates. 

Pushing herself through the crowd was Luciana Wilson, navigating herself through the terminal and looking for her check-in line. Her brown hair was tied into a bun, no makeup and her grey jumper and leggings only camouflaged into the large crowds. She pulled her suitcase across the dull grey floor with cracks that needed an upgrade, towards the check-in. 

Her phone was held by her chin, pressed against her chest as she used her hands to rummage for her passport and ticket information. Brown eyes flickered in front of her, upon hearing the screech of the woman in front. Lucy's nose scrunched up, upon hearing the vicious words the woman sneered at the poor check-in lady. 

Nervously she tapped her foot in anticipation. If there were a few things to know about Lucy Wilson, one of them was that she hated flying. It wasn't the idea of crashing or being stuck inside a confined space for a long period. It was the simple idea that a large heavy metal box with wings could be suspended in the air. It weirded her out, though she understood the physics behind it, it was still something that she found strange. 

Growing impatient Lucy zoned in on the conversation in front before rolling her eyes. She moved forward and cleared her throat to make her presence known to the older woman who stopped screeching at the check-in attendant and turned her piercing gaze to Lucy. The thin eyebrow on her head was raised and the look on her face was not inviting. 

"For one minute can you please stop shouting at the top of your voice and listen to..." Lucy's voice trailed off, looking at the young girl sitting behind the desk. Her eyes lingered on the name tag, before turning back to the old woman. "Danielle. She's explaining to you, that you are too late to check-in."

The bitter woman seemed unimpressed with Lucy's interruption and poised herself ready to attack. Lucy was too quick, and once she started her opinion she would finish it. 

"There is a reason they say come to the airport a few hours before your flight. It is not Danielle's fault that you have chosen to come too late. Screaming and throwing a tantrum isn't going to change anything. So instead of doing that, accept what has happened. Take the alternative that Danielle is trying to give you and move on!"

There was another thing to know about Lucy. She was not a confrontational person in the slightest. It gave her anxiety, which was now being shown that she began to ping the hair-tie around her right wrist as she spoke. It was something she had done since her parents divorced years ago, it soothed her. 

A clap echoed behind Lucy, making her jump as fellow passengers nodded and clapped in appreciation of her getting the old woman to shut up. She let out a nervous chuckle and smile, before turning her attention back to the older woman who at that moment, had slinked off in shame leaving Lucy to check-in next. 

Grabbing her battered suitcase, she lifted it onto the scales and handed over her passport and ticket. A small pitiful smile crossed her features, as the young check-in girl, Danielle, reached forward and grabbed her items. 

"Sorry about that woman, you didn't deserve to be spoken to like that," Lucy spoke, resting her hand on top of the desk, her fingers tapping it anxiously as Danielle looked up at her with her own small smile. 

Her perfectly manicured nails tapped the keyboard as she laughed. "Happens more than you think, but thank you for interjecting." Her voice was soft, and Lucy found herself just offering a smile in return with a sheepish shrug.