Forsaken Love

Chapter 16

“This is the final boarding call for passengers booked on flight 59A to London. Please proceed to gate 7 immediately. The final checks are finalized and the doors will close in approximately 5 minutes,” the intercom announced. “I repeat, this is the final boarding call for flight 59A to London. Thank you.”

Jim dashed through the airport, dragging part of his luggage behind him, another part over his shoulders. The weight of the luggage often nearly caused him to lose balance, but his determination to arrive on time always saved him. Jim saw the attendants begin pushing the door closed when he arrived. “Wait!” he yelled after them. He showed them his ticket, and after a quick glance they permitted him entry.  

Another attendant led him to his seat. “Make yourself comfortable. It will be a long flight.” 

Jim made note of his ETA beforehand, 6 AM. Thus he prioritized his sleep schedule to accommodate for the early arrival, having only just woken up hours before departure, giving him plenty of energy for the flight and hopefully for the entire first day in London. Jim flipped on a movie, relying on his well-rested status and his two-year experience of playing video games all night and day to keep him awake. He’d likely not visit a foreign country again for a while, if ever, and prepared to not waste any time, even for sleep if he could help it. Placing the headphones on his first, Jim drowned out every other sound in the plane, which surprisingly did not include as much as he expected, and focused entirely on his entertainment. Six hours later, the plane landed.

Jim exited the plane and stepped foot on foreign soil for the first time, alone. He had never even been on a plane before today. He intentionally chose London for one reason that immediately proved favorable: he shared their language, and could easily request assistance. But he knew what to do on his own first. Jim approached a conveyor belt and retrieved his bags, then followed the crowd of passengers past the gate. He walked a few more feet to allow better traffic out of the gate, then stood in place and scanned the airport in search of the help he desired. “Customer Service,” he read on a sign. 

“Excuse me,” Jim said as he walked up to the counter. “Could you tell me how to get to the Imperial Hotel from here?”

“Certainly,” a clerk answered. “Once you leave the airport, you’ll find a station to the Underground. The train will take you on the Picadilly Line. Get off at Russell Square Station and take a left. At the corner, take another left and you’ll find the hotel.”

 “Thank you,” Jim smiled and immediately followed the directions. It did not take him long to find the Underground Station, quickly purchasing a ticket. His station was at the end of the Picadilly Line, meaning that the train had only direction to go, giving Jim only one option to choose from. People had not yet crowded the train, allowing Jim to sit instead of stand. He would have stood had the need been there, but his fortune allowed him to grab a booklet out of his bag. The cover read “Contiki,” reminding Jim of the name of the tour group he now headed to meet, in the basement of the Imperial Hotel. That was the condition his parents set for him to travel abroad alone: if he did so with a tour. A short distance from Russell Square Station and much of the city’s central attractions, Jim had little difficulty locating it. He found the company’s name printed on a sign hanging next to the door.

Only a few people had arrived before Jim, so he found himself a seat on a couch in the back of the room while he waited for the rest of the group. Though he didn’t have to wait long.

They came in like a storm, one after the other. Approximately 50 people walked through the front doors in a range of less than 5 minutes. He would have ignored each and every one of them back home, but he recognized the unlikelihood that he’d enjoy the next three weeks if he didn’t attempt to interact with any of them. So, he introduced himself to a few people immediately after they hovered to his section of the room. 

“Jim.”

“Bella,” one slightly younger woman introduced herself as. “This is my sister, Natalie. We’re from Australia. You?”

“America.”

“An American?” Natalie’s voice cracked. “I don’t believe I’ve ever met an American on one of these trips before?” 

“You’ve done this before?” Jim asked. 

“With this company yes,” Bella answered. “Not here though. My sister and I have traveled through Asia with Contiki before.” 

“So then you can perhaps tell me what to expect?”

“Not really,” Natalie answered this time. “Every experience is different, you know? From person to person, place to place. Every tour manager brings his own style and unique flair to the trip, so you never go on the same trip twice, even if you sign up for the same. I can tell you that we enjoyed every moment with them. We regret nothing about the trip in Asia. That is the company’s motto after all: No Regrets.” 

“That is right,” a third person, an older gentleman, entered the room. “We strive on making your travels the best they can be.” The man approached the crowd and offered his hand. “I’m Kyle. I’ll be your Tour Manager for the duration of the trip.” He then raised his voice to address the whole room. “Your bus driver, Arnold, is waiting for you all outside. Grab your things and bring them to him.”

Jim grabbed his suitcases and pulled them to the large bus. Many of his fellow tourists could claim entire seats to themselves. Most still had to share despite its size. Jim among them.

