Met at the Airport

“Plane 832 is leaving in thirty minutes, please go to the terminal. Plane 832”the loud speaker yelled. Brooke started walking quickly towards the terminal. That was her next plane. 

“Woah! Hey, watch where you’re going! You just ran into me,”Brooke cried. There was a girl who looked up from her phone at Brooke.

“Sorry, I just really need to get to Terminal 15 for Plane 832, but I’m lost. Can you help me?”the girl asked.

“Sure, I’m heading there, too,”Brooke replied,”Follow me.” There was silence at first, just the two of them walking. They both kept looking awkwardly at each other as if they had met before, but didn’t know it.

“So, what’s your name?”Brooke asked.

“Allie, Allie K. Yours?”Allie replied.

“Brooke, Brooke D. Why are you heading to Colorado?”Brooke asked.

“Well, the farm that I worked on got bought out and I’m going to Colorado to find a new job. I thought there would be more job opportunities there,”Allie answered,”I worked as a horse trainer and breaker.” Brooke nodded, and thought for a second.

“That’s cool, I was a fashion designer in Miami, but I’m moving into a new house to get away from the crowded streets, get some fresh air, and maybe get some new fashion ideas. Colorado’s pretty known for that. And I have some cousins and aunts that live there. But they don’t really like me, so I probably won’t be visiting,”Brooke laughed. After that little conversation, they both just kept staring at each other.

“Here it is. We still have fifteen minutes until we have to board. Want to sit down?”Brooke asked. Allie shrugged and they sat down in the middle of the terminal.  

“What company bought out the farm that you worked on?”Brooke asked. Allie was quiet for a minute, and then responded. 

“Well, it actually wasn’t a company. Now, I know this is going to sound crazy. I mean, we’ve only known each other for a couple of minutes. But I feel like I can trust you,”Allie stated. Brooke shrugged, waiting for Allie to go on.

“My Dad bought the farm and kicked me out of it. He said that I wasn’t worth paying. That I didn’t do enough work to get five dollars a day. Of course he was wrong. I put my heart and soul into that farm. I cared about the horses the most,”Allie explained. Brooke nodded, she had a love for animals, too. 

“That must’ve been hard. I never knew my father, I wouldn’t know how you feel. He left when I was 3. The only thing that I can remember is his voice. But not very fondly. All I can remember is him yelling at my mother. He abused her. He left because he was sent to prison,”Brooke said. Brooke had that happy/sad smile on her face. She knew that he abused her mom-the sad part-but she also knew that not having a father figure made her the strong woman she is today-the happy part. 

“Well, where’s your mother now?”Allie asked. Brooke paused before speaking, her mother was a touchy subject.

“She left me when I was fifteen. I was acting out, because she wasn’t giving me any attention. I had tried to call the police, report her. You know, for child neglect. But they didn’t believe me. Just thought that I was another over dramatic teen.

“But I wasn’t, I never saw my mother. The only time that she was at home at the same time that I was was on holidays. You know, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, my birthday, but even then she would only stay for an hour. Then she would leave again to go to her boyfriend’s house. I hated him, I had only met him once and I had already hated him. All he talked about was how pretty I was. And let me tell you something, I was an ugly teenager. Even my mother said so. I knew he was lying and I knew that he would do something to me. So I made my mother make sure that he never saw or heard from me again.

“Luckily, it worked. But I had already started acting out, for months. Because of her leaving. So one day while I was at school, she packed up and left for her boyfriend’s. She’s still there to this very day. We haven’t talked since my last birthday. That’s all she does. She says happy birthday. Doesn’t even call on real holidays. Just my birthday. Oh, shoot! Enough with my sob story, we only have five minutes until we have to board. You better get your ticket and bags,”Brooke explained. Allie didn’t say anything, and neither did Brooke after that. They boarded the plane together, and, as luck would have it, they were sitting in seats right next to each other.

“Wow. We’re sitting right next to each other! What a coinkydink!”Allie cried. Allie was already sitting down and Brooke was putting her bag above them. Brooke looked down at Allie, all confused.

“A what?”Brooke asked. Allie started laughing out loud. Brooke didn’t see what was so funny.

“You southern people don’t know nothing. I mean, in, uh, you know, northern phrases and stuff. Coinkydink means coincidence,”Allie explained. Allie continued to laugh while Brooke still didn’t understand what was so funny.

“Oookay then. Well, let’s play a game,”Brooke stated as she sat down. Allie looked at her.

“What kind of game?”Allie asked.

“Well, you’re from the north and I’m from the south. I’ll say a southern expression and you have to guess what it means. And vise versa,”Brooke replied. Allie nodded.

“Hit me. I’ll win. I’ll get every definition right,”Allie stated.

“You wanna bet?”

“Yeah. Sure. If I win, you have to stand up and announce to everyone on this plane that you have smelly armpits. And if you win I have to...make super loud farting noises in the bathroom. Deal?”

“Deal. Okay, so… Sweeter than a southern biscuit!”Brooke cried. Allie sat there, thinking for a moment.

“Hm… either a food is very sweet or a person is really sweet. That was easy! One point for me, and it’s my turn. Give me a pop!”Allie stated. Brooke looked at her and smiled. She knew it already.

“I have a cousin that lives in Michigan. That means give me a soda. Stop doing easy ones!”Brooke cried. They went on like this until they both fell asleep halfway through the flight. Allie won, but she never made Brooke announce to everyone that she had smelly armpits. Which Brooke was grateful for.