CHAPTER 4

Meeting Medusa.

Three days and a very uncomfortable operation later, I found myself at the airport. I didn't want to say it was easy because it wasn't. My parents were still insecure about the idea of me moving out of our country to live with my older brother, but that was something they would have to deal, just as me. I was not okay during our packing time. I cried a lot, but mostly because I would miss the family all together on Monday nights watching movies. Mostly because Vince wrote me a poem. Mostly because this was home.

Dad was carrying my baggage while mom talked to Rob. She was giving him a run-through of all my weird habits and things I was allergic or just thing I didn't like. As if he didn't know this stuff. Rob was like a second father. A very chill father, but nonetheless. He took care of me in his own way, and I was grateful for it.

"Mom." Rob groaned and massaged his temples. "I know this stuff, already. It's the basic stuff about Maya."

"But what if-" Mom tries but Rob didn't let her go much further.

"There is no what if, mom. This is Maya we are talking about. I know everything I need and don't need to know about that little girl."

"Not so little." I interrupted. "Seventeen already."

"Shut up, May." My brother chuckles and soon we are of on a search for the check in.

After getting rid of our bags, it was time. I was about to let it go. This was the first hasty decision I had ever made, and I couldn't be more grateful for that moment I decided to open my mouth and let it out. I had three days to overthink the decision, and I would still want to go.

We heard the last call for the plane and hurriedly said our goodbyes. Mom was crying, being the emotive person she is, and dad was grinning sadly. I think he was happy for me, but sad at the same time.

Sometimes, during these three days that passed by, I kept thinking that I'd let them down. Mom and Dad. During the nights I couldn't let but think that I was destroying their biggest wish. The wish to have a united family. They had the whole thing with Rob. They saw him finish High School, they drove him all the way to College. And I was ruining this for them. But for the first time I wanted to be selfish and let go. Let me go.

"I am so glad we're doing this together, Maya." Rob whispered as we waited in the line to get into the plane. "I was actually afraid."

"You were?" I asked surprised. Rob was never afraid of anything.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "This is a big step for me. For the research I've been doing since College."

"And I am glad that I'll be there by your side." I said winking at him.

This was our first serious talk about this. Thing was, since the operation my cheeks were huge. Purple sore, and huge. I looked like a chipmunk. And that amused my brother to no ends. The jokes about them kept coming, and I guess he was too entertained to stop and have the real talk with me. But I didn't care. I knew we would talk about it, sometime.

As we walked into the plane, the jokes kept going. He was out of line, really. Tickling me just because I couldn't really laugh. Blame the stitches. So as we walked through the many rows of comfy seats, Rob managed to find that one spot. The one that makes you jump and do a freaky move as if you're break dancing.

I managed to avoid hitting someone with my elbows as I moved around the full hall doing something like the chicken dance, but my landing wasn't so smooth. Somewhere near row twenty I fell into someone's lap.

"Oh my God!" I heard Rob exclaim. "Maya, are you okay?"

As I tried to get back on my feet I heard another chuckle. A lighter one. "You okay, love?"

I shut my eyes. This couldn't be happening. "Yeah. I am peachy."

He laughed and I Rob pulled me out of the boy's lap. "Sorry." I said.

"It's okay." His blue eyes looked at the bruise on my cheek. "Quite the punch you took there, huh?"

"What?" I asked dumbly. Before I could give him a real answer, an old man started cussing behind me and soon we got on the move again. I was on the end of the plane, thankful to be away from that blue eyed boy. I could die from the embarrassment.

"That boy was looking at you." Rob said with a frown.

"That's such a Mom thing to say." I murmured.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. "I was just stating the truth."

"Yeah." I deadpanned. "Because I look really desirable with chipmunk cheeks and sweats."

"Don't you sass me, young lady." He ordered and crossed his arms. That made me laugh. He was acting like our mother.

The banter kept going on between me and my brother, that we didn't notice the flight attendant waiting patiently by our side. And we probably wouldn't have noticed her at all if she hadn't gotten a little exalted. 
"Excuse me!" She shouted in my ear. Damn, that woman was loud.

"Yeah?" I asked a little bit scared.

"There has been some complaints about you two." She said and I looked to the old lady by our side. Guilty was plastered on her face and if looks could kill, she would've been severely injured but not dead, because I am a good person.

"Sorry?" I tried.

"Yeah, not good enough." The flight attendant said. "You," She pointed her crooked finger at me. "Come with me."