“Mind if I sit here?” An Asian-Australian younger boy stood in the aisle next to him. Jim shook his head and the boy sat down. “I’m Kiernan.”

“Jim.”

The boy smiled innocently, the type of smile that reminded him of Evelyn back home. 

“What are you most looking forward to, Kiernan?” 

“Probably Austria. I hear Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I watched an interview once that discussed how Bill Murray had a movie tour in Berlin. He was supposed to wake up early the next morning for the tour, but he hopped on the train late the night before just to visit Prague for a couple hours. He went out of his way to sacrifice a good night’s worth of sleep just to visit the city.”

“Wow. That’s interesting. I’m looking forward to Italy, myself. I’m not much into the big buildings and bright lights that Paris has to offer, though I’m sure I’ll enjoy visiting the city just so I can say I’ve been there. I’m more interested in culture, and of all the places we are going, Italy seems the most cultural. I’m a fan of Ancient Rome and everything as well, so there’s that. Plus, I know the food will be delicious.” 

They both laugh.

“But I’m looking forward to all the destinations, really,” Jim continued. “It will be almost Christmas by the time this is all over, so I intend to shop for a gift in each country for one member of my family. I’ve also promised to buy my best friend a gift in France. I wouldn’t be here without her. I don’t know what I’m going to purchase yet, but I’m sure I’ll find out when we get there.”

“That’s a sweet plan,” Kieran commented. 

“Alright everyone!” Kyle spoke through the mic to address the bus. “We are going to try a game I like to play with all my tour groups, so please everyone find a partner and a seat next to them real quick.”

Usually Jim always picked the closest person. He didn’t have to move, and he didn’t care for these types of games anyway. But this trip was all about taking chances, trying new things. So this time, he stood up, and spotted a girl, Bailey, in the distance. She was one of the first to show an act of kindness toward him on this trip, so he thought she’d be a nice partner to have. Her being attractive was simply coincidence, Jim told himself. But then, this wasn’t the type of game he was thinking of.

“I want you all to write on the piece of paper I’m handing out a dare for your partner. A task that they have to complete before the trip’s end,” Kyle announced. 

Jim sighed. He had only known these people for a few days. How was he to know what kind of dare they would find humorous, and what kind they would find offensive? He lacked the social skills to judge the situation appropriately. He hesitated to write anything as he thought. Luckily, Bailey seemed to sense his predicament. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I think I understand. I’ll write something for you.” 

Jim looked up at her. “I think that defeats the purpose.”

“I’m sure this is just meant to be fun. Another way for us to enjoy and remember our trip. Now, I sense your discomfort. That is why I’ll pick my own, so you don’t feel embarrassed by choosing a lame task or anything and I will dare you to perform a task you have told me you were already planning.” She smiled. “Fair?”

Jim smiled back at her. He understood him so well. “Fair.” He leaned back in his seat as Bailey wrote the dares for them both. “So then what am I doing?” 

“You’re drinking shots of course!” Bailey chuckled.

Jim laughed lightly. “Of course.”

Kyle collected the sheets of paper, then announced everyone’s dares individually. Jim questioned Bailey while the announcements were made. “Exactly how many shots are we talking here?”

“Hm… at least 5.” 

“Over the course of the trip?”

“Oh no. In one night.”

“I guess I’m in for an interesting night then.”

She just smirked back at him. Jim never heard what the dare she picked for herself was.  

Though he remembered enjoying his talks with his tour group companions, most of the 

conversations themselves lacked important content, and Jim struggled to remember them as he sat on the bench in a Hawaiian park just outside the bar. He chose not to focus on that aspect of the trip anyway. All that he cared about in the moment was how fun he had on the trip, a trip that changed his life and helped him realize his future endeavors and career, a trip that helped him open himself up to strangers, a trip highly encouraged by Evelyn. She always seemed to know what he needed, what was best for him. As he looked at the paper bag laying on the ground below him, still lacking an honorary message, he considered how to express those feelings. How do you tell someone who knows you better than yourself what they mean to you? 

He remembered hoping his companions would become the type of people he could share his feelings and personal details with, not just interests or hobbies. People like Evelyn, because he feared that despite her promises, she might not always be there for him. He remembered thinking it could be interesting and beneficial to have a long distance friend; he could provide a room for them if they ever visited America and vice versa. Jim had hit it off with a number of his companions in Europe, and for a while he thought his hopes would come true. But his reflections on the trip always reminded him of the tragic events that found him in Europe on a mountaintop in Switzerland. He remembered that as much as he tried to befriend his travel companions, as much as he tried to befriend anyone in his life other than Evelyn, he always screwed things up.