“Lesli, do you want to take Mr. Boo?”

“What?” I said, turning away from the suitcase I was attempting to pack. It was more like I was stuffing it with random articles of clothing because I wasn’t sure what I’d need. It was probably full to the brim with useless stuff, but I had no idea what people wore in South Florida. I would probably need my mom to sit on my suitcase just to get it closed, I thought as I turned toward her.

Mom held up the toy in question—a stuffed bear with a grumpy little face—then looked down at it wistfully. I could tell from her expression that she was remembering when she’d first given him to me on my fifth birthday. Mr. Boo and I had been inseparable until I was about ten years old. And when I had gone off to college at fifteen, my mom had insisted that I take him with me. Of course, I’d hid him for years in the closets of my various dorm rooms. I’d already been considered a freak because I was at least three years younger than most other college freshmen. I hadn’t needed Mr. Boo to make me look even more of a child.

For someone who wasn’t very sentimental, Mom was more attached to Mr. Boo than I was.

“No, I think I’ll leave him. You can take him back home with you,” I said, turning back to stare at the pile of underwear I had failed to pack. They were all cotton, some threadbare and fading.

My mom grimaced at the pile. “Those undies have seen better days. You should just toss them.”

I shook my head, surprised by her suggestion. “That would be a waste of money.” I was probably the cheapest person I knew, aside from my mom, of course.

“What do you think, Mr. Boo?” she asked the teddy bear. “Should we just toss them?” I rolled my eyes and Mom laughed. “You used to love him, once upon a time. And now you’re kicking him to the curb.”

“That was kindergarten, Mom. Kindergarten,” I said, chewing on my lip as I tried to figure out what to pack and what to leave.

I was moving out of my small apartment in West Virginia and relocating to Florida to live with my cousin, Lacey, who was more of a big sister than a cousin. My mother had raised us both and I really missed spending time with her. I hadn’t seen Lacey in at least a year.

I sort of had a job waiting for me in Florida, but besides that, I didn’t know what I planned to do once I actually stepped off the plane, but that was fine with me. I’d spent my life always having a plan and now I was done with planning. I wanted adventure.

A few hours later, I was done packing and, thanks to my mom, my apartment was fully cleaned. I looked around at where I had spent the past four years and sighed.

“I’m going to miss this place,” I said turning toward Mom who immediately avoided looking me in the eye.

I frowned. “You ok?”

She nodded and hastily turned away from me. She made her way to my little kitchen and started moving a box. She started to sniffle, and I put a hand out, stopping her from leaving.

“Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little, you know... sad that you’re leaving.”

I smiled and said, “I’m just going to Florida. It’s not as if I’m going to another country or something.”

She sighed. “I know. I know. I feel so silly, but I’m going to miss you like crazy.”

“I’m going to miss you too.”

We weren’t exactly huggers, so we just awkwardly stared at each other until one of us broke eye contact.

“Come on, let’s get a move on. You have a plane to catch.”

And with that, she picked up the last box. I followed her and gave my apartment one last glance before closing the door on that chapter of my life. College was done. Real life, here I come.

I sat down in my seat and took a deep breath. As I reached for the seatbelt, I realized my hands were shaking. I was terrified of flying. I’d flown only a handful of times throughout my life and I was hoping to keep it that way after this Florida trip. I had Benadryl in my purse that I knew would put me straight to sleep, but I was trying to wait until we took off. I didn’t want to take it too early and risk waking up while we were still in the air. Just the thought of being in the air made my heart skip a beat. I was trying my best to stay calm and was practicing breathing exercises discretely when a voice said, “You’re not about to throw up, are you?”

“Excuse me?” I said, turning in the direction of the woman who was shoving her carry-on above my head. She was short, curvy and had masses of curly blonde hair. She had large brown eyes and looked a little like a stripper. Her shorts were barely covering her behind and her breasts seemed ready to fall out of her top.

I discreetly tried to look elsewhere, given that I was afraid that at any moment, her boobs were going to spill out and flash me.

