Chapter 6

A bit longer than the rest....finally.

            “Who’s going to be the parent here?”

            Cali looked at Tammi. The second girl shrugged and looked around. Cali, on the other hand, looked terrified out of her wits. She kept glancing at the main hall, as if she was waiting for an excuse to run out.

            “I can do it, because of the….that.”        

            Both of their faces turned sad for a second, then they nodded. Without a word, they proceeded to the bathroom. I stood there, as if I was waiting for somebody. I wasn’t the only one. Further down, I saw a couple of other people standing around.

            After a few minutes, I saw Tammi come back out of the restroom, followed by an older-looking Cali. She had changed into a paint-splattered t-shirt and mid-length jeans. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun, giving her a slight librarian look.

            “Alright, I’ve got three tickets for first class. Act responsible, act like I’m your mother, and act natural, for my Huntress’ sake!” Her voice was strong and serious.

            “Alright, mom, let’s just get on. I want to get over there, puh-LEASE!” Tammi rolled her eyes. If I was a stranger, I would assume that we were a family. Except for one thing.

            “What about luggage? Wouldn’t it look weird if I was the only one with a backpack?”

            Cali furrowed her eyebrows. “Hmm….” She pulled her wand back out. Almost instantly, the other two had backpacks as well, in addition to three suitcases at our feet.

            “Well? Those aren’t going to carry themselves!” Cali had her hand on the biggest suitcase. She started off toward the luggage counter. Tammi grabbed a light pink one, leaving me with a black version. I rolled it over to where Cali was talking to an attendant.

            “…flight information, is there any paperwork I have to fill out?”

            “No, just for me to tag the cases. Put them here.” The woman motioned toward a small table next to her counter. I managed to lift the suitcase onto it. The attendant put a flimsy paper tag on the handle, then slipped it onto a cart behind her. She did the same for Tammie’s and Cali’s suitcases.

            “Is that all?”

            Cali nodded. “Just a quick vacation, then back to school for these two. I can’t afford to have a repeat of last year.” She gave Tammi a sideways glare, which was returned with a guilty grin. Nice play, I thought. As if we really were a family.

            We walked over to security. I set my backpack on the conveyor belt and stepped through the gate. Nothing went off, which was the expected result. Tammi had the same, and to my surprise, so did Cali. I thought that her wand would set off the metal detector, but it might not be sensitive to gold or silver. I picked my backpack up.

            “Alright, this way,” Cali pointed toward a door. It had a sign reading ‘Gate 8’ above it. “Here,” she said, “take the ticket. I’ll be a moment. Tammi, go with him.”

            I followed my ‘sister’ through the door of the terminal. A woman was on the other side, behind another counter.  It was the same woman from the first counter, the one who took our luggage. Tammi seemed to have noticed, too, for she started growling softly.

            “Can I help you two?”

            I nodded slowly. “Yeah, we need to be escorted to-”

            “Tammi! Trent! I told you to wait up!”

            Cali suddenly was behind us, looking angry, but softly scared. Tammi looked slightly relieved.

            “Ma’am? Are these your kids?” The woman looked somewhat happy, as if this was a trick question that Cali would get wrong.

            “Yes, they are. My very impatient children! I got you first class, so you should at least wait for me while I use the restroom!”

            The two of us nodded, then went into the plane, As quick as we could, we found our places in first class. I, by luck, had gotten the window seat. I looked over to ask somebody for a Pepsi, and I immediately spotted the same woman from twice before.

We were being followed.