Tales From Another Oakland Home (sequel to "The Summer of our Lives), New & Improved Version, chapter 4
**One Week Later**
Beeeeep! Beeeeep! I reached over to my alarm clock and started hitting it as hard as I could in the pitch dark until it stopped. I slowly lifted my head off the pillow and read the shining green numbers: 4:00 a.m. On my bedroom floor, Liv and Alíce stirred awake.
"Ugh," Liv mumbled groggily. "Where the hell am I?"
I yawned loudly. "You're at my house, O Smart One. We're going to the airport."
"Oh yeah." Liv slowly got out of the sleeping bag I had lent her. She nudged Alíce next to her. "Leece, wake UP! We gotta go in half an hour!"
She lifted her head off her pillow. "I goddamn know that," Alíce yelled, before sinking down into the white fluffiness again. I was about to blast "American Idiot" or some equally loud song just to get them both up, but it turned out I didn't have to.
"Rise and shine!" my mother cried (energetically especially for someone who's the exact opposite of a morning person, and at four a.m.), flicking on my bedroom light.
Alíce, who was about to get up, went, "The light! It BURNS!" and collapsed once more onto her pile of pillows. I sighed.
"María Alícia Gonzalez!" I hollered at her, "Get your lazy ass out of bed or else we're going to Oakland without you!"
This did the trick. "Cassandra Madison Jenkins, I am NOT lazy," Alíce yelled, jumping up and chasing me around my bedroom.
"Fine!" I said. "Just get dressed and make sure you have everything. We have to leave soon or we'll miss our flight."
"One," Liv said, "Since when did you become bossy? And two, WHY DOES OUR FLIGHT HAVE TO BE SO GODDAMN EARLY?" She tried to brush her hair and roll up the sleeping bag at the same time.
I answered from the bathroom, where I was brushing my teeth, "One, because you two can't seem to get the hell out of bed fast enough; and two, because this was the only flight we could get three seats together with the frequent flyer miles."
Alíce looked up. "Together as in same row?"
I shook my head and spat some toothpaste into the sink. "Together as in same flight."
**At the Airport**
We stood in a medium-sized line at Ticketing, right where we first walked in. Finally it was our turn. Our luggage was checked, we got our boarding passes, and we said goodbye to my mom and walked about a mile to the security checkpoint.
I slung my carry-on bag off my now aching shoulder, stuck my Converse in one of those plastic bins, and followed Alíce to the metal detector. But just as I was about to walk through, someone yanked on the hood of my black zip-up sweatshirt. I turned around. Liv just tapped her waist and grinned.
"What? Oh! Damn it," I mumbled, unbuckling my black studded belt and placing it in the bin with my shoes.
After getting through security without being arrested (my boyfriend may be dead sexy but he's still dead wrong), the three of us grabbed breakfast at McDonald's and sat down at our gate, just in time to hear, "American Airlines Flight 1039 non-stop from New York to Oakland, departing at 6:55 a.m. is now boarding."
I laughed softly under my breath. "Ha," I mumbled. "1039. Ironic." I ran my fingers over the boarding pass in my hand, slung my carry-on over my shoulder, and followed my friends and everybody else to the jet way where a flight attendant was checking everybody's tickets. We worked our way down the jet way and into the airplane, found our seats and sat down. We spent forever listening to the stupid emergency video, and finally Flight 1039 was off the ground and headed westward, away from plain New Jersey suburbia and to Oakland, California. I pulled my iPod out of my bag and turned it on. I spent the entire flight munching on pretzels and listening to my prized possession, the little white Nano.
**Five Hours Later**
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching our destination. Please stow your carry-on bags, fasten your seat belts, and make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in the upright position." I popped a piece of gum into my mouth and gave one each to Liv and Alíce. Then we heard, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Oakland, California. The local time is 9:03 a.m. and the temperature is 69 degrees. We will be landing shortly." I chewed faster. Finally, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Oakland. Please be careful when retrieving carry-on luggage, as bags may have shifted during flight. Have a nice day and thank you for flying American Airlines." After an eternity of people pushing past us and waiting in line to get off the damn plane, I led my two friends down the jet way and into the airport.
