I Miss You

Start writing here…“Do you have your passport?” My mother asked me with tears in her eyes.

“Yes mom, I have my passport. And my plane ticket. And my portable phone charger.” I cut her off with each listing. My dad came in from the other room.

“What about-.”

“Plane snacks?” I held up a bag filled with Oreo’s, homemade trail mix, mini water bottles, and PB&J squares. I make it a habit to be well-organized. I think my mom was just having a little trouble saying goodbye. When I was a freshman, my mom got really sick. We all thought she was going to die. It was a really dark time in our family history. She eventually got better and didn’t need to stay in the hospital but

“Are you sure you have everything, sweetie? I wouldn’t want you to miss your flight because you forgot something.” My mom looked around the house. I chuckled internally knowing there is a part of her that would love that.

“Actually, I did forget something.” Before she could respond I wrapped my arms around her tightly. “Goodbye mom, I love you.” If she wasn’t trying so hard not to cry, she would have said the same. I hugged my dad and left.

“Caitlyn Monroe?” My teacher called my name.

“Here!” I shouted louder than I probably should’ve. But I couldn't help it. I was over the moon. I’ve always wanted to go to London so when Mr. Larson passed out the permission slips, I turned in mine the following day. My best friend (and crush since middle school), Ricky, came up to me.

“Hey Caity-Cat. You must be excited.” One year I dressed up as a cat for Halloween and he started calling me Caity-Cat. I hate it but I secretly love it.

“I am! This is the most excited I’ve ever been. When I heard the Senior class gets to go on a trip out of the country, I put like 100 suggestions all saying London. And now it’s finally happening!” I squealed. We got on the bus and soon arrived at the airport. I took my seat on the plane next to Ricky.

“Hit me.” He held out his hand in front of me, interrupting my trip down memory lane. Everytime we traveled, I was in charge of the snacks and Rick It was in charge of the entertainment. I handed him a bag of trail mix in exchange for one of his earbuds. He put on The Hunger Games which is my favorite movie. He hates it so I don’t know why it was his first pick. I was so excited that I didn’t go to sleep last night, plus I had been running rampant getting my stuff together. I was so tired but I was high on excitement for the trip. I very soon came down from that high and I was exhausted. Now that I think about it, I know exactly why Ricky put on my favorite movie. I thought he was being sweet but as it turns out, he is an evil mastermind.

“Hey Cait, wake up.” I feel a gentle touch on my side. I slowly began to wake up and that’s when I realized. I had fallen asleep on Ricky’s shoulder! Now I had slept on his shoulder-and he on mine-plenty of times. It was never a big deal but this wasn't just falling asleep on his shoulder. I was holding his arm hostage. I had forced a cuddle! I didn’t know what to do so I pretended to still be asleep although I didn’t know how that would help me. He just lifted my head, took his arm out of my hands and left. If I wasn’t so embarrassed, I’d be angry that he just left me here. I heard footsteps stopping in front of me. I felt a finger rubbing my nose in an attempt to wake me gently. I opened my eyes to see Ricky with a smile on his face.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” He chuckled, knowing how embarrassed I was.

“Are-are we here?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, we are. You slept through the whole plane ride.” I was still a little flustered but I quickly got over it when I realized…I’M IN FREAKING LONDON!