As I walked up Buckingham Palace road I noticed my heart begin to race, my pace begin to slow and my fight or flight response system screaming at me to run.
Why had I decided to come halfway across the globe all alone? Why had I thought this was a good idea? I won’t know a single soul, and I’m going to miss everything I’ve ever known.
Every cell in my body was telling me to turn and bolt, but I had already made it through the doors of the Victoria Coach station. The whole building was cramped and dimly lit. The hallway had a bend to it, and it appeared to go on forever. Questions made only to myself, still doing cartwheels amongst my thoughts. And then, I laid eyes on him for the first time.
A man had appeared out of nowhere with a big smile stretching from ear to ear. His black suitcase rolling effortlessly behind him, and the ties of his green hoodie flapping against his chest due to his quick and pointed pace. To my surprise he stopped right in front of me, and within an arm’s length at that. His face was friendly, his blue eyes shone in contrast to his dirty blond hair. As it turns out, even after eighteen years of life, I still had no idea what to say when a stranger suddenly plants himself in front of you. Thankfully, I didn’t need to.
“Are you going to ….?” I could barely make out what he said over the sound of my own heart beat.
I was speechless, how did he know what school I was going to? Was there a neon sign floating above my head that I was unaware of? Being in the country that had brought my generation Harry Potter, I could not dismiss the possibility. Nevertheless, I had been thrown for far too long and you could literally feel the awkwardness settling in like a cloud of thick fog.
“Ummm… yes. How did you know?”
“You’re young and pulling a large suitcase behind you. You look to be staying a while. Your bag also has a Canadian flag on it.”
Right…
“Hey, come this way! I’ve already located a few more of our fellow students. I’m Dan, by the way.”
Sure enough, there stood a group of four girls, they appeared to be in deep conversation. I couldn’t help but notice that they were indeed all female. As we approached and their chatter became more distinct, I was able to identify at least three different accents. But my thoughts were interrupted by a deeper voice, I had almost forgotten Dan standing beside me.
“Do you think you could watch my bag? I’m going to go ask those two if they’re part of our group too.” He gestured towards two young guys who looked remarkably similar to one another, they have to be siblings, maybe even twins. “Yes, of course.” I burst out when I realized he was waiting for my answer.
Once again, I turned towards the group of girls. A hand was immediately extended towards me. It belonged to a girl with long red hair and cheeks sprinkled with small freckles. “I’m Jess.” She said in a thick Irish accent. “And this is Jenny, Lexi and Melissa.” She motioned to the other girls. “Jenny is from South Korea, Lexi is from Ontario and Melissa is from Wisconsin. And I’m from a small town near Waterford in Ireland.” “Where are you from?” “Beautiful British Columbia.” I replied. “Yaaaaassss. Canada represent.” Exclaimed Lexi. Lexi is probably about my height, with platinum blonde hair that swings just past her shoulders.
It became clear that Jess was the talkative one of the little foursome. It is very possible that they are all very jet lagged as well, I mean Jess didn’t have to travel as far as the others. I tried my hand with a humorous anecdote to try to relieve some of the new friend pressure. “So I assume you all met Dan.” I didn’t wait for any response to my rhetorical question. “I only met him five minutes ago and I’m already doing him favours. Anyone got a tampon? I definitely think we should sneak at least one into his bag.” Jess laughed, but Jenny looked absolutely horrified.
Unfortunately my evil plan was prematurely interrupted as Dan returned to the group, with two in tow. “Look, I found two more!” Dan exclaimed. As we went through introductions yet again, I realized that I was going to be doing this a lot in the next few days. It was divulged however, that Casey and Ryan were indeed twins, and you’ll never guess where they’re from. Straight from our neighbours in the South, the pair came from Washington. Apparently the friendly rivalry between our two countries follows us even across the ocean, as students bet to see which country is home to the greater number of pupils. Let the games begin.
By the time the two buses arrived, there were about fifty of us waiting in the station. An RA named Jackie came in to greet us and to usher us onto the busses, checking us off as we went. In the chaos of the next five minutes I lost sight of all the people I had just met. Perfect.
Who knew that deciding which bus to step on would be the most difficult decision I would make today. I finally picked the bus parked farther away, assuming there would be fewer people on it, and I was right. There was no one on it. I continued down the aisle between to the rows of seats, looking for just one soul to befriend. No such luck. I chose a window seat near the back, I had already slid my bag under this bus so I was here to stay.
Before long other students began to stream in. However I recognized none of the faces as they wandered towards me and smiled when they passed. Thankfully a familiar blue eyed, blonde haired boy climbed up into the bus, and the panic of possibly being aboard the wrong bus melted away as quickly as it had built up.
I watched Dan as he walked midway up the aisle before he picked a seat along the window in front of me to the right. Something began to stir within me as I starred. I suddenly had this unwavering urge to get up and sit next to him. So I gathered my belongings and made my way to his row. “Hey, remember me?! Is this seat free?” Gesturing to the seat directly beside him. “Of course!” Dan replied as he moved his backpack out of the way.
I have no idea what made me move to sit next to him, especially when there were enough seats for everyone to have their own row, but I’m sure glad I did. I will never forget those next seven hours. I’m a very talkative person but I cannot think of any other time when I have told a complete stranger anything and everything that pertains to my life. I knew right away that I could trust Dan, I was completely comfortable with him. It was as if I had known him my entire life and we were just two pals catching up on the longest bus ride of our lives. Maybe it is because Dan reminds me of an old flame, right down to the blonde hair and friendly blue eyes. Maybe I do have a type afterall. But that’s a tale for another time.
We made so many new friends on the bus too, or enemies? Why else would Dan insist that I take photos of him with our sleeping buddies, drool and all. I can only imagine they’ll be put to good use later. Well I made at least one other friend during the trip. A German named Hanna. How do I know we were friends you ask? As soon as she reached across the aisle to hand me my absolutely favourite chocolate, Yogurette; that’s when I knew.
Eventually that neverending bus ride, actually did come to an end. The college is something out of a fairytale, it’s castle-like form bursting from the rolling greens hills of the English countryside. There are more windows than I can count, and they shone with golden light as we made our way up the lengthy drive. Our new home continued to grow and grow just like the vines climbing its walls, until we stopped in front of its massive, curved, wooden, green door. The chatter faded as we all crained our necks in unison towards the heavens just to catch a glimpse of the the tallest pointed towers. The fear that shook me this morning as I walked along those London streets was long gone, and the excitement of what was to come began to bubble from within.
Just A Small Town Girl 