Hi! Im new in the fanfiction arena so please read and review! I would highly appreciate constructive criticisms. ^ v ^

Oliver sat in the waiting area, looking at the ticket tucked in between the pages of his passport.

He didn't like to go to the place but he didn't have much of a choice…at least that was what he believed.

A woman's voice echoed in the airport mentioning the flight number Oliver had on his ticket.

He sighed and stood up. He looked around and made his way to the boarding area.

It was only a matter of time before they realized that he was missing.

He kept on walking, not minding the women noticing him and giving him flirtatious smirks. He was used to them anyway.

He slightly pulled the grey newsboy cap covering his head to cover his forehead and went in line to board the plane.

"Welcome, sir. Ticket please," a woman in uniform asked sweetly once he reached the door.

He handed her the ticket, ignoring what she looked like. Another woman escorted him to a seat.

"Do you need anything else, sir?"

"No," he said, eyeing the window beside him. He then heard the woman mumble more – perhaps something like 'call me if you need anything'. He didn't care. He didn't ride the airplane to talk to them.

It felt different.

He had been riding planes all his life but this particular ride seemed different for him – lonesome.

He sighed again.

His guardian would be very upset with him.

This was his first time to fly on his own, and he hasn't crossed the age of seventeen.

He also wasn't with him.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

It didn't take long before the plane took off. He was lucky there were barely anyone in the business class. He had the seats beside him to himself. He ignored everyone else in the flight as he forced himself to sleep.

A high pitched ringing sound echoed inside the small room.

Mai jolted in shock from her sleep – immediately sitting up and turning the alarm off on her small clock.

She yawned and scratched her eyes. She then stood up and stretched her arms up.

It was a weekend but there she was, folding her futon at five in the morning. She kept it in her cabinet before pulling the small wooden table near the wall to replace the futon on the floor.

She yawned again and ran to her bathroom which was just less than ten steps from the spot in the room where she slept in.

She took a quick shower and walked to her kitchen, about six steps from the bathroom. She began to prepare her morning tea and noodles.

A lot of people she knew didn't like how she sipped tea with a steaming cup of instant ramen but she didn't care. She liked filling her stomach that way.

She consumed her breakfast while watching the morning news in her old 5" TV ignoring the poor picture quality of the screen. It was how her day always began – eating and watching the news in her bedroom-slash-living room.

After brushing her teeth and making sure that she looked presentable enough for the outside world, she walked to her door – which was five steps from her living room – and began to put her worn sandals on.

She then took a deep breath taking her shabby yellow body bag from one of the wooden hooks on her door, and wore on a smile as she walked out the door and locked it behind her.

"Good morning, Mai-chan!" a boy called as he rode his bicycle in front of her small lawn.

"Good morning, Shiro-kun!"

"They're on the main street now waiting for you."

"Oh, thank you! See you later," she said prancing out to the street and waving a hand at him.

Shiro waved back at her.

Mai ran throughout the alley, greeting everyone she passed by, and took a turn to reach the main street where a group of people stood around a van.

"Mai-chan!" greeted a young woman carrying a fully stuffed shoulder bag in her arms.

"Emi!" Mai greeted back. "Sorry I'm late."

Emi shook her head. "You're just in time." She then turned to the others loading the van and hugging each other. "Everyone, Mai-chan's here!"

"Mai-chan!"

"Good morning! I was informed you needed help with your things?"

"Yes," a middle aged man said, scratching his head in embarrassment. "We can't go with Yui here to the airport so we figured she'll need help in carrying her luggage. Is it really okay if you help us? It's pretty heavy."

"No problem," Mai said cheerily flaunting her slightly plump arms as if trying to show a muscle bump. "I don't work in the market for nothing, you know."

Everyone chuckled. "Alright then," the man said. "Thank you so much Mai-chan."

"Mai!" called a girl in the same age as Mai as she pranced out of the house.

"Yui!"

"Hey, sorry you have to help me with these," she said shyly.

Mai chuckled. "I would love to take you to the airport."

Yui smiled warmly at Mai. She threw herself at her and squeezed her tight. "I'll really miss you! I'll write to you, okay?"

Mai laughed. "And I'll write to you back," she said hugging the girl back. "So you'll be riding the plane alone? They really allow that?"

Yui leaned away. "My aunt will meet me in the airport in America," she said. "I'm a student after all so they allowed me to go on my own from here. And you have to admit that I don't look much like a sixteen-year old like you."

It was true. Yui was taller than Mai by two inches and her physique looked more built. Perhaps it was because of her half-American decent evident in her blond hair.

Mai smiled. "I see. So what's the time of your flight again?"

"Let's get going," said another man who ran to the driver seat. "We just have thirty minutes to get there."

Mai, Yui, and Emi immediately ran inside the van with the Yui's luggage and waved good bye to the others.

Mai watched the sceneries pass by the window beside her with excitement on her face.

It was her first time to go to the airport. Though her parents met abroad, ever since she was born they never travelled abroad anymore.

"You'll love the airport, Mai," Yui told her while Emi, her cousin spoke with the driver about the trip.

Mai looked at her with bright eyes.

"They have this huge lobby where people stay and wait. The ceiling is huge and full of lights! It's like a mall but it doesn't have much of those boutiques and restaurants. Those stores can still be found in another part of the airport."

Mai imagined how it would look like.

She saw herself in a stylish coat and boots walking into the airport with her luggage in tow. Airport personnel would greet her and lead her to the lobby. In her hand was a passport and a ticket.

Her flight will be announced in the lobby. And with that she would proceed to the boarding area.

"Mai," Emi's voice called beside her.

Mai flushed and looked at Emi. "Y-Yes?"

Emi chuckled. "I said let's sit down," she said. "Yui's having her passport stamped and the line's a little long so it's better if we sit down to wait for her."

Mai nodded shyly and sat down on one of the chairs in the lobby. She sighed, looking around at the airport lobby. It was in deed huge and there were so many people of different race and colour walking to and fro with their bags and luggage in tow.

She looked down at the heavy luggage she had her hand on. It had Yui's name on it – printed in huge English letters.

"That's so Yui doesn't lose her luggage," Emi said as she smiled at her.

"…Oh…"

"You see, when you ride an airplane, your luggage is taken to a cargo space in the plane. The only things you can take with you in your seat are your hand-carry bags like this one," Emi said showing her Yui's fully-stuffed shoulder bag.

"So do you also get your bag from the cargo area?"

"No. The airport people take all the luggage from the cargo area of the plane to an x-ray for inspection. It will be put on this long slide that moves each luggage through the machine and into a big loop where passengers can grab their luggage once they see it there," Emi explained. "A lot of times, people mistake other people's luggage as their own because they look alike so to save Yui the trouble of losing her luggage to someone, we put her name on the luggage – even in the other baggage she has."

Mai nodded. She then looked at the luggage again. "Yui has a lot of things in her luggage."

Emi chuckled. "You know how she is."

Mai laughed. "Yeah, she takes so many extra things with her. I'm surprised her luggage doesn't look too stuffed."

"It's all in the packing," Emi said winking an eye at Mai. "If you want, I'll help you pack your things to when you go to Europe!"

"Sure! If it happens at all…" she said sadly turning away.

Emi patted Mai's shoulder with an assuring smile. "It will happen Mai-chan," she said. "You've been a very good person. I know your kindness and hard work will pay off in the near future. And when it does, I'll even give you my spare travel luggage, okay?"

Mai cheerily smiled back at Emi. "Thanks, Emi."

"Hey! Come on, I'm done," Yui said while running toward them.

"Don't run! You might end up hurting your self!" Emi said.