Calm down, Alex, you’ve come so far. It would be shameful to breakdown now. All you have to do now is to walk across the airport, board the plane, and you’ll be on your way back to Australia where your girlfriend is waiting for you.

But on the contrary, Alex did not calm down. Just the thought of Maria made his heart beat a million times a minute. Alex was not only excited and anxious to see Maria, but was also nervous. His trip to California with his family had lasted 2 months. Although the holiday experience was new and enjoyable, he could not wait to board the plane and be reunited with his girlfriend.

He pulled his iPhone from his pocket and scrolled through his vast collection of photographs that he had taken with Maria. He found a photo in which she was smiling as she walked her dog. Happiness filled him as he looked at her smiling face. Yep, she’s the one for me, he thought.

A voice from behind him interrupted his thoughts. “Um, excuse, me. Are these yours?” 

Alex turned around and saw a boy around his age, give or take a year. He was holding a set of keys. Alex tapped his right pocket, then his left pocket and realized his keys were indeed gone. He examined the keys and found what he was looking for: A photo keyring which enclosed a picture of himself and Maria.

“Yeah, thanks, they’re mine. Sorry you had to go through all the trouble in finding me,” apologized sheepishly. 

“Trouble? Oh, it wasn’t an inconvenience to me! After all, it looks like we’re on the same flight,” the boy replied. “Anyway, my name’s Peter, you can call me Pete.”

Alex shook his hand and introduced himself, ” I’m Alex. Nice ta meetcha”.

The two acquaintances walked over to some vacant seats and sat down. An awkward silence fell over them. Uncomfortable with the silence, Peter tried to start a conversation.

“So…you from Australia?”

“Yeah”

The ‘conversation’ seemed more like an interview with a robot. Every time Peter asked a question, Alex answered with a single word response and drifted back into La La Land.

“I live here, in California, but I’m visiting some relatives and family friends who moved to Australia. So you got anyone you looking forward to seeing?”