Notes from a Spinning Planet--mexico

Chapter One The past few months have been seriously depressing. At first I thought it was the letdown of normal life after such an awesome summer traveling to exotic and exciting locales with my aunt. Then I blamed my mood on the weather, which has been dreary and gray and unusually chilly. Then I thought it was probably the fact that I've been stuck on the farm again, attending community college for fall semester, since I don't get to transfer to the University of Washington until January. Of course, it didn't help matters that Lydia, my friend from Papua New Guinea, had to delay coming here until winter semester as well. So I've just been biting the bullet and telling myself this is simply a temporary delay. I even think I should enjoy this. Who knows? It could be the last time I live at home with my parents. I actually thought they might appreciate having me around, but suddenly I'm thinking they might be glad to see me go. I mean, it seems like they sort of enjoyed my absence this past summer, once my mom got over her overprotective paranoia, and now I realize it'll be the first time in about twenty-four years they won't have kids living under their roof. And I suppose they could be ready for a little empty-nest syndrome about now. Consequently, when Aunt Sid called and asked if I could go to Mexico with her during winter break, I literally jumped and yelled,"Ole!"My mom was a little bummed that Sid booked our flights out of Seattle on the day after Christmas, but I am totally thrilled to get out of town. Dad and I leave for the airport before the sun's even up, making pretty good timeuntil we get close to the city, that is, and heavy shopper traffic is backed up into next Tuesday. I try not to freak, but I feel fairly certain I could miss my flight. Finally we're at Sea-Tac, and I beg him to drop me at the terminal, convincing him that I'll be just fine. I even hold up my cell phone as proof. "Look, as soon as I'm with Aunt Sid, I'll just call you, okay? That way you don't have to park, and hopefully I won't miss the plane." He seems relieved. "Sounds good, Maddie." Then he kisses me good-bye and tells me to be careful. I lug my stuff up to the ticket counter and quickly check in with the electronic ticket Sid e-mailed me last week. Simple as can be. Or so I think as I jog toward the security gates, getting my boarding pass and photo ID ready. And then it hits me. I look back toward the ticketing area and realize it's too late. If I'm going to make this flight, I better just keep going. I get through security without a hitch, although the woman behind me sets off all the alarms and ends up being searched. I grab my backpack and start running for the departure gate that's written on my ticket. When I get there, I'm out of breath, but there is Sid, standing by the counter and waving at me. "Hurry, Maddie," she yells, like I haven't already been running my legs off. "Sorry," I say breathlessly. "Traffic." "That's all you're bringing?" she asks as we hand the gate agent our boarding passes. "I mean, I told you to pack light, but that's incredibly light." I sheepishly smile as I sling my backpack over my shoulder. "I didn't even realize what I did until I was at the security check," I explain. "I was in such a hurry." "You checked your bag?" I nod as we go down the Jetway that leads to the plane. "I'm sorry, Sid.Carlson, Melody is the author of 'Notes from a Spinning Planet--mexico ', published 2007 under ISBN 9781400071463 and ISBN 1400071461.