I was struck by that woman. Scared even. She looked like an evil witch, with that red lipstick and horribly over-blonde hair. Her face twitched with anger and I got up quickly. I walked with her until she stop in front of a row. A row somewhere near twenty. Where a blue eyed boy looked at me curiously.

"Oh no." I murmured. I could already feel the redness talking over my swollen face.

"Well, hello there."

Took a while for me to gain courage to sit beside him, but when I did I couldn't even look at the boy by my side. I had no shame in accidentally falling in him. I had little shame in my bruised cheeks. But I had a lot of shame in the fact that that boy was laughing at me.

"Come on." He said sweetly. "You can look at me, I am not Medusa."

With that I removed my hands from my face and raised an eyebrow at him. "Might as well be with those tussled curls of yours."

"And she speaks!" He cheered. "And my hair is fantastic, thank you very much."

I laughed and fully looked at him. His blonde curls were everywhere and those blue eyes kept fixated at me. He had a nice smile, I guess. I wouldn't call him the most handsome boy in the plane, but he surely had his charm.

"Why, you're welcome!" I said laughing.

"So, you never got the chance to tell me how'd you get that punch." He said turning slightly to me.

"That's because I didn't get punched." I said smiling. "I just removed my wisdom teeth."

"Ouch." He playfully flinch. "Don't have those."

"Lucky lad." I murmured.

The conversation ended there. At least for me. The boy kept talking about how Sausalito is an amazing place with all those beaches and houses by the sea. He told me about a place called Fred's Coffee Shop and how he thought I could use the sun to get a tan while I walk on the Sausalito Boardwalk.

It was quite comforting knowing that stuff. Even though the boy didn't know, he was soothing my nerves to the point where I fell asleep. And thanks to him, I had only happy dreams.

<----->

I didn't have the habit to wake up in a stranger's shoulder drooling on his sweatshirt. But I guess exceptions could be made, right? Poor guy, first I fell on his lap, and now I drooled on his sweatshirt.

"Good morning, chipmunk." He said with his mouth full of nasty airplane food.

"G'morning Medusa." I answered and he chuckled.

In my foggy mind, all I could think was how tired of calling him 'he' in my mind I was. I wonder what's his name?

"Max." He said clearly holding in a laugh. "My name is Max."

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" I flinched and lay again in his shoulders, but get right up because is wet. "Ew."

"And what is your name, dear drooler?"

"Maya."

"Unusual." He said and I glared at him. "Hey, very beautiful name, but unusual."

"Fair."

I looked at Max and couldn't help but think about Rob. He had the same playful glint in his eyes.

"Permission to land granted. We'll be landing in ten minutes, thank you for flying with us." The mechanic voice of the pilot announced. That made me antsy. My leg was up and down in the speed of light; my finger were demented and kept wrestling with each other, and not god enough to have a swollen face, I would also have bitten and bloody lips. Charming, huh? The definition of sex appeal.

"Dudette, relax." Max said chuckling. Does he ever stop laughing? "The landing is going to be smooth."

Just as he said that the wheels touched the ground and thank God I had my seatbelt on, otherwise I would be glued to the roof. The plane shook and tumbled a bit, but then every thing went back to normal again. I looked at the boy gulping nervously by my side and laughed.

"Yeah, smooth just like you, buddy." I laughed until my cheeks hurt. Not that that was hard at the moment, but you got it.

After that every thing was a rush; Rob running after our bags, the hard search for a cab big enough to fit all of out things and the idiotic of my brother that just had forgotten our address.

"It's near a dock, I think." Rob said scratching his head.

"There are many docks around here, boy." The cabbie said angrily. "The taximeter is running, so you two are the only one losing-"

"Just wait a second, please." I asked.

"Can you just drive around until I remember? Give us a tour of some sort?" Rob asked and I knew that moment he was, sometimes, dumb.

"Do I look like a fuckin-"

"22 Yellow Ferry Dock!" I shouted jumping on my seat. "That's the address!"

"How'd you remembered?" My brother whispered as we finally started moving.

"I asked mom." I said showing the text message.

This was it. As we left San Fransisco Airport, all I could think was, that's it. Time didn't went by fast, it was actually pretty slow around the airport, but about an hour later we were right in front of out house. Now let me get this straight so there are no confusion in the future.

I did like the house. It had a good price and room for both me and my brother. It was beautiful and comfortable; is was in a good neighborhood and we had a nice view. But our house was a boat. My house floated on water.

I should've guessed, really. The address does have "dock" in it. But come on... who lives on a boat?

Well, I live on a boat.

What the hell?!