BWI Airport, Portalocity Lounge

[sciclone]

So ... this was the East coast, huh?

Cosima wasn't sure what she had expected to see, and the bland nothing of an airport lounge wasn't giving her much of an impression of her new home yet. She felt a sudden twist of worry mixed with homesickness. Maybe she shouldn't have obeyed the impulsiveness that had led her to transfer to some tiny boarding school thousands of miles from home. Not that San Francisco was doing anything great for her lately, but at least she knew people there.

If she looked at it logically, she knew not to let her nerves wreck the experience. School would be fine, and if it wasn't, she could go home at the end of the summer -- or even sooner if she wanted. But logic wasn't the easiest thing to have when you were 16 and alone in a strange airport.

She lounged in a hard airport chair, earbuds in, and poked at her phone until she found a new science podcast to listen to. It was comforting.

Comments

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[omgnochecksyet]

Most of Eric's stuff had been shipped ahead and would be waiting for him when he arrived at the school... camp... whatever it was, exactly, he still wasn't entirely sure, but Coach thought the change of scenery would be good for him. The reason he had had it shipped ahead was so that he could use his baggage allowance for the plane to bring something very important: namely, a couple dozen strawberry rhubarb tarts to share with his fellow new arrivals.

He peered around the waiting room, spotting the girl with earbuds. His sunny expression faltered a little as he considered what to do. Part of him wanted to go over and introduce himself, the other part figured that earbuds usually meant someone didn't feel like being interrupted. So he settled for sitting in a chair across from hers, offering a little wave if she happened to glance up.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[sciclone]

It took a minute -- Stuff to Blow Your Mind was, well, blowing her mind -- but evetually the podcast hit a dull part and Cosima glanced up to catch Eric's eye.

"Hey," she said, waving slightly at him in return. "Headed to Fandom too?"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[omgnochecksyet]

"You bet!" Eric chirped. "Tart?" he offered, opening his carryon to reveal Tupperware full of, well. Tarts.

"Oh, how rude of me, my mother raised me better than to offer baked goods before an introduction. Eric Bittle."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[sciclone]

"My mother told me that if you show up with food, all is forgiven," Cosima joked in return, and offered her hand if he wanted to shake it. "Cosima Niehaus. What's in the tarts?"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[omgnochecksyet]

"She's not wrong," Eric admitted, shaking the offered hand. "They're strawberry rhubarb. I baked them this morning before I left." Just don't ask how early he had woken up in order to do that...

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[sciclone]

"You are hardcore dedicated to your baking," Cosima murmured, as she reached for a tart. "I'm coming from San Francisco. I just tried to sleep on the plane. Probably jet lag's gonna kill me later."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[omgnochecksyet]

"I was a little too nervous to do much sleeping," Eric admitted. "At least they give us the weekend to get settled and hopefully work off any jet lag?"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[sciclone]

"That's the plan," Cosima agreed. "Plus there's this whole, like, jet lag diet I tried that's supposed to make it easier to switch time zones. Which I'm now ruining with the tart, but it's worth it."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[boneyard_girl]

Ada smelled food. Ada was gonna zero-in on the kid with the food.

"You only pack cookies, no clothes? I mean, I'm pretty sure it's not a nudist school," Ada said, plunking down next to him. "Or if it is, that's news to me, and oh wow Uncle Chester will ground me for a lifetime."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[omgnochecksyet]

"What?" Eric said, cheeks turning a bit pink at the mention of nudity. "Gosh, no, I had all of that shipped ahead. Wanted to make sure I had room enough for these. And they're tarts, actually. You're welcome to take one!" Or two or three. He wasn't going to judge.

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[boneyard_girl]

Two, actually, one for each hand, and Ada saluted him with a tart. "Cheers, tart-boy," she said. "So you're headed to this school too?"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[omgnochecksyet]

"Sure am!" he beamed at her. "And you can call me Eric. It's a little shorter than Tart Boy,"

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[boneyard_girl]

"Oh, but 'Tart Boy' has sort of a ring to it, more memorable," she mused, grinning. "But you can call me Ada."

Re: Wait for the Shuttle

[omgnochecksyet]

"But it's really not very accurate at all, I do so much more than tarts," Eric informed her. "I wonder if there are student kitchens... I've got a new pecan pie recipe that I've been dying to try out."