I looked at my own clothes. I was wearing worn walking shoes, an old gym shirt and khaki shorts that I’d owned since tenth grade. I hadn’t gained weight or developed much of a body since high school. I used to joke with Mom that puberty skipped me because my breasts never grew past an A cup. Frankly, I thought I was more of an A minus cup. To say my boobs were on the smaller side was an understatement, and I only wore a bra when I had to do a presentation or something, otherwise, I was too flat chested for people to notice when I went braless.

I looked like a stereotypical nerd. I wore glasses, had plain brown eyes and pale skin that burned easily in the sun. I never wore my hair down. I normally kept it pinned up in a sloppy bun. I made it my goal right there and then to get a makeover while in Miami. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about my appearance, I’d just been too busy to make it much of a priority. I wanted new clothes. A new look. A new life. I was twenty-three years old and still didn’t really know who I was. I was hoping that Florida would help me find... well, me.

“You look like you’re about to throw up,” she repeated sitting down.

I looked down at my hands and folded them together. “I’m afraid of flying.”

“Afraid? What’s there to be afraid of? You’re more likely to die driving,” she laughed dryly, “Especially in Miami.”

“Are you from there?”

“Well, not really. I’m from an area south of Miami. Redsville, it’s called.”

“Oh... is it near the beach?”

“Umm... not really. Speaking of the beach, you don’t seem to get much sun, huh?”

I felt myself blush as she looked me over with a grimace. She patted my hand and leaned forward. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you naked and tanned in no time.”

I blushed again and said, “Umm... no, thanks.”

She stared at me in confusion and then laughed loudly, so loudly that people turned around to look in our direction.

“Hey, I’m not trying to get you naked for my own sake. I’m strictly dickly. You know what I mean?”

She laughed again, and I had to smile at her colorful language. She sat back and buckled her seatbelt. “And honestly speaking, if I were a lesbian, you wouldn’t be my type—”

My mouth fell open and she rushed to awkwardly reassure me, saying, “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think I would be into model thin girls... no offense.”

“No offense taken,” I mumbled, feeling somewhat perturbed.

“So, you must have a crazy high metabolism, huh?” she said, staring at me. “How much do you weigh? Like one-fifteen?” I opened my mouth to answer, but she was still talking. “I weigh one-fifty,” she said loudly. “Gosh, I weigh like fifty pounds more than you. I think it’s all in my boobs and hips. I’m still sexy though,” she said matter-of-factly.

I didn’t know what to say so I said nothing and pointedly reached for a magazine. I didn’t feel like talking to my seatmate any longer. The stewardess was giving us instructions and we were about to take off. I needed a distraction and I didn’t want to pop my happy pill in front of Ms. Chatterbox.

“Gosh, I can’t wait to be back in Florida. West Virginia is beautiful, but the men suck.”

I tried to ignore her, but I was curious. “What were you doing in West Virginia?”

She looked at me and then rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “I made a stupid decision to go with my boyfriend from college back to his hometown.”

“Why was it a stupid decision?”

She shook her head. “I caught him making out with his high school sweetheart one week after I moved out there. That bastard.”

“One week? Seriously? Do you think they’ve been seeing each other this whole time behind your back?” I know I probably sounded stupid, but I was really interested. My life was boring, but this girl’s life seemed to be super interesting.

She shook her head and then stopped herself. “You know what? He probably was. That jerk. That never occurred to me.” She shook her head again and I could tell she was thinking deeply about her boyfriend’s infidelity as she began to chew her lip.

“Let me give you some advice, Slim,” she said, clearly referring to me. “Don’t spend four years of your life with a jerk from nowhere West Virginia. I gave him some of the best years he’ll ever know,” she said dramatically.

“Really?” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Well, there were lots of sexy guys I could have hooked up with in college, but I dated him instead.”

She pulled out her phone and showed me a picture of him. He was tall, blonde and looked like the type of guy who would always ignore a girl like me.

“He’s cute,” I commented without much enthusiasm. I didn’t even know this girl, but somehow, I felt she could do better than the cheesy guy she’d just shown me.

“He’s a no-good cheat,” she said succinctly. “You have a boyfriend?”

I shook my head.

“Well, you’re better off. We’re young. We can’t waste our youth on stupid men.”

