“Alright.
Everyone one here?” asked Mom as they checked their bags. “No one forgot
anything in the rental car, did they? Because if you did, we can’t get it back.”
“Alex,
you got the snacks, right?” asked Uncle Peter. Alex held up a Disney bag filled
with candy, cookies, and popcorn.
“Yup!
I got it!”
“Good!”
said Uncle Peter. “We’re set then. As long as we have food we’ll be fine.”
“Amen!”
said Nick enthusiastically.
“Okay,
the bags are checked!” said Aunt Lorraine, coming back from the desk. “Let’s
head over to security.” The Vogie family was one their way back from a vacation
in Disney World. They had spent a week in the Happiest Place on Earth with
their favorite aunt and uncle. It had been a great vacation, but now they had
to face the difficulty of getting through the airport. The parade of eight
people started winding its way through the airport. As they joined the line for
security, Mom did a quick head count. She noticed they were one short.
“Where
is Alex?” she asked, quickly glancing around. “I don’t see him, where is he?”
“I
don’t know, I thought he was with you.” said for Libby, shuffling into line and
holding onto her sister. “I’ve got Sarah though.”
“Yeah,
well, can you maybe hold onto my arm instead of my jacket hood?” Sarah asked. “You
almost strangled me.”
“Oh,
sorry.” Libby moved her hand to Sarah’s elbow. “I just don’t want to lose you.
People keep pushing in front of us.”
“And
behind us.” said Sarah as a group of girls tried to step between the two
sisters and the rest of the family. “Do we keep going without them?”
“Uhmm,
I don’t know. Mom?” Libby called over a bunch of heads. “Mom?”
“Libby!”
Mom cried, spotting Libby and Sarah. “I can’t find Alex, so I going to go look
for him. Dad, Uncle Peter, and Nick wound up on a different line, but you two
go through here and Aunt Lorraine will meet you on the other side. Don’t lose
your sister!” With those instructions, Mom disappeared into the crowd.
“Alright
girls, let’s go this over with.” said Aunt Lorraine. “Put your suitcases on
there, take off your shoes, and make sure your pockets are empty.”
“Aunt
Lorraine, don’t forget your Disney bag! It has Uncle Peter’s tea in it.” said Sarah.
“Oh!
Thank you.” said Aunt Lorraine. She ran to get her bag and as she stepped away,
several people cut in between her and the girls. They piled their suitcases on
the conveyor belt, making it impossible for Aunt Lorraine to join the sisters.
“Just
go through, and I’ll meet you over there. These rude people cut in front of me!”
said Aunt Lorraine pointedly, looking directly at the people in front of her.
“Okay,
meet you on the other side!” said Libby following Sarah through the scanner.
Meanwhile, Mom was frantically searching through the crowd.
“Alex?
Alex?” she called. She was starting to get really worried when she didn’t find
him anywhere in the line. She scanned the area and saw Nick getting ready to go
through security and went over to him.
“Nick,
have you seen Alex? I can’t find him!”
“I
thought he was with you guys.” said Nick as he started emptying the pockets of his
cargo pants.
“We
have to find him! Where are Dad and Uncle Peter?”
“They
are, uhm,” Nick looked around. “Over there!” he pointed to the other side of
the security desk.
“They
can’t come back to help me, can they?”
“No.”
said Nick, pulling his phone, an itouch, a notebook, two pairs of headphones, a
small screwdriver, a rubber band ball, and a mechanical pencil out of his
pocket. “No, that would be against the regulations for airport security,
established…”
“Nick,
I have to find Alex, and then you can tell me all about it.” Mom said. “I’m starting
to get really worried.”
“I’m
sure he’s fine,” said Nick, taking a pack of gum and his sunglasses out of his
other pocket. “He’s a smart kid.” A crumpled piece of paper, a receipt, an
eraser, and a handful of small change came followed the sunglasses. “Try
retracing our steps from the baggage checking.”
“Good
idea.” I’ll be back.” Mom disappeared into the crowd again.
“Text
me when you find him!” Nick called after her. He fished around in his pockets
to make sure they were empty. “Nothing. Now for the cargo pockets!”
Back
at Sarah and Libby’s end of security, the two girls had both made it through
and were putting their shoes back on.
“Hey,
where are our suitcases? Shouldn’t they have come through already?” asked
Sarah.
“They’re
coming. Look, they’re scanning them now. See?”
“Cool,
and here comes Aunt Lorraine! Well, once these random people get out of the
way.”
“Hi
girls! Finally, those people in front of me are out of the way. Did you bags come
through?” asked Aunt Lorraine.
“Yeah,
they are right here.” said Libby, grabbing her suitcase and a Disney bag.
“Do
you need help carrying anything? asked Aunt Lorraine, finishing with her shoes.
“I can help carry something.”
