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Chapter 7
Sarah
“Check,check,check,”Isay as I double check my list before I pack it all into my suitcase and carry-on.
My plane leaves in four hours. That gives me an hour to pack and an hour to get to the airport. Plenty of time.
I’m so excited.
Five and a half hours later. I am landing in North Carolina. I collect my luggage and flag down a taxi.
I let the driver know where I need to go and ask if we can stop for some fast food. Before long, we've gone through a burger joint and are pulling up at the hotel.
I register at the front desk and go to my room. I watch the people around me as I make my way to the elevator, wondering if any of them are a part of the tour. I see a couple of younger guys but mostly older couples. I did look at a bunch of pictures before coming, and it's possible I might be the youngest person on this trip.
Once I get to my room, I drop my bags and devour my burger and fries. I hate eating when I fly, my stomach gets upset. And who wants to poop on a plane? I never understood why people drank coffee before flying.
After I am sufficiently filled up, I unpack my suitcase. As I am doing that my cell phone bings. It’s a text from the tour.
Good evening, everyone. We are so excited about getting this trip started. We will meet tomorrow morning on the north side of the hotel. You will see a big grassy area. There, we will go over everything. Can’t wait to meet everyone.
I set my phone down and do a little happy dance. I’m here, in North Carolina, about to go on a month-long trip with a bunch of people I don’t know…to watch birds.
“Eeeeek!” I squeal and flop down on my back onto the mattress. I lay there blissfully for a few minutes before I finish unpacking, take a shower, lay out my outfit for the next day, pack my day bag, and go to sleep.
The next morning, I wake up to the sounds of my alarm, which now sounds like birds chirping. I figured it would wake me up ready for the day’s festivities.
Because I laid out everything last night, I am ready in no time. I still have a half hour before we are to meet outside, so I’m going to grab something to eat from the continental breakfast.
I load my plate up with waffles, bacon, and eggs and take a seat at one of the empty tables.
Before too long, an older gentleman comes by and stops.
“Is anyone sitting here?” he asks. I look at him and see that he too has binoculars around his neck.
“Nope,” I say and scoot my glass of apple juice closer to my plate.
“I noticed you had binoculars, so I figured it was safe to assume you are here for the tour also.”
“I am.”
He sits down and puts his hand out to me.
“Hi, I’m Paul. I’m one of the tour guides.”
I take his hand and shake it.
“Hi, Paul. I’m Sarah. I’m one of the…tourists?” I say and my eyebrow raises in question.
He laughs. “Awesome. This is my fourth year doing this but first as a tour guide.”
“That’s fun. This is my first year. I’m nervous but very excited.”
“Nothing to be nervous about,” he says as he cuts the waffles on his plate. “Everyone is always very friendly.”
“That’s good to know.” I take the last few bites of my food and drink the rest of my juice.
The guy waves and looks behind me.
