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1.
Bellamy
“Bellamy, wake up.”
I startle awake and immediately groan. My neck feels like a drunk group of Irish tap dancers spent the night practicing on it. Massaging the back of my nape with one hand, and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes with the other, I turn towards the person who woke me.
“We need to work on your bedside manner, Thayer. That was not it.” I groan again. “Why does my neck hurt so bad?”
“Probably because you’ve had it bent at a twenty degree angle for the past six hours. The minute they took the food trays away, your head dropped on my shoulder and stayed there. I’ve got to say you’re very cute when you sleep. I think it’s the drool.” She says teasingly.
“Shut up, I do not drool.”
“I may or may not have photographic evidence. Keep telling me how bad my bedside manner is, I’ll whip out my phone and show you.”
“Okay, okay. You win.”
“Gracias.” She sing-songs happily, proud of herself.
“Sorry I slept the entire flight. Did anything happen while I was asleep?”
“Apart from me ugly crying while watchingIf I Stay, you really didn’t miss much. I thought there’d be more action on a flight this long.”
It’s our first flight together and our first overseas trip. I’m a little bummed I slept through it and didn’t enjoy the uneventful trip with her. Which reminds me. “Why’d you wake me up anyway?”
Before she can answer, a voice comes in over the announcer system.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be touching down at Geneva International Airport in just over 30 minutes. Please stow away your tray tables, make sure your seats are in an upright position and-”
I miss the rest of the announcement as I lift the shutter on the window and get my first look at Switzerland.
Land stretches out below us, a mixture of city structures, lush fields, and a beautiful lake. In the distance, snow covered mountains peak out from under the clouds.
Excitement bubbles up my throat and a small sound of joy escapes my mouth as I turn back towards Thayer.
“We made it.”
“We made it.” She confirms, grabbing my hand and giving it a tight squeeze.
“This feels surreal.”
“I think it’ll continue to feel that way for a while.”
“God, I hope so.” I say with an excited squeal, as we both turn back towards the window and take in the view as the plane prepares to land.
As I watch the plane getting closer to touching down in Geneva, I can’t help but think back on the journey that brought us here, together.
???
We were never meant to leave the United States, Thayer and I. Both poor Chicago kids, neither one of us had ever set foot outside of the country before today, let alone moving halfway across the world for our senior year of high school.
Previous trips for me included a bus ride with my eighth grade class to Springfield, the capital of Illinois, and a weekend in Florida for my cousin’s eighteenth birthday. Apart from that, vacations were spent in Chicago working and going to the beach.
And now we’re about to call Aubonne, Switzerland home for the year. I’ve pinched myself enough times to know that this is real, no matter how hard it still is to believe even as I’m about to touch down in Geneva.
Aubonne is home to the Royal Crown Academy, a private British boarding school for the children of the rich and famous. The school is exclusive in the extreme, a certain amount of wealth and scholastic aptitude needing to be proven in order to even apply. From there follows a strict application process that includes an essay, a video portion and an in-person interview with a member of the board.
The website proudly boasts an impressive list of alumnus, from fashion designers and movie stars to ambassadors and heads of state.
