*11:10AM

So long Whitechapel – I've spent all of my life in your wonderful city – admiring your peaceful scenery… oak trees abound, stretching lands of grass green – the refreshing air of every breath – the love, the friends… our families… the secrets.

Oh yes, we will all miss you Whitechapel, but there are bigger and better things ahead for us. It's time that I pack up and move away from home, and leave your distinct wonders to my memories. That's where Lévesque's Academy comes in. An incredible place, right in the heart of Starlight City – we board the last flight out of Whitechapel in about ten minutes.…

"–ethan.!" Sarah calls to me amidst the hoard of traveling businesspersons and executives struggling to find their boarding terminals. I extend a hand to Sarah and lead her aside to the nearest departure list. "–do you see our flight?" she asks. I shake my head, "–no… I don't see it… what's that number again.?"

Sarah stuffs a mitten into the front pocket of her jacket; a second later, she emerges with our boarding passes. "–I can't explain how glad I am that you held on to those… I think I would have lost them by now…" I say. Sarah's lips come together in one of her signature smiles in which she's not smiling, but more so… smirking… I guess… if that makes sense.

"It's no problem, ethan… that's what I'm here for."
–with a flutter of eyebrows, Sarah returns to scanning the departure list for our plane's departure time. "–ahh… flight number… C17… leaves for Starlight City… at 11:25AM…" "–okay then…" I ask, "–what time is it now?"

"11:13.!"

–it can't already be eleven-thirteen.! We haven't even found our boarding terminals for one, and for two, we haven't seen Benny or Erica ever since leaving the restrooms…
"Is it really that late.!" I plea; Sarah nods, gesturing to something over my shoulder.

I follow the gesture to find Erica and Benny parting the masses to reach us. "–hey guys.!" Erica cries as she approaches, "–I thought we'd lost you for sec… what happened.?" "–we could say the same…" assures Sarah, "–we hooked up outside of the bathrooms and we couldn't find you…"

"–yea…" I usher in. "–we thought you guys had run off somewhere…"
Benny urges me aside for a look at the departure list. "–did you find our flight.?" He asks, scanning the index. "–yea, we've found it" Sarah replies, "–and if we don't hurry, we're going to miss the last plane out of here…"

"–Well it seems as if we should get moving then, shouldn't we.?" Our eyes fall on Benny – without any words, our group succumbs to understanding. We all follow Sarah as she scurries away from the departure board.

"–do you know where you're going?!" I shout to be heard over the murmuring voices of passerby. Sarah grabs me around the wrist and pulls me along at her heel; "–just shut up and follow me.!"

We round the nearest corner to find a boarding terminal. "–is this the right one?" Benny asks as he joins us – here's a word to the wise… when you're traveling with women, ALWAYS make sure that you come prepared… you know.? We could've been here a loonnng time ago if Sarah and Erica hadn't took ages this morning… but… I digress.

"No… this isn't it… This is terminal E… our plane departs from terminal C." My eyes look to Sarah at those words. "–So…" I begin, "–what do we do.?" "What do you mean, 'what do we do.?' We walk…" and with that, Sarah reclaims the grip on her luggage and trots away.

"…boarding terminal D…" I whisper as we turn another corner. Traffic through the station was starting to settle, making it easier for the four us to navigate the inside.

I look down at my watch – 11:20…
I can see terminal C – we're in the clear, besides… the plane doesn't leave for another five minutes…
"–Yes.! We made it.!" cries Erica. "–Well… it seems as if you guys made it, just in time…" says a balding man behind a small, oak podium. He wore an official uniform, so he must have been a flight attendant… or something.

"–may I see your boarding passes.?" Says the balding man. Hesitantly, almost as if she didn't want to hand them over, Sarah reaches into her jacket and retrieves two boarding passes – she hands one to me, and hands the other to the balding man. "–thank you…" he says, and then he runs the piece of paper under a barcode scanner.

He reaches out for mine, and I gladly hand it over. "–thank you…"
–Benny and Erica eventually hand over their passes as well; after doing so, the balding man stands aside and allows us entrance through the terminal.

"–I can't believe it…" groans Sarah as we all march down the terminal. "–what.?" I ask, eager to know. "–we're actually leaving Whitechapel… it all just seems surreal…" "–yea, we have a lot of history here..."

"–Oh will you two pleaaase stop chit-chatting and come on… we need to board our flight…"
–UGH… Why does Erica always have to be such a nag.?
but she's not slick – I know she's just eager to get Benny alone on that plane…

"–to new beginnings…" I say, cradling Sarah's hand in mine. A sparkle illuminates the corner of her eye, and I know that our lives in Starlight City will be amazing…

"–Starlight City…" she says, "–where dreams… come true…"
I smile. "–Where dreams come true… indeed…"

Next: Blu Skies & Plane Rides