Beeeeep! Beeeeep! I reached over to my alarm clock and started hitting it as hard as I could in the pitch dark until it stopped. I slowly lifted my head off the pillow and read the shining green numbers: 4:00 a.m. On my bedroom floor, Liv and Alíce stirred awake.
"Ugh," Liv mumbled groggily. "Where the hell am I?"
I yawned loudly. "You're at my house, O Smart One. We're going to the airport."
"Oh yeah." Liv slowly got out of the sleeping bag I had lent her. She nudged Alíce next to her. "Leece, wake UP! We gotta go in half an hour!"
She lifted her head off her pillow. "I goddamn know that," Alíce yelled, before sinking down into the white fluffiness again. I was about to blast "American Idiot" or some equally loud song just to get them both up, but it turned out I didn't have to.
"Rise and shine!" my mother cried (energetically especially for someone who's the exact opposite of a morning person, and at four a.m.), flicking on my bedroom light.
Alíce, who was about to get up, went, "The light! It BURNS!" and collapsed once more onto her pile of pillows. I sighed.
"María Alícia Gonzalez!" I hollered at her, "Get your lazy ass out of bed or else we're going to Oakland without you!"
This did the trick. "Cassandra Madison Jenkins, I am NOT lazy," Alíce yelled, jumping up and chasing me around my bedroom.
"Fine!" I said. "Just get dressed and make sure you have everything. We have to leave soon or we'll miss our flight."
"One," Liv said, "Since when did you become bossy? And two, WHY DOES OUR FLIGHT HAVE TO BE SO GODDAMN EARLY?" She tried to brush her hair and roll up the sleeping bag at the same time.
I answered from the bathroom, where I was brushing my teeth, "One, because you two can't seem to get the hell out of bed fast enough; and two, because this was the only flight we could get three seats together with the frequent flyer miles."
Alíce looked up. "Together as in same row?"
I shook my head and spat some toothpaste into the sink. "Together as in same flight."
**At the Airport**
We stood in a medium-sized line at Ticketing, right where we first walked in. Finally it was our turn. Our luggage was checked, we got our boarding passes, and we said goodbye to my mom and walked about a mile to the security checkpoint.
I slung my carry-on bag off my now aching shoulder, stuck my Converse in one of those plastic bins, and followed Alíce to the metal detector. But just as I was about to walk through, someone yanked on the hood of my black zip-up sweatshirt. I turned around. Liv just tapped her waist and grinned.
"What? Oh! Damn it," I mumbled, unbuckling my black studded belt and placing it in the bin with my shoes.
After getting through security without being arrested (my boyfriend may be dead sexy but he's still dead wrong), the three of us grabbed breakfast at McDonald's and sat down at our gate, just in time to hear, "American Airlines Flight 1039 non-stop from New York to Oakland, departing at 6:55 a.m. is now boarding."
I laughed softly under my breath. "Ha," I mumbled. "1039. Ironic." I ran my fingers over the boarding pass in my hand, slung my carry-on over my shoulder, and followed my friends and everybody else to the jet way where a flight attendant was checking everybody's tickets. We worked our way down the jet way and into the airplane, found our seats and sat down. We spent forever listening to the stupid emergency video, and finally Flight 1039 was off the ground and headed westward, away from plain New Jersey suburbia and to Oakland, California. I pulled my iPod out of my bag and turned it on. I spent the entire flight munching on pretzels and listening to my prized possession, the little white Nano.
**Five Hours Later**
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching our destination. Please stow your carry-on bags, fasten your seat belts, and make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in the upright position." I popped a piece of gum into my mouth and gave one each to Liv and Alíce. Then we heard, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Oakland, California. The local time is 9:03 a.m. and the temperature is 69 degrees. We will be landing shortly." I chewed faster. Finally, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Oakland. Please be careful when retrieving carry-on luggage, as bags may have shifted during flight. Have a nice day and thank you for flying American Airlines." After an eternity of people pushing past us and waiting in line to get off the damn plane, I led my two friends down the jet way and into the airport.
