Starting Over

“Ladies and Gentleman this is your final boarding call for flight 3589 with nonstop service to London’s Heathrow Airport. All ticketed passengers should now be boarded. Again, last and final call as the boarding doors will be closing in exactly 2 minutes.” I hear the final boarding announcement being made for my flight and instantly panic knowing that I have only seconds to get the attendants attention before it’s too late.
“WAIT!!!!!” I shout in a desperate attempt to be heard over the rush of the other airport patrons around me. “I’m here! Did I make it????” I ask, no, plead as I finally reached the ticket counter and boarding area.
“Just by the skin of your teeth young lady!” the lady says as she smiles courteously and confirms my seat. She returns my passport and boarding pass and allows me to board the plane. I’m honestly not sure how this always manages to happen to me, I’d landed in New York from Baltimore 2 ½ hours ago and I’m still late! It’s the Gheri curse I tell you! We are always late for flights even if we leave hours and hours before we need to and arrive at the airport way ahead of our scheduled departure time we are always late because we always leave out of the last gate. It never fails. Mark and I used to joke about it all the time when we travelled. The curse seemed to have come with me even in marriage.
Mark and I had met 4 years ago and after dating for only a few months had gotten engaged and married rather quickly. I thought he had been the one. Boy had I been wrong. I guess when all of your friends and family try to warn you and tell you that you’re making a mistake, it’s probably a good idea to listen. I, however, was too stubborn to listen. I was young, dumb, and in love. Our marriage started out fine. Mark seemed like the perfect guy. He was nice, caring, considerate, and above all generous. About 3 months after the wedding though, things changed. Suddenly Mark began to change. Suddenly money was all he cared about. He moved us miles and miles away from my family without warning, announced that he never wanted to have kids and began getting grumpier and more aggressive. He never hit me. That would not have ended well for him, believe me. I can fight, I love to box. Emotionally though, I’m a bit of a train wreck. I’m easily manipulated at times. I think it’s just because I am always trying to make everyone happy. Anyway, eventually, Mark began controlling everything I did, down to when I was allowed to talk to my parents and friends. He even controlled all of our money and what I was allowed to eat. Finally, I had had enough and left him earlier last year. The divorce is finally done and now I have been accepted to Grad school in London. It’s finally my time to move on and be independent. No boys and no drama.
*30 minutes later* “Ladies and Gentleman you are now free to use your approved electronic devices and move about the cabin. Please let us know if there is anything that we can get for you and enjoy your 7 hour and 22 minute flight as we make our way to London…” Blah, blah, blah… I zone out after the words 7 hours and 22 minutes. You have GOT to be kidding me. Why didn’t anyone remind me that this flight was so long? I should have brought more to do. I have never been able to sleep on planes. When I flew to Greece I was awake for the entire 12 hour flight, even after popping 2 Benadryl. “Lovely” I groan to myself. I’m usually an insanely optimistic, sweet, and happy person but planes make me nervous and emotional. I hate flying. I whipped out my iPod and quickly found the playlist I was looking for: “Soundtrack to My Life”. Perfect. Lots of songs about strength, moving on, and finding new love… and of course, One Direction. I can’t possibly have a playlist without at least one song by them, they are my idols after all. I turned the music up and settled in for the long flight ahead. Did I mention that I’m scared shitless of flying?
I managed to get through my entire playlist (and then some) in what seemed like no time at all. And although I have more than enough music on my iPod to ride around the world and back at least 4 times, I put it away. My ears were hurting from the ear buds and I had to pee. I glance at the seat next to me only to notice that my fellow travelers are all sleeping. “Great. I had to get the window seat,” I mumble to myself. I decide to try my luck and get up anyway, carefully stepping over the sleeping people making sure not to disturb them. SUCCESS! I make my way to the back of the plane and step into the restroom. After doing my business I stand in front of the mirror at the reflection in front of me. I look like a hot mess. “Who cares! I’m on a plane.” I think to myself. It’s with that realization that I finally decide to return to my seat to watch the in flight movie, Despicable Me. I’ve seen it about 40 times but it’s one of my favorites.
I carefully open the door to the restroom in case someone is on the other side. As I step out, I bump into a young woman not much younger than I am. “Why does she look so familiar?” I think to myself. She must have noticed my curiosity because she smiles but quickly looks away as if to hide her face. I brush the feeling off and find my seat carefully climbing over the others again without waking them. I check the flight map on the tv screen on the seat back in front of me and notice that we are about 3 hours from London. Half way there, I can handle this.
About an hour later, Despicable Me is over and everyone is starting to wake up. My fellow seat mates are finally awake which is good because I am feeling restless. I politely excuse myself from my seat and they graciously allow me to pass assuming that this is my first time getting up during the flight and obviously completely unaware of my stunt earlier. I walk to the back of the plane in an attempt the stretch my legs when I notice the same girl from earlier apparently doing the same thing. She notices my arrival and smiles again, this time a little longer, as if trying to analyze the situation more carefully. “Well, this is awkward” I think to myself. I decide that I should probably just try to make small chat, though that has never been my strong suit. “Hi,” I said as I approach her “I’m Samantha” I say. She looks around cautiously then extends her hand “I’m Eleanor but everyone calls me El,” she says in a cheery voice. She seems friendly but why does that name sound so familiar, especially with that face? “Oh my god!” I think to myself as it registers. I’m talking to Eleanor Calder… Louis’ Eleanor. “OK, play it cool, Sam, you’re not a teenager, you’re a grown ass woman!” I repeat this mantra in my head over and over again “Nice to meet you” I say shaking her hand calmly.
“So clearly from your accent, you must be from the States” she says to me.
“Yep, I’m from Pennsylvania” I respond “but this is my big move to London for Graduate school” I state matter-of-factually.
“Wow, graduate school!” she says “I’m still trying to get through 3rd year Uni” she says with a slightly defeated look on her face.
“Well, I graduated top of my class so I’d be happy to help you if you ever need it” I offer genuinely.
“Really? Wow, thanks, I may just take you up on that” she says in a breathy voice, obviously relieved that someone may be able to help rescue her from her overwhelming course load.
“No problem, here’s my name, email, and my new UK number. I’m moving right near University of London.” I say as I quickly jot down my info on a napkin that I’ve stolen from the flight attendants’ cart next to me. I hand it to her with a smile. She returns the gesture and offers a hug of gratitude which I accept happily.
El and I hang out in the back of the plane in a few empty seats for the next hour or so talking about life in the States and London. She tells me about all the good hang out places at the University and in the city and all the good places to shop and eat. She even offers to give me a tour of London in the next few weeks once we both get settled in with the new semester. I can tell that we are going to end up being friends. At least, I hope we are. After what seems like only minutes, the Captain announces that we have begun our final descent and that we must return to our seats. El and I hug goodbye and promise to talk soon. Wow, not even off the plane yet and I already have a friend. Things may just be looking up. I hope.

Notes

Hey guys, so here is the first chapter. I didn't change a whole lot from the original. Let me know!
<3 Samy <3
ps: the background story of the marriage, etc is similar to my life so I'm writing from first hand knowledge when I write those parts. Just an fyi. Love ya'll.