Invisible I
London, Cold and Wet
I woke up to sunlight streaming in my window, a beautiful sight.
It was not, in fact, the sun that woke me up. It was thunder. Low, rumbling thunder. Lightning flashed in the clouds as I rolled over and looked at my alarm clock. 9:00 am. I figured I should probably get used to the time difference and get out of bed, because I was usually up ages before nine at home, even without an alarm clock.
I got out of bed and turned on the shower, then walked back into the bedroom and unzipped my suitcase, looking for clothes to wear. I sifted through my clothes, most of them my new clothes from yesterday. Or was it two days ago because of the time difference? I didn't know.
I hopped in the shower and took my time, letting the hot water soothe my aching back. Airplane seats were not comfortable, even if they were first class.
I got out of the shower and dried off, then blow-dried my hair, which left it in loose curls and waves as usual.
I dressed in a pair of athletic shorts and pulled gray sweatpants over them, then pulled a Nike shirt over my head, and threw a sweatshirt over it. I put on my 'nerd glasses' (as Nikki called them) because I they wouldn't allow me to bring my contact solution on the airplane, so I would need to buy some of that. I applied some light makeup then walked out of the bathroom, carrying my pajamas and laundry with me. I threw my pajamas on top of my suitcase, then dropped my laundry into the laundry bag hanging in the closet before taking the elevator from my room (Yes, there was an elevator IN MY ROOM. It. Was. Awesome!) to the first floor. Of my hotel room. From there, I walked to the door of my hotel room and grabbed my key card from the table next to the door, putting it in my wallet and shoving my wallet in my sweater pocket.
I took the public elevator to the first floor and walked outside. The rain had finally stopped, so I could go jogging. I pulled out my iPhone (probably the most expensive thing I own) and looked up where to find a Starbucks near my hotel. There was one a block from where I stood now, so I plugged my earbuds into my phone and found my most recent playlist Carmen and I had created specifically for London.
She wanted me to put on some songs by a band called One Direction, so I did, but I never intended to jog long enough to hear those. I wouldn't skip them if I did, but I just hoped I wouldn't have to listen to them, because Ashton had told me they weren't very good, and she has the same taste in music as I do.
As I jogged to Starbucks, I listened to three songs. "Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk, "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, and a cover of "Titanium" sung by a chick named Madilyn Bailey.
Sometime in the middle of "Titanium", the rain started up again and I was soaked from head to toe by the time I reached Starbucks.
When I got inside, I wrung out my ponytail and waited behind one other person in the line. Once he was done, I ordered and paid, then went to go find a table, which wasn't very hard considering the only people in the place were me and of group of five rather good-looking boys in a booth. One of them was the guy who had stood in front of me in line.
I took off my sweatshirt and put it in the chair across from me, thankful that the shirt underneath was relatively dry. My order was called and I went up to get it, then left my coffee to cool on my table and walked to the bathroom, praying that they had hand dryers in there instead of just paper towels.
I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding when I discovered that they did, in fact, have hand dryers. I turned one on and dried my sweatshirt under it, then did the same with my sweatpants, socks, and shoes. Once they were all dry, I put them all on again and walked back to my table. I sipped my coffee and looked out the window next to me, hoping the rain would stop so I could get back to my hotel room.
I could hear the boys whispering amongst each other, but I couldn't figure out what they were saying. It didn't look like the rain was going to let up soon, so I just sat and waited long after I had finished my coffee.
It was not, in fact, the sun that woke me up. It was thunder. Low, rumbling thunder. Lightning flashed in the clouds as I rolled over and looked at my alarm clock. 9:00 am. I figured I should probably get used to the time difference and get out of bed, because I was usually up ages before nine at home, even without an alarm clock.
I got out of bed and turned on the shower, then walked back into the bedroom and unzipped my suitcase, looking for clothes to wear. I sifted through my clothes, most of them my new clothes from yesterday. Or was it two days ago because of the time difference? I didn't know.
I hopped in the shower and took my time, letting the hot water soothe my aching back. Airplane seats were not comfortable, even if they were first class.
I got out of the shower and dried off, then blow-dried my hair, which left it in loose curls and waves as usual.
I dressed in a pair of athletic shorts and pulled gray sweatpants over them, then pulled a Nike shirt over my head, and threw a sweatshirt over it. I put on my 'nerd glasses' (as Nikki called them) because I they wouldn't allow me to bring my contact solution on the airplane, so I would need to buy some of that. I applied some light makeup then walked out of the bathroom, carrying my pajamas and laundry with me. I threw my pajamas on top of my suitcase, then dropped my laundry into the laundry bag hanging in the closet before taking the elevator from my room (Yes, there was an elevator IN MY ROOM. It. Was. Awesome!) to the first floor. Of my hotel room. From there, I walked to the door of my hotel room and grabbed my key card from the table next to the door, putting it in my wallet and shoving my wallet in my sweater pocket.
I took the public elevator to the first floor and walked outside. The rain had finally stopped, so I could go jogging. I pulled out my iPhone (probably the most expensive thing I own) and looked up where to find a Starbucks near my hotel. There was one a block from where I stood now, so I plugged my earbuds into my phone and found my most recent playlist Carmen and I had created specifically for London.
She wanted me to put on some songs by a band called One Direction, so I did, but I never intended to jog long enough to hear those. I wouldn't skip them if I did, but I just hoped I wouldn't have to listen to them, because Ashton had told me they weren't very good, and she has the same taste in music as I do.
As I jogged to Starbucks, I listened to three songs. "Just Give Me a Reason" by P!nk, "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, and a cover of "Titanium" sung by a chick named Madilyn Bailey.
Sometime in the middle of "Titanium", the rain started up again and I was soaked from head to toe by the time I reached Starbucks.
When I got inside, I wrung out my ponytail and waited behind one other person in the line. Once he was done, I ordered and paid, then went to go find a table, which wasn't very hard considering the only people in the place were me and of group of five rather good-looking boys in a booth. One of them was the guy who had stood in front of me in line.
I took off my sweatshirt and put it in the chair across from me, thankful that the shirt underneath was relatively dry. My order was called and I went up to get it, then left my coffee to cool on my table and walked to the bathroom, praying that they had hand dryers in there instead of just paper towels.
I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding when I discovered that they did, in fact, have hand dryers. I turned one on and dried my sweatshirt under it, then did the same with my sweatpants, socks, and shoes. Once they were all dry, I put them all on again and walked back to my table. I sipped my coffee and looked out the window next to me, hoping the rain would stop so I could get back to my hotel room.
I could hear the boys whispering amongst each other, but I couldn't figure out what they were saying. It didn't look like the rain was going to let up soon, so I just sat and waited long after I had finished my coffee.
8/3/13