Page 13 of Finding My Forever

Finally. It was time.

I opened the email about the trip and reread it for the umpteenth time.

I limited myself to only the details of my flight, when I would arrive in New York, where I was supposed to meet the rest of the group, when the award ceremony was, and the itinerary we had for the five days to explore the city.

The contest was sponsored by the Montgomery Foundation, which encourages students with an interest in writing. It was funded by one of the old money families from New York so the award ceremony will be at their home, now a historical landmark.

This time when I read through the email, I opened the attachment with the list of other winners.

My roommate for the week would be Sophia Lodge from Gilbert, Arizona. I read over most of the other people’s profiles but hadn’t had the time yet to stalk them on social media. Now that I was done packing, I was going to dig in.

I started with Sophia. She came up easily on MyPage and most of her profile was visible, but I sent her a request to connect. She didn’t look anything like what I expected her to. She had dark, wild curls that ended around her ribs with streaks of magenta, teal, and purple. Evidently, Sophia was an artist. Almost every picture was of a canvas. Of course, she was a talented painter and writer. This girl was intimidating enough just looking at her, now that I knew she was smart and crazy gifted. Great.

Maybe she was nicer than I thought. I could hope.

I went through the rest of the list not taking too much time. There were a few cute guys and some less intimidating girls. Hopefully, I’d become friends with some of them so I’d have people to explore with.

The rules said you had to have at least one person with you at all times, or you could go on the guided tours with the organization. Luckily, over the years they realized that not all teenagers want to do the same thing. Shocking. Now they were a lot less strict as long as you used the buddy system.

I just had to hope Sophia or someone else from the group wanted to see similar sights, or my long list of to-dos would remain wishes.

“April! It’s time!” Dad called from downstairs. My eyes darted to the clock at the top of the screen. Finally.

I shut my laptop and slid it into my backpack. I was down the stairs and at the door before Dad walked out of the kitchen.

He smiled and shook his head. “Excited?”

“A bit.” I opened the door and walked out, hoping he would follow.

We got in the car and only made it one street before his phone rang. I rolled my eyes when he answered. He worked all the time. I guess that was the downside of owning a law firm. You’re always at your client’s beck and call.

I wanted to talk to him about the trip and see if there were any places I should visit that I missed on my list. He and my mom had been to New York several times, but I’d only been once as a child. I didn’t remember much, so this would be my first real experience in the city.

Unfortunately, when we got to the airport he was still on the phone. He asked them to hold and hung up long enough to park and walk me inside to the security line, but that was as far as he could go.

“You’ve got everything? Phone, chargers, money, license?”

I patted my backpack, “Double and triple checked.”

He gave me a hug and kissed the top of my head. “Have fun and be safe, okay?”

I nodded against his chest before stepping away.

“Let me and your mom know when you land and when you get to your hotel.”

“I will.”

He squeezed me one more time. “I love you, honey.”

“I love you, too.”

With that, I turned and walked in the direction of the departures. Not only was it my first real time to New York. It was my first time flying alone. In the past, if my parents weren’t traveling with me at least one of my sisters was around. Not that I needed them. We traveled enough that I was comfortable getting around by myself. It was just…weird. I was on my own and in just a few months, once I graduated, I’d really be on my own.

The thought had me smiling as I entered the security line. I probably looked like a freak smiling while everyone was complaining about the wait.

It only took about thirty minutes to get through security and to find a seat at my gate. I knew I was the only person coming from Oregon, but hopefully, I’d meet up with some of the other students at my connection in Denver.

There she was.