One Way Trip
By Polina Raevskaya
Subway was jam-packed by students and just people of all ages, some of them hurried to work, while others were on their way to school. People sat there reading books or playing with their smart phones, but most of them had earphones plugged in. Mothers and Fathers were driving their children to kindergartens, although they were late to work themselves. Grannies were on their way to the post office to get their pension. And I, I was a teenage girl who was stuck in an airport since yesterday, because my flight was delayed for whatever reasons. Anyway, the life just has started, and it was 7 am New York time.
“It is 7 am New York time and…” stupid radio, it drove me crazy. Anyway since I was woken up from radio I decided to have a walk around the airport. Just to check that nobody was following me. I mean, every time kids escape from home there is police following. Or at least that’s what happens in movies. I took a look at my phone-80 missed calls; there is no way I am going back home. So I removed the cover from the phone, took out the SIM card and threw it into trash can.
“I should have done it earlier,” I mumbled.
It was already 7:15 so I took my luggage and started to look for a place where I could have my breakfast. I was hoping to find Starbucks, or at least KFC. I had to admit that this was my first time to be in an airport though I was fifteen. Finally I found a café. I was so hungry that I am sure I could eat a cow.
“One chocolate cupcake,” I said in a strong, loud voice. It was so harsh and powerful that I guess I just shouted at a pretty seventeen years old waitress. That might has happened because I was overstressed, or just mentally and physically exhausted, it seemed like my brain was overloaded. I mean it is not every day when you run away from home, especially when you are fifteen and you have a nineteen’s year old fake ID, and you are planning to go to Haiti. I know that the last sentence sounds hilarious to you, but that’s what my plan was like - run away to Haiti so nobody ever finds you there. Anyway, the waitress did not care about my thoughts, and all that time she stayed there staring at me with her big black Asian eyes.
“One dollar it is,” the waitress snapped out briefly and dryly. She kept looking at me with her vulture eyes until I finally got my cupcake and walked away.
Since the café was full, and there was no free table, so I decided to eat my breakfast somewhere in a free Wi-Fi area. I sat on a bench, and ate slowly, champing
quietly. What will I do at Haiti? How will I earn money? What kind of job I can get? How people look like there? Where will Ilive? Actually, I had figured out those a way before my escape. There was this guy Fredrick who could give me a place to live. I do not really know living conditions, but since my “room” was $1 a day I don’t expect a lot. I can earn money by selling fish, since I had my fishing rod and other fishing equipment stuff with me.
“The flight to Haiti is leaving in 1 hour, please take your belongings and go to a registration counter,” I heard the lady announced on a speaker.
The hardest thing was to pass the passport control because the ID was fake and I was underage. I still took a place in a line since I still had to take passport control anyways. Considering that I was pretty tall and looking mature enough, especially with a tone of make up on, I still had a chance to pass passport control and not get caught.
“Your passport please,” the line moved so quickly that I did not even realize that it was now my turn.
“Oh sure,” I handed my passport to the lady.
She was observing it same as she had a diamond in her hands. She looked at it carefully; I even started to suspect that she works for CIA or something. Then she took a look at me and then at the photo again, at me and at the photo again. I turned red as chilli pepper, I was sweating because I was too nervous, and my heartbeat became faster. I tried not to blink. I then took a look at a lady. She was a fat, but nice-looking old lady, that it was just impossible to look at her without a smile. And the thought that I just cheated on her made me hating myself. Well, I did not cheat just on her, but on myparents as well. And if you dig deeper, you may find out that I cheated nearly on everyone I know. I am a liar, I had to detest myself.
“The reason of your trip is…?” she asked.
“Oh… I have siblings there,” I answered. After when she returned me my passport she gave me a weird look, and I guess the reason why she looked at me that way is that I was white, I did not even had a tan. It was impossible for me having siblings at Haiti. And only now I understood how awkward the situation is.
Yes! I passed the passport control. The last thing left is to find the gate.
“34, 36, 38, 40, 42!” found it!
“Your ticket please,” the stewardess addressed to me. I lend the ticket to her, and then she tear it in half and handed it back to me. “Have a nice journey.”
