Blue

-PART TWO - One

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

– C.S. Lewis  

***

When Leslie got off the plane on the main airport in Paris, she felt a sudden urge to kiss the ground and hug everyone around for the simple fact that that horrible flight was over. Now, it wasn't that she was afraid of flying, even though she wasn't exactly a fan of it either, but eleven hours in the same seat, without the possibility of moving except for the walk to the bathroom was an experience she wasn't looking forward to repeat. Not to mention the loud and constant snores of the old lady in front of her, or the cries of the baby a couple of seats behind who seemed to start every 5 minutes despite his mother's efforts to put him to sleep. Even Leslie could sing an entire gamma of sleeping songs after hearing that poor woman struggle for so long to quiet her child. But her favorite part of the flight had been, by far, when the guy on her left had spilt his entire caserol of pasta on her trousers. His hot, tomato-sauced pasta. On her shining white trousers. Useless to say what a loud, so-no-lady-like curse escaped her lips, waking up the baby who had been miraculously sleeping for the previous hour and directing half of the plane's hatred towards her.

Remembering that made her shiver and, walking by a mirror, she looked at herself. She immediately wished she hadn't, as the reflection that was staring back was so disastrous she felt like crying. Her tiredness was so obvious and her hair was such a mess she didn't even feel like living. But the masterpiece of this entire image were her very clothes. Sighing, she tied her shirt around her waist in an attempt of hiding her now ugly trousers that looked like having been struck by a violent flood of period blood, and hurried to get her luggage. The sooner she could lay hands on it, the sooner she could change.

"Heavens must hate me." whispered Leslie through gritted teeth an hour later, while she was waiting in line at the help point. Her luggage hadn't been found and she tried to explain that to a lady that worked at the airport, but she kept repeating the same words in French and as she, Leslie Amalia Cass, had  had the wonderful idea of skipping or sleeping through all her French classes in high-school, she couldn't understand anything. When, all of a sudden, the Game of Thrones theme song started, she began to dig in her backpack for her phone and when Ilaria's name appeared on the screen she almost cried with joy.

" Hi!"

"Where on Earth are you? The party starts in 2 hours and you haven't even arrived here!"

" Yeah, I've actually just decided to screw this STUPID country of croissant eaters and go to Guatemala for Halloween." replied Leslie rolling her eyes and pretending not to notice the few disapproving looks she received from an obvious and extremely chic Parisian woman. " I had a horrible flight. And now they can't even find my stupid suitcase ... and they keep talking in French and... oh, Ilaria, come and save me!"

" I don't know what shocks me more: French people talking in French or the fact that they have lost your enormous and hideous, if I may add, Pokemon suitcase!"

Leslie knew that despite her friend's serious voice, she must have been dying of laughter inside.

" If wasn't enormous ... I could barely find place for my snickers inside of it..."

" Maybe because you have... what? 10 pairs?"

Leslie rolled her eyes and left a "Just move your ass here." before closing the phone.

When Ilaria reached the airport, she saw her friend sitting on the floor, looking like she desperately needed someone to calm her down, the aggressiveness in her eyes being terribly obvious.

" Hey, sweetie. I'm here now! You can swipe off that murderous look you have there!"

Leslie took a deep breath and looked at her.

" How could I not have a murderous look? Btw, do you think they still hire actors for Alladin? I don't think I could be Jasmine, but I would do a great carpet, TAKING IN CONSIDERATION THE WAY EVERYONE WALKS ALL OVER ME AROUND HERE!" she yelled the last part of the phrase and Ilaria felt an emergency intervention was very much needed, so she lifted her friend from the ground and urged her to accompany her to the information point.

" You scare me sometimes."

" Just sometimes? I'm disappointed." replied Leslie, waiting again in line, this time with the hope that her best friend might actually get some information about her suitcase. 

An hour and half a sandwich later, Leslie was watching cooly the way her best friend was struggling to come to terms with the young woman at the information point, on whose badge was written 'Marie-Lou'.

" Did you have something of value inside it?" translated Ilaria what Marie-Lou has asked.

" Besides my gorgeous zombie costume?"

" Leslie, I'm serious. Did you have money, gold, jewels inside it?"

" Yeah,you know me. Never live the house without my 24 karates rock of gold...."

Ilaria ignored her and turned to face the French lady again, assuring her that there was nothing of value lost. A few more minutes of French dialog, some glares from Leslie and Ilaria was done talking.

" I've got 2 pieces of news for you. Which one do you want first?"

"Which one do you think I need more to hear?"

" Okay, I'll just start with the good one:  They've found your luggage."

Leslie gave the ceiling a praising look and mimed with her lips a "Thanks God" in a dramatic way, then focused on Ilaria again.

" And the bad one?"

" It's in Peru."