All the characters in this story are 18 or older.
The story is a work of fiction.
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Josh was racing down Interstate-95 when he heard the familiar ding from his phone letting him know he had received a message. He need not look at his phone to know that it would be from his mother, but he peeked at the lock screen anyway. Confirming his suspicions he saw ‘Lucifer <3 – text message’. Shaking his head and trying to concentrate on the road he quickly swiped up on the home screen and saw:
Lucifer <3: Your butt better be on that plane by now. Your aunt is going to be waiting when you touch down in California. Be good!
Of course Josh was not on the plane to California. He hadn’t even gone through security yet, but his mother was overly-prepared, and he simply wasn’t going to wait around in Philadelphia International for two hours like he would if she was in charge of the situation. He had enough on his mind. Josh was taking visiting his aunt and uncle out in LA for a couple of weeks while he visited different schools. Hopefully at the end of this trip he would know whether or not he’d like to attend school there next fall. Just as important was his decision as to whether or not he could co-habitate living with his Aunt and Uncle for at least four years. They had offered to provide housing their favorite nephew IF he decided to attend one of the local schools.
This was a big question because, though Josh loved his aunt Jessie and uncle Greg, he hadn’t actually seen them in the five years since they moved from Jersey to Cali. The time it took for them to get set up and established, coupled with an unforeseen pandemic, had hindered any chance of either his family visiting them or vice versa. They were by far his favorite Aunt and Uncle, and he hoped that hadn’t changed.
Finally at the airport, Josh parked his car in the lot and sprinted his way towards his terminal. He lucked out with security and made it to his gate with ten whole minutes to spare. “In your face, mom” he muttered and laughed to himself as he took his seat. The phone dinged again, but this time the screen flashed ‘Aunt Jessie – text message’. He slid it open.
Aunt Jessie: O-M-G Joshy, I hope you made it on your flight okay. I can’t wait to see you! I’ll be outside of baggage claim when you land. Just text me if you can’t find me<3
Josh: All good so far! I can’t wait to see both of you either!
He typed that message and one more to his mom where relayed that he had gotten to his seat with plenty of time to spare. Soon after, they instructed all passengers to turn their cellphones to airplane mode, and soon after that they were in the air and on their way West.
Fast forward five hours and Josh was wiggling his way out of his cramped seat and shuffling off the plane. Josh was six feet and one inch tall, and couldn’t fathom how anyone taller could survive in one of those seats for more than five hours. His legs were cramped and he was tired, but the warm sunshine coming through the windows briefly rejuvenated him, and with some extra pep in his step he navigated himself towards baggage claim.