Page 3
823 Words
The drive to the airport felt nothing like the beginning of an adventure.
Elena sat in the back seat beside her mother, her hands folded tightly over her phone.
Outside the window, Lyon moved past in familiar pieces.
The bakery on the corner.
The old stone buildings.
The café where she and her mother sometimes stopped on Sunday mornings.
The streets she had walked through countless times without ever wondering whether she would miss them.
Now every familiar place seemed to demand one last look.
Her phone remained silent.
No new message from Westbridge.
No explanation.
Nothing.
Her mother glanced at her.
"You haven't said anything for ten minutes."
"I'm thinking."
"About the university?"
"About everything."
Her mother reached across and squeezed her hand.
"You know you don't have to be brave every second."
Elena looked at her.
"I know."
"You can be scared."
"I'm not scared."
Her mother smiled gently.
"You're a terrible liar."
Elena looked back through the window.
Maybe she was scared.
Not of America.
Not even of the university.
She was scared of arriving somewhere thousands of kilometers from home and discovering that she had made a mistake.
She had always been the responsible one.
The first child.
The one who thought before speaking.
The one who planned.
She didn't make decisions without considering every possible consequence.
And yet she had chosen to cross an ocean for a university she had never seen.
Her father suddenly spoke from the driver's seat.
"We're almost there."
Elena looked ahead.
The airport appeared beyond the road.
Her stomach tightened.
She opened her phone again.
Still nothing.
Then, just before her father turned toward the terminal, her phone vibrated.
A new email.
Westbridge University — International Student Admissions.
Her heart stopped for half a second.
She opened it.
Her eyes moved across the screen.
Then she read the first sentence again.
And again.
Her mother noticed her expression.
"What does it say?"
Elena didn't answer immediately.
She slowly lowered the phone.
"They confirmed my admission."
Her father glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
"What?"
"They said there was an administrative error."
Her mother exhaled.
"Thank God."
Elena looked at the email again.
There was only one strange sentence near the bottom.
Please report to the International Student Office immediately upon arrival.
She frowned.
"Why?"
Her father looked at her in the mirror.
"Maybe that's where they'll explain everything."
Elena nodded.
She locked her phone.
The airport entrance came into view.
And suddenly, after all the uncertainty, there was no turning back.
America was waiting.
She just didn't know what it would ask of her when she arrived.
The airport was louder than Elena expected.
People moved in every direction, dragging suitcases behind them, checking phones, embracing relatives, rushing toward departure boards.
For everyone else, it seemed ordinary.
For Elena, it felt like the entrance to another life.
Her father helped her unload the suitcase.
Her mother immediately began checking everything again.
"Passport?"
Elena held it up.
"Here."
"Phone?"
"Here."
"Wallet?"
"Here."
"Documents?"
Elena lifted the folder.
"Here."
Her mother nodded, satisfied.
Her father looked at the departure screen.
"Your flight is on time."
Elena followed his gaze.
LYON → CHARLOTTE
She stared at the words.
Charlotte.
North Carolina.
Westbridge University.
For months, they had been names on screens and pieces of information in an acceptance package.
Now they were real.
Her father placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You'll call us when you land."
"I will."
"And when you get to the university."
"I will."
"And when you meet your roommate."
Elena smiled.
"Papa, I understand."
"I'm your father. I'm allowed to worry."
Her mother pulled Elena into a hug.
This one lasted longer.
"Take care of yourself."
"I will."
"Eat properly."
"Maman."
"I'm serious."
"I know."
"Don't spend all your time studying."
Elena laughed softly.
"I probably will."
"I know."
Her mother pulled back and touched Elena's cheek.
"Make friends."
Elena hesitated.
"I'll try."
That answer made her mother laugh.
"That's the problem with you."
"What?"
"You always say you'll try as if friendship is an examination."
Elena smiled.
Maybe she was right.
She had never been good at simply walking into a room and talking to strangers.
But perhaps America would change that.
Perhaps she would change.
A boarding announcement echoed through the terminal.
Elena's flight.
Her father hugged her.
Her brothers joined almost immediately, turning the farewell into an awkward pile of arms and complaints.
Her youngest sister cried.
That was the part Elena had been trying not to think about.
She hugged her tightly.
"I'll be back before you know it."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Eventually, Elena pulled away.
She looked at her family one last time.
Then she picked up her carry-on.
The distance between them was only a few steps.
But when Elena turned toward the departure gate, it suddenly felt like an entire ocean.
She walked forward anyway.
And this time, she didn't look back.
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