“Sure.”
said Sarah. “That Disney bag is ours; I think it has Alex’s snow globe in it.” Aunt
Lorraine grabbed her purse and picked up the Disney bag Sarah had pointed to
and the one next to it.
“I’m
texting your mm to see if she’s found Alex yet. Let’s find your dad and your
uncle.” The girls and Aunt Lorraine gathered all their bags and headed away
from security. After a little searching they spotted Dad and Uncle Peter, both
of them looking a little lost.
“Where’s
Nick?” asked Libby as the group huddled around the bags. “Wasn’t he with you
two?”
“He
was but we got separated. I’m sure he’ll find us. Eventually.” said Dad. “Where
are Mom and Alex?”
“Well,
we lost Alex at some point, so Mom went to look for him.” said Sarah.
“I
just texted your mom too see if she found him, but she hasn’t responded yet,
which probably isn’t a good sign.” said Aunt Lorraine, checking her phone.
Meanwhile,
Mom was frantically retracing their steps, trying to find Alex. She called his
name and searched the face of every young boy she saw. She was just about to
contact security when she saw him. Alex was just standing there, chilling
against a wall with his hands in his pockets, his suitcase beside him.
“Alexander!”
Mom cried, running over to him. She pulled him into a tight hug. “What
happened? Where were you?”
“Well,”
said Alex in a matter of fact tone. “I was with you guys, but then I saw the
moving sidewalk and I wanted to try it out. So I got on it, but you guys walk fast! I lost
sight of you but I figured if I stayed here someone would come get me.”
“I’m
glad I found you and that you’re okay. Let’s find the rest of the family.” Mom
took Alex by the hand and they started to head back to security. They got back
on line and were halfway through the line when Alex spotted Nick.
“Hey
look! There’s Nick!” he said pointing him out to Mom.
“He’s
just getting through now? He’s been there for ages!” Mom said. Nick was just
getting through security and was starting to put all his stuff back into his
pockets.
“Don’t
worry; we’ll catch up to him. He still has to put his shoes back on. We have
plenty of time.” Said Alex.
“What
do you mean?” asked Mom.
“Everyone
knows that it takes Nick like fifteen years to put his shoes on.” Said Alex.
Mom considered this statement.
“That
is true.”
“Yup.”
said Alex. “And that’s why I wear Velcro.”
“Let’s
just get this over with.” said Mom, putting her carry-on on the conveyor belt. “Put
your bag up here.” Mom and Alex went through the scanner and met up with Nick
on the other side.
“You
found him! Awesome.” Nick said, pocketing the last of his belongings. “Everyone
is right over there. Just let me put on my shoes and we can join them.”
“How
about you just meet us over there?” asked Alex, eyeing his brother’s shoes.
“It
won’t take me long.” said Nick, sitting down to put on his size 12 sneakers.
Alex rolled his eyes and looked up at his mother.
“Go
ahead, go join them. I’ll wait with Nick.” She said. “Don’t get lost!” she
cried as he walked toward the rest of the family.
“Hey
guys!” Alex said.
“Hey!
You’re found!” said Dad. “Where are Mom and Nick?”
“Uh-oh,”
said Libby. “Did we lose them now?”
“Relax.”
said Alex. “She’s with Nick.”
“He’s
probably tying his shoes, right? Everyone knows that always takes forever.” commented
Sarah as she rifled through a Disney bag. “What is this stuff anyway?” She
pulled a plush, pink, Miss Piggy out of the bag along with a giant Mickey
Mouse.
“I
don’t know, we definitely didn’t buy these. “ Libby said. “What else is in
there?”
“The
real question is where did it come from?” asked Aunt Lorraine pulling out a
Goofy tee-shirt and a Tinkerbelle wand.
“Maybe
you accidentally grabbed it when you picked up the other Disney bag?” asked
Libby. “Remember how those annoying girls cut between us? It’s probably theirs.”
“Oh,
maybe I did…” said Aunt Lorraine looking shocked. “Did I really rake someone
else’s Disney bag?”
“We
have someone else stuff!” giggled Sarah.
“I
can’t I believe it!’ said Aunt Lorraine. “Oh well. If they hadn’t cut in front
of us, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Yeah,
it’s their own fault.” said Libby. “Now let’s get everyone together and get on
the plane.”
“Here
comes your mom and your brother now.” said Uncle Peter.
“Do
we have everyone? Yes? Let’s go!” said Mom.
“Where
did Mickey and the pig come from? asked Nick.
“We
kinda picked them up along the way. “ said Sarah, starting to giggle again.
“When
does our plane take off?” asked Dad looking at his watch. “Because it’s 3:13
now.”
“Oh!
Our plane takes off at 3:40. We need to put a move on it!” Mom said. She
startled hustling everyone toward the gate.
“This
was a great vacation.” said Libby as they started to walk.
“Yeah!
We even got bonus souvenirs!” said Sarah, holding up the Mickey Mouse.
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