I Hate Airports

Spur of the moment, I decide I am going back to France, and, what do you know, my sister happens to have two tickets. There is no time to pack, we just leave.
I have no recollection of being on the first flight, but all of a sudden we are in an unknown airport where we must catch out second flight. I think it must be Dubai. There are no signs, only clocks, which tell me that it is 9:30 PM. I know we must be on the connecting flight my 9:40, but I do not know the number or airline because Laura has the tickets. She pulls them out and determines that the connecting flight is controlled by British Airways... but when we look at a list of airlines, British Airways does not operate out of this airport. Laura pulls me over to a phone booth and rifles through a packet of papers she finds there. It is some sort of airline code book, and she finally tells me that the Airline we are looking for is the national airline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The packet also tells her that there is a fee of 250,000 Rand (South African currency) for the non-corresponding airlines, which I equate in my head to $4,000.
An Indian woman passing by overhears us and tells us that we've got it all wrong. She shows me a map of the airport, and shows me which desk I should go to to get my own map of the airport, which in turn will direct me to information. I'm pretty sure we missed our flight.

Battle

I try to get to Burien by taking the bus to Fremont; the 73 becomes the 74 becomes the 75, and I have to get off before I end up in Ballard.

My parents take me to see my sister, who is living in Bellingam on a lake. I try to explain the buses to her as she applies makeup. I pick up her concealer and apply some under my eyes. It is pasty and thick, and when I express dissatisfaction, I reassure myself out loud that it looks fine, but without actually adressing myself.

In my parents' dining room I suddenly look up, to the west, and see a dark, close horizon. The atmosphere is thick, and lights are flashing behind it. At first I think it is the radio towers flashing, but only lights above a certain height are red. The white flashes closer to the horizon are coming from guns fired by dark figures at our feet. They are spaced out all along the muddy shoreline behind baricades of our dining room furniture.

A Four Pack of Novelty Alien Rats

In the kitchen at Solstice, I examine a package of four novelty "alien rats". Each one has its own personality, and I think it's kind of a cute idea. However, I certainly do not expect them to leap out of the package and scurry off as soon as I open it. I run into the cafe, pleading with my sister and mom to help me capture Amelia, Susan, Bob, and Gary, but alas, they have already hidden. Finally, I spot a suspicious looking pastry bag on the floor, grab it up, keeping it carefully closed, and take it to the back where I try to extract the rat inside like icing. However, either the rat has been too quick for me, or it was actually just some cardamom cake inside, but I fail to catch any rats.

I leave work and walk down 45th with Laura. I start noticing a large number of people dressed strangely, emanating it seems from American Apparel and walking west on 45th in groups. They are all females in the 18-29 range, very pretty, extremely tall and very skinny. They are all wearing hip variations of black clothing from American Apparel, but their faces are all painted white and their hair disheveled. I think it is some sort of urban fashion show, but Laura reminds me that with is the dead bride remembrance parade. It was like a rather morbid party.

We get to Laura's apartment, which is on about the tenth floor of an apartment building on 45th, she prepares a bed for me by dragging her mattress out onto the north-facing balcony. This is something she does all the time on nice nights. I thank her, pull the comforter up when my phone rings. It is my mother, asking a question about financial aid. I assume she's talking about the FAFSA, which I have to finish soon, but I see the form she has with her at Solstice bears the title, "Inheritance Trust Fund", which has something to do with my (living) grandma. My mom needs my signature on one section I can't understand by her description over the phone. I look at the image in my mind and see this section is titled "Optional Serenade Authorization", which authorizes the government officials to serenade me upon my inheritance of the trust fund. I tell my mom that this really isn't urgent, hang up, and go to sleep.

When I wake up the sun is shining from behind the apartment building on the south side of all the buildings I can see. I notice that the University Tower has a really beautiful alignment with one of the dorms from this position, and feel like I should draw it for homework. Then I notice that the mattress I'm laying on is level with the railing of the balcony, and is not full-size, as I had thought, but actually a twin. As I am discovering this Garett, Laura's boyfriend gets out of bed in the living room, and I am surprised that he is not Lucas, Laura's roommate.

I get out of bed, which is now on the patio behind my house, where my family is having a sort of reunion, and my cousin asks for help buying her friend a birthday present. We go to Target, where I pick out a book of crosswords and look for a set of pencils. We opt out of the crossword-patterned pencils and then get distracted by the stationery, but it is not as cute as it once was.