I nodded, but I’d only had one serious long-term, romantic relationship, so I wasn’t too sure what to add to the conversation. Honestly, that was my problem when it came to most social situations. I didn’t have much in common with most people, so I never had anything interesting to talk about. I was a horrible conversationalist unless I was talking about something related to history. Making friends from kindergarten to graduate school had been tough. I just didn’t have much experience with girly topics like guys, or clothes, or makeup, so I was rapidly overlooked or ignored by most women I’d known besides my professors. I was surprised the chatterbox sitting next to me stayed interested in talking with me for so long.

And she was still talking. “Who needs them? Know what I mean?”

I nodded. I didn’t want to disappoint her by saying I lacked relationship experience. It felt nice for a girl my age to treat me like an equal.

“When we get to Miami, Slim, we’re going to get some hot men. Actually, forget men! We don’t need them, right?”

I nodded again.

“What’s your name? I’m Violet.”

“Lesli,” I said extending my hand. She laughed at the gesture which immediately made me feel awkward, but she shook my hand anyway.

“I think we’re going to be best of friends. God knows I need some. There’s no way I’m going to hang out with my buddies from high school.” She made a face and said, “Blah.” She shuddered as if the mere thought of hanging out with her former buddies made her stomach turn.

“I saw the ton of luggage you were taking out of your mom’s car. I was in the taxi behind you, fighting with the driver... That was your mom, right? The lady trying not to cry?”

I laughed. “Ohhh yeah,” I said, remembering Mom had mentioned how the girl behind us kept using foul language.

“You were the cursing girl fighting with the taxi driver. You got pretty creative back there.”

She smiled and looked proud of herself. “The taxi driver was trying to rip me off. And yeah, I have a pretty foul mouth. I have five other siblings, cursing each other out was good practice for the real world.”

“Five siblings?” I was surprised. “Did you grow up on a farm or something?”

She shrugged. “Or something. My parents have a lot of property, but it’s mostly nurseries and alternative energy stuff. And some alternative farming techniques. My parents are wannabe hippies and apparently just couldn’t keep their hands off each other and just kept procreating and procreating. It sucked having to share my cereal with five other kids. And worst, they named us all after some sort of tree, or flower, or herb found in nature.”

“No way.”

“Yes,” she said making a face, “So there’s Rose, Sage, Cypress, Poppy, and Aster.”

“I like all those names.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “And it’s kind of cool that you all have something that connects you—”

“You mean besides our DNA?” She laughed. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lesli. Maybe we can hang out when you get to Miami? Are you going to college down there or something?”

“I’ve actually graduated already. A few weeks ago...” I said, trying to skirt the issue. I didn’t want her to know that I was some sort of freak who had already earned a PhD by the ripe age of twenty-three.

“Me too! Class of 2017! Woohooo!” she said, putting her hand up to high-five me. I awkwardly let her.

“What was your major? I was a botany major, believe it or not. I just majored in it because it was easy. As you know, my parents love plants.”

I stalled, “I… umm… was a history major.” I didn’t mention that history had been my undergraduate degree.

“Cool. American history?”

“World history.”

“Yeah, I took some history classes. They were ok.” She adjusted her seat belt and said, “So have you found a job yet?”

I nodded. “Well, sort of. I’m going to be working for a nonprofit organization called Ophelia’s Angels. They assist the elderly with getting food, clothing, shelter, rides to their appointments, etc. They’ve recently gone international, so they’re hiring individuals to coordinate it all.”

“Wow,” Violet said. “I would love to do something like that. Are they still hiring?”

I shrugged. “I can ask.”

“That would be great. I’m unemployed and my parents are a little bitter about it. But I’m the twenty-three-year-old that has to move back in with my parents, so I should be the bitter one.”

“You don’t sound bitter.”

“It’s my naturally sunny disposition. It gets in the way.”

I laughed, and it was at that moment that I realized we had been in the air for a while.

Violet smiled widely at me. “Distracted you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, thanks... Wow...”

“No problem. Now I’m going to take a nap. I need to conserve my energy for when I deal with my parents. God be with me,” she said, making the sign of the cross. I laughed again and she smiled at me, settled into her seat and closed her eyes.

Feeling not nearly as intimidated by the flight as I did before, I did the same. Strangely I felt already as if my life were beginning to change.