flight 57 • cth

airport

Sighing, I pull the coffee cup to my mouth and take a sip. "Ouch..." I mutter since the drink was too hot. I wipe away the nude-pink lipstick stain from the rim of the Costa coffee cup. 

In the last three years, I've grown used to the rather cold and usually rainy Scottish climate. I've not been back to Australia since I left school, and the idea of this reunion both scares and excites me. I'm only really still in touch with Alyssa Williams and Luke Hemmings, who have been together since we were in school. 

"Excuse me miss?" A strong Scottish accent asks beside me. "Is this seat, like, taken?"

Shaking my head, I kick my bag closer into my other leg and put in my headphones. 

The Glasweigan woman sits down beside me and starts flicking through a magazine. 

I've always loved airports, you get a chance to see everyone reuniting with parents, partners, friends. There's something about that moment when you finally see someone after a long time that gives you butterflies. 

Hopefully that's what this reunion is going to be like. 

Honestly, what I'm scared about is that everyone will be in amazing long term relationships, with high paying jobs and degrees. Meanwhile, I've attended some classes at university for a degree that's pretty useless anyway, and got a job as a waitress in a family-run cafè. 

Obviously, that isn't all I want in life. I'm worried that all of my old friends are going to be telling all of these amazing stories and I'll be awkwardly hanging around listening and dreaming of what I should've done. 

Okay, so maybe packing up and moving to another country with no idea of what I was going to do, except having a place in the best local university, maybe wasn't my smartest move, but it's been fun and I've made some okay friends. 

I'm craving time with my friends from school though, we all just seemed to click. I hope everything goes straight back to how it was, with Alyssa and Luke never letting go of each other and the rest of us just wandering around laughing at everything. 

What I hadn't realised, is that the woman beside me has a sleeping toddler at her feet. With a quick glance at the departures board to see what gate I need to go to, I stand up and offer them my seat. 

"Love, are you sure?" The woman says to me. She's picking up her child, placing him on her shoulder and then gently into the seat. 

"Yeah, of course, I have to get to my gate anyway." I say with a smile, heading towards gate 23 and dumping my coffee cup in the bin on the way past. 

My flight isn't for another hour, but you're supposed to board the plane half an hour before, and I don't want to miss this flight. 

It would've been nice to travel with someone, definitely, but as far as I'm aware, no one else is flying from Glasgow. I could've traveled down south to fly with Luke and Alyssa but I couldn't afford it and also, it would've been a bit awkward and almost like I was third wheeling them. 

The area around gates 22 and 23 is getting busier, and there isn't many seats left, so I end up perched on a windowsill beside a family of four, who from what I can pick up from overhearing them, are flying out to Australia for a wedding. 

I had checked in with no hassle, but apparently it's high summer holiday season so it took forever to get through security. I was ushered around by families who were trying to get away, and on multiple occasions I was accused by an angry mother of trying to steal from her. 

Let's just say, it wasn't a relaxing experience. 

"Attention all passengers, flight number 57 to Sydney is now boarding." The loud intercom speaker announces across the airport, and the family beside me start to gather their things.

You know what they say about the British, they love a good queue. 

Everyone immediately starts lining up by gate 23 but I wait on the windowsill. What's the point in waiting just to be at the back anyway? 

I wait until there's only a few people left in the queue to go up and show my passport and boarding card, and they're both handed back to me with a smile and a, "Have a nice journey," 

Yeah, I'll try to enjoy the 23 hour flight, on my own. 

As I'm walking through the tunnel connecting the terminal and the aeroplane, a guy with dark brown hair pushes past me and mutters a short apology, rushing into the plane. I didn't see his face, but I wish I had. 

Note- if you want to read this story from Alyssa and Luke's point of view, check out our other story Flight 19 which is being written by the other owner of this account.