Without breaking stride, I snap a quick photo for our group chat with the caption,Boarding now! I can hear the engines!Then I step onto the plane, grinning despite myself.
“Welcome aboard,” greets the flight attendant, and another gestures me down the correct aisle.
“Thank you,” I gush. By the time I’ve settled into my seat, the guitar case buckled in beside me, I have two new messages.
Mum:Safe flight! Remember to stay hydrated and stretch your legs to keep your circulation moving!
Ellenor:FYI, that was probably the APU you could hear, not the main engines. They don’t run during boarding
I tap a heart on Mum’s comment. Ellenor gets no such love from me. I send her an emoji rolling its eyes, then a message:
Lily-Anne:Been bingeing air crash investigation videos again?
Ellenor:No. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History
She’s such a Potterhead. But I know how to press her precious Slytherin buttons.
Lily-Anne:Spoken like a true Gryffindor
Ellenor:How dare you
A few seconds later, she sends a photo of her middle finger, emerald-green nail polish gleaming beneath what looks like the edge of a conference table.
Mum:Girls!
Lily-Anne:I see you’re stuck at work
Ellenor:Yeah. Sorry, I couldn’t get to the airport. Firm meetings suck balls
Mum:Please, be kind to each other
Mum:Ellenor! Watch your language! What would your boss say???!
We both love-heart her message.
Ellenor:So…got a window seat?
Lily-Anne:Yup. And I’m thinking of poor you as I sip my preflight champagne
Ellenor:Liar. We both know you’re in economy
I chuckle.
Ellenor:You should have listened to me and taken a broomstick. Flown in style!
Lily-Anne:All the way to England? I’d bloody freeze!
Ellenor:Weak. You could have been great, you know
Lily-Anne:Not Slytherin…Not Slytherin…
Ellenor:Ha. Your loss. Anyway…fly safe, mudblood
Lily-Anne:Rude!
She sends me a kissy emoji, and I send back a heart.
I’m about to put my phone away when I realise Brandon’s responded to my coffee order. Just a simple ‘will do’ that doesn’t require a response.
