CHAPTER TWO
Mira turned her gaze on the road ahead. She watched as people busily pushed shopping carts to their cars, unloading groceries and leaving the parking lot. A long line of cars lined the road ahead at a red light. cars, trucks, and semis hurriedly buzzed past them. Mira’s mom put on the blinker, turned onto a highway, and pulled into an airport. airplanes left and landed.
“Sweety, grab your suitcase and bags; we better hurry before the plane leaves. Let’s see…we have 34 minutes before it leaves; we better hurry and hope there’s not a long line. Aunt Amelea will pack the rest of our stuff at home and bring it to us next time she visits. The moving trucks were going to take too long to pack, and you know Aunt Amelea She packs really well. Now let’s hurry, no dilly-dallying.”
Mira grabbed her suitcase and two bags. She walked beside her mother, dragging her suitcase to the line to get their tickets purchased. eight other people were ahead of them, and by the time they got their tickets, they still had 13 minutes left. They headed towards their plane. and found their way to their seats, rushing between people loading luggage. Mira turned and looked behind her seat. A boy smiled, then turned to his father and said something Mira couldn’t understand. Mira turned back in her seat. She opened a book she got from her father on her 13th birthday and started to read.
* * * * *
Mira opened her eyes. Whoa, where was she? She rubbed her eyes to get a better look. An Airplane? Where was she heading? Oh yeah. California. She looked down from the window. Wow, was she high! She could see down really far. Mira opened her book. Where had she left off? She turned the pages to find her spot. What!? She hardly read any. She must have fallen asleep really quickly.
“Mira? Are you awake now?”
“Kind of. I’m still really sleepy, though. How long was I sleeping for?” Mira asked.
“A long time. probably like an hour or so. You only read like one or two pages and then fell asleep. You must have been sleepy from waking up early and getting ready to leave. We’ll be in California in about six or seven hours. We’ll have to listen to the pilot to see exactly how long.”
Mira turned around in her seat. The boy quickly looked up from his NASCAR book he was reading.
“I’m Colton. What’s your name?
“Miralee. Well, most people call me Mira or MI. Or sometimes I get called Leah. That’s what my Aunt Amelea would call me and my friend back in Maryland.”
“Are you moving, or on vacation?
“Sadly, the answer is moving.”
“Is this your mom?” Colton asked
“Yeah. My dad is gone.”
“Oh, I know how you feel. My mom passed away two years ago. She had cancer.”
“That’s sad. My dad got in a car accident on New Year’s Eve. A drunk driver hit our car, and Dad died. I broke my leg, and that’s why I have crutches. It’s hard, but I managed to pull my suitcase.”
“I live in California and am coming back from a business trip my dad had. It was fun, but it was much more fun going on business trips with both parents.”
Mira turned back in her seat.
“Well, we’ll probably see you around,” she said. “Here’s my email so we can keep in touch.” She said, handing back a piece of paper.
“Thanks! What’s your mom’s phone number? I’m sure my dad would like to keep in touch with her too.”
Mira handed back another piece of paper with numbers scribbled on it.
“Thanks!”
Just then the pilot started to talk.
“We will be in California in five hours and 45 minutes.”
Miralee was on her way to California. She wondered if it would be this easy to make friends at school like it was with Colton.