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Chapter One "A holiday," I smiled. He sniffed. During the months leading up to this trip I had received that reaction more and more times. People were not happy or excited about my first holiday abroad - they were jealous. I understood that it was a luxury but I was seventeen years old and had never stepped foot outside of Wales - not even been on a ferry across to Ireland. "Passport," the fat man grunted. I handed over my passport and he looked at the picture and then at me. Again, I smiled but by this time I knew it was wasted on him. He didn't want to welcome me to his country, he wanted me gone, back to Britain with my tail between my legs - little did he know just how very close I came to making his wish come true. Without telling me that he was through with me, he grabbed for the passport Lucy held and a security guard shouted at me to move along. I wasn't even allowed to wait with my travel companion. I was going to argue my case but the security guard tapped the side-arm nestled against his jelly-like hip and I knew I shouldn't push my luck. I pointed a little further down and Lucy nodded her head. She didn't look intimidated, just moody. A few minutes later Lucy came to stand beside me and we decided to make our way over to our next flight. We'd be early but better early than late. Neither of us was hungry and so we ignored the numerous fast-food outlets - the doughnut stalls, coffee bars and confectionery counters. My stomach felt tense and sore. I was starting to feel sick. I was quickly deciding that I didn't like America half as much as I'd first thought I would. Lucy and I had to separate when we went to toilets. The room was packed with large American men and I immediately felt intimidated. I did what I always did at school - I headed for a cubicle. Locking the |
door behind me, I leaned my head against the stall and told myself to calm down. It was only Chicago, not Los Angeles. Los Angeles would be different. I was just tired from the trip, feeling jet-lagged and missing home because it was my first time away from my parents. With that decided I did my business and then headed back out into the bedlam. Considering not a lot of people travelled by 'plane in Britain, in America it was not the same. Nearly everyone in the country was trying to get aboard a 'plane, I thought.
Lucy and I sat down in our departure lounge and watched the 'planes go by outside the window. It was starting to get dark. "Are you okay?" Lucy asked me, moody again. "I think so," I answered carefully, not wanting her to get angry with me for being a wimp. On the contrary, she turned towards me, her brown eyes swimming with tears. Her full bottom lip wobbled and she let out a watery breath. "I'm terrified," she whispered. Relief made my heart bang furiously against my chest and I let out a deep sigh. "Me too," I breathed, keeping my voice quiet so the other passengers wouldn't hear me. "I just don't think I'm up to this," I added. "I feel like such a wimp. Its not like I'm a baby, is it?" Lucy nodded her head. "I feel exactly the same way," she said, still whispering. Then she lowered her head against my shoulder and I knew she was crying. I didn't know what else to do but sit very still and let her get the tears out of her system. "I've never been away without Daddy before," she kept saying over and over again. "I can't do this. I just know I can't." Her fear was no longer a relief; it was making me feel even more scared. If Lucy was terrified, too, then who was going to be the strong one? I had assumed she was okay because she'd done this a million times before. I hadn't realised she'd never gone alone before. We were both virgins. |