"Are you sure you packed enough?" I asked Jennifer as she zipped up her over-stuffed travel bag.
"I'm positive, Taylor," she told me assuringly. "Infact, I think I packed too much. Stop being a worry wart."
I was over at her house, along with my dad, Ike, and Zac. All we had left to do was call for an airport taxi once Jen was ready to leave. The parents were talking upstairs while Zac and Isaac were busy beating Crash Bandicoot on Sony Playstation in the next room. PJ was perched happily on Jennifer's shoulder watching my every move.
"What you looking at, birdy?" I asked the parrot.
"Hello," The green bird replied with one of its only words in its entire vocabulary.
I stuck my hand out and PJ flapped its wings desperately on over to land on me. "Hey cutie," I cooed as the bird puffed out its tail feathers. I stuck the Amazon onto my shoulder, where I learned that it loved to be, when I felt a sudden warmth on my back. "What the heck? Jennifer, what did the bird do to me?" I asked and turned around.
Jen started giggling. "It pooped on you," she declared and went on with her snickering.
"Oh, sick! I never liked that bird anyway," I said and set PJ on the nearby stand.
"I'll go get something to clean the bomb off with," Jen said and left the room.
She returned with a paper towel which she handed to me. "Thanks," I muttered and proceeded to clean my shirt off.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Jennifer said suddenly.
"Alrighty, let's go."
I threw the dirty towel in a nearby trash can and eyed the huge stain on my white shirt. "Just peachy," I told myself outloud and followed Jennifer out of her room.
"Jennifer, are you ready to leave?" her mom asked at the top of the steps by the door.
"Yea, mom. I'm ready."
"Come here," she said and hugged her daughter. "I'll miss you. Be good for Mr. and Mrs. Hanson, okay?"
"Alright."
"Well, I'll see you in August."
"Okay, bye!" Jen called as I took her hand and brought her out towards the driveway.
My brothers had gone ahead into the taxi along with my dad.
"Bye!" Jennifer's mom yelled out the door. "Have fun!"
Jen and I hopped into the vehicle and I picked the seat directly next to her.
"Thanks for taking me," she whispered into my ear.
"No problem," I told her and smiled.
The airport was a busy place as it had been before. I took my sunglasses out and slipped them on just in case any fans happened to pass by.
The five of us took up the seats outside the loading area, to wait for our flight to be called. Isaac spent most of the time searching for the vending machines, Zac checked out the small gift shop nearby, and Jennifer and I talked.
"This is weird, but have you ever noticed that airport toilets have automatic flushers?" I asked out of the blue.
Jen giggled. "Actually, I have. That's how they are here. The sinks turn on automatically too. So does the hand dryer."
"Why does everything have to be automatic and fast nowadays?" I asked with a laugh.
"It must have something to do with people's so-called vision of the furture or something. The bad thing is that most automatic devices brake down after a while."
"And then you can't rely on being able to leave a clean stall for the next person. And what about your hands?" I said with amusement in my voice.
"How did this conversation topic start up anyway?" Jen asked and eyed me.
"Hey, don't look at me!" I said defensively.
"The 3:45 flight to Tulsa is now boarding. Please bring your tickets up to the boarding gate," a voice on the intercom ahead spoke out.
Isaac and Zac ran up to where we were sitting and grabbed their bags. "It's about time," Ike muttered and ran up to the boarding gate. The rest of us followed.
I was last to hand in my ticket and had to run and catch up with the others who were already on the plane. After a few minutes of searching, I finally found the area where they were sitting, but was disappointed that Zac had already taken the seat next to Jennifer. They were already chatting away in a full-blown conversation.
Instead, I slumped into the seat behind them, next to Isaac and stuffed my bag under the chair.
"Passengers, please secure all belongings and buckle up. Please enjoy your flight and thank you for choosing United Airlines," A flight attendant from the front of the plane said.
I felt the beginning of the take off and pressed my back against the seat, clsed my eyes, and ignored the force of the plane soaring up for high air. A few minutes later, all was calm again and I took out my discman and a few of my CD's.
Then I fell asleep for the long flight while listening to Aerosmith...
* * *
The next time I opened my eyes, the familiar sight of Tulsa was in view as I realized the plane was landing. It felt good to be back, that's for sure. I glanced over at the seat in front of me where Jen had been sitting and saw that she had traded Zac for the window seat and was staring wide-eyed out at our surroundings.
Once we got off the airplane and ran into the busy crowd at the airport, I took my place next to Jen again. As we headed down the building to the parking lot, I spotted the rest of the family waiting for us.
"Mom! Jess! Avie! Mackie!" I waved over at them and they smiled back.
"Tayles is back!" Mackenzie said and ran over to me. I picked the toddler up and hugged him. That's when he spotted Jennifer. "Jafur's here, Tayles. You have a girlfriend now," he said with a giggle. Jennifer giggled too.
"He's too cute," she said as I felt myself blushing.
"No, Mac. Jen's just a friend. Say hi!" I told my baby brother.
"Hi Jen!" he chriped and Jennifer managed a tiny wave.
"Hey Mackenzie," she said.
"My name is Mackie!" he insisted with another baby giggle.
Isaac came over to us. "Um, guys. We're leaving," he said and nodded his head towards the rest of the family.
"Okey dokey, we're coming," I said and sat Mackie down on the floor.
The little blonde haired boy ran off on his little legs towards our mom. I let Jennifer walk next to Isaac on the way out. Basically, I stayed behind everyone, not caring to speed up. I had all the time in the world to relax. I had a really cool friend with me, my family, and I was home. I stood back and admired the thought of that. It was peaceful.