I walked into the plane and asked the stewardess where my seat was, since I have never taken planes before. I took my seat, and sat there still, with my luggage on my knees. I suddenly became sad, very sad. And then I felt the tear running down my cheek. I looked out of the illuminator to have a last look at my hometown, my motherland. A motor roared suddenly in silence, and made my heart raised into my throat.
I then whispered as quiet as I could “Goodbye New York, Hello Haiti.”
“It is 7 am New York time and…” stupid radio, it drove me crazy. Anyway since I was woken up from radio I decided to have a walk around the airport. Just to check that nobody was following me. I mean, every time kids escape from home there is police following. Or at least that’s what happens in movies. I took a look at my phone-80 missed calls; there is no way I am going back home. So I removed the cover from the phone, took out the SIM card and threw it into trash can.
“I should have done it earlier,” I mumbled.
It was already 7:15 so I took my luggage and started to look for a place where I could have my breakfast. I was hoping to find Starbucks, or at least KFC. I had to admit that this was my first time to be in an airport though I was fifteen. Finally I found a café. I was so hungry that I am sure I could eat a cow.
“One chocolate cupcake,” I said in a strong, loud voice. It was so harsh and powerful that I guess I just shouted at a pretty seventeen years old waitress. That might has happened because I was overstressed, or just mentally and physically exhausted, it seemed like my brain was overloaded. I mean it is not every day when you run away from home, especially when you are fifteen and you have a nineteen’s year old fake ID, and you are planning to go to Haiti. I know that the last sentence sounds hilarious to you, but that’s what my plan was like - run away to Haiti so nobody ever finds you there. Anyway, the waitress did not care about my thoughts, and all that time she stayed there staring at me with her big black Asian eyes.
“One dollar it is,” the waitress snapped out briefly and dryly. She kept looking at me with her vulture eyes until I finally got my cupcake and walked away.
Since the café was full, and there was no free table, so I decided to eat my breakfast somewhere in a free Wi-Fi area. I sat on a bench, and ate slowly, champing
quietly. What will I do at Haiti? How will I earn money? What kind of job I can get? How people look like there? Where will Ilive? Actually, I had figured out those a way before my escape. There was this guy Fredrick who could give me a place to live. I do not really know living conditions, but since my “room” was $1 a day I don’t expect a lot. I can earn money by selling fish, since I had my fishing rod and other fishing equipment stuff with me.
“The flight to Haiti is leaving in 1 hour, please take your belongings and go to a registration counter,” I heard the lady announced on a speaker.
The hardest thing was to pass the passport control because the ID was fake and I was underage. I still took a place in a line since I still had to take passport control anyways. Considering that I was pretty tall and looking mature enough, especially with a tone of make up on, I still had a chance to pass passport control and not get caught.
“Your passport please,” the line moved so quickly that I did not even realize that it was now my turn.
“Oh sure,” I handed my passport to the lady.
She was observing it same as she had a diamond in her hands. She looked at it carefully; I even started to suspect that she works for CIA or something. Then she took a look at me and then at the photo again, at me and at the photo again. I turned red as chilli pepper, I was sweating because I was too nervous, and my heartbeat became faster. I tried not to blink. I then took a look at a lady. She was a fat, but nice-looking old lady, that it was just impossible to look at her without a smile. And the thought that I just cheated on her made me hating myself. Well, I did not cheat just on her, but on myparents as well. And if you dig deeper, you may find out that I cheated nearly on everyone I know. I am a liar, I had to detest myself.
“The reason of your trip is…?” she asked.
“Oh… I have siblings there,” I answered. After when she returned me my passport she gave me a weird look, and I guess the reason why she looked at me that way is that I was white, I did not even had a tan. It was impossible for me having siblings at Haiti. And only now I understood how awkward the situation is.
Yes! I passed the passport control. The last thing left is to find the gate.
“34, 36, 38, 40, 42!” found it!
“Your ticket please,” the stewardess addressed to me. I lend the ticket to her, and then she tear it in half and handed it back to me. “Have a nice journey.”
I walked into the plane and asked the stewardess where my seat was, since I have never taken planes before. I took my seat, and sat there still, with my luggage on my knees. I suddenly became sad, very sad. And then I felt the tear running down my cheek. I looked out of the illuminator to have a last look at my hometown, my motherland. A motor roared suddenly in silence, and made my heart raised into my throat.
I then whispered as quiet as I could “Goodbye New York, Hello Haiti.”