Kissed By Moonlight Read Online Free PDF Page B

ground.
    Then we climbed quickly, the pressure in my ears building until I finally closed my mouth, pinched my nose shut, and popped them myself.
    Los Angeles was a dizzying distance below us. The buildings were hazy with smog, the freeways looping and rising like grey snakes in the grass, the cars and trucks on them like individual glittering scales.
    There was no going back now. I had a one-way ticket.
    My stomach soured as I watched California slide away beneath me.
    "See? It's actually fun, if you think about it," the guy beside me said, a big smile practically splitting his face in half, "Everyone always worries so much. And for what? A few bumps. Nothing, really."
    "Yeah," I said.
    It felt like I was never going to see home again, like I was never going to see mom again. I tried to bring up that memory of her face, of the feeling of her arms as she hugged me.
     
    Chapter 7
     
    The landing was just as bad as takeoff. The plane jolted, the wheels screeching as they touched the pavement.
    My legs were shaky as I made my way into the airport, my backpack slung over one shoulder. I tried to get a look out the window for my first view of the other side of the continent from ground level. But it was pretty much all airport. Hangars, planes jockeying for position, baggage cars weaving their long tails around.
    Noises of all sorts floated through the air. Announcements about cancellations and delays played, usually followed by a chorus of grumping and complaining. There were so many conversations going on that it sounded like I stood in the middle of a huge beehive.
    It did help drown out some of my own thoughts, at least. I weaved my way around frantic groups of people trying to make their connection, stopped short as a baggage train came through. I narrowly avoided having my feet ran over by an old lady racing around on her little scooter.
    Somehow, I found my way over to pick my luggage up off the revolving belt. It was a great relief to find both suitcases still there.
    I don't know what I would have done if the airline lost it.
    I decided I did not like airports, or airplanes. They were so full of purpose and potential. You went there because you had somewhere to be, or someone to meet. It just made me think of school, which made me think of my mother, which made me think of what I was going to do with myself.
    School, too, was something like an airport. You went there to get somewhere else. Where? The rest of your life, I suppose.
    There seemed to be an influx of flights at the moment. All the people were like locusts; you couldn't go anywhere without finding them everywhere. I got elbowed so hard moving down a hall that the sharpness of the pain took my breath away.
    To be fair, you had to use your elbows and knees if you wanted to get anywhere.
    From there, I found my way over to the shuttles.
    We'd crossed at least two time zones in the plane, I knew. It felt to me like it should only be lunchtime, but the big digital clock in the sign outside said it was nearly four in the afternoon.
    The outside air was warm, just like back in California. Except here it was also humid. An even, colorless light came down through the grey clouds swirling high in the sky.
    It was no wonder everyone wanted to go to California. It seemed all the color was there.
    The driver stood outside the large white van marked " Hazelglen Service" on the side. He gave me a smile and a nod when I looked at him. I handed him my ticket.
    The van looked a lot like the one that took mom away.
    "I'll help you with those!" the driver said. He wore a navy blue uniform and a had a neatly-trimmed grey mustache.
    Before I could say anything, he had my bags all stowed. I wanted to hang onto my backpack. It had all the correspondence from Redeemer, the map of the campus, the schedule for my first day. All I needed was to lose that stuff.
    We waited about fifteen more minutes. Since he stood outside, I figured that's what I should do, too. In that time, I found