This was it. There was no going back now. The gate to flight 14 was right in front of me. I knew it was just a gate to the plane I was going to board, but it felt like so much more. It felt like I was at the entryway to a new world, a new identity, and next to it was a sign that read, "Point of No Return".  Cheesy, I know, but for a girl who hardly ever left her hometown, this was a big step! An eighteen hour flight from LAX to Seoul, South Korea. What was I thinking? You aren't supposed to be thinking, babo. I answered myself.

I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and slipped through. I waited for a minute, waiting for a rush of emotions to render me speachless and awestruck...Nothin'...Strange, I don't feel any different. I looked over my shoulder at the gate in near confusion, hardly noticing the people streaming past me. I smiled and thought. Oh well, it'll probably hit me later.

"Come on, Aeryn!" A voice called, snapping me out of my reverie. I looked up and grinned at my friend, Krysia, also known as Ayame.  The bubbly, crazy girl was currently dragging my other friend, Rose, up the stairs leading to the plane. I hurried to catch up to them as Rose said,

" Ayame! You're going to fall if you don't pay attention!" An exasperated expression was on her face, as if she had no more strength left to deal with said girl.

I chuckled and thought, That's Rose for you! Always a mom, regardless of whether or not you're older than her. My thoughts continued to dwell on my Umma-like friend. Her natural ability as a leader had gotten us out of more than a few scrapes, despite being the youngest. "She likes to boss us around a lot too... I mused, not that we really minded, Ayame and I just weren't cut out for calling the shots.

I easily slipped my body through the tiny entrance on the plane, Being short is probably a good advantage when you're a flight attendant. I chuckled at the one in front of me now. He happened to not be so short. Probably 6' 4", "Poor guy..." I muttered as I watched him try to greet people while bending over almost halfway.

"Hello! Welcome to World Class Airlines! If you need anything during your journey, just ask me. I hope you have a nice flight!" He said. I nodded and thanked him with one of my signature grins. Then turned and made my way down the aisle.

After finally finding my seat and making myself comfortable, I began to take in my surroundings. We were in first class(that was probably why the flight attendant was so nice) so we had pretty, white leather seats and there was a wood-toned consol between my seat and the one nearest to the aisle. Oh yeah! Window seat! I mentally celebrated, glad to not have to worry about any claustrophobia. Not that I had it, it was just good to know it was no longer a possibility.

The chair next to mine was empty, but we were on a packed flight, so they probably just weren't on board yet. With a sigh, I pulled out my iPod and jammed my headphones into my ears. I yawned suddenly and decided to try to catch up on some much needed sleep. I had been super excited all month for this trip so insomnia was a frequent visitor for me. I buckled my seatbelt so I could ignore the take-off announcement and hit shuffle.

Now, as a normal human, I didn't just hit shuffle and let it play. Oh no. I hit skip. A lot! I finally found the song I was looking for though, so I just closed my eyes and laid back, waiting for sleep to take me.

Not that it was going to happen. I freakin' love this song! I thought as I let the music carry me away instead. I got so engrossed in my own little world of awesomness, I didn't notice that I started singing quietly, or that someone had sat down beside me.

"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly. I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky. I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway.  Out of the darkness and into the sun. I won't forget all the ones that I love. I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway." I sang.

By the time the song ended, I had succumbed to the magic of the music and was startled by the sound of clapping beside me. My head whirled around and found the source of the noise as I yanked the headphones out of my ears and caught my iPod before it slipped off my lap. 

Once I had pulled myself together, I began to take real note of my companion. She was Asian and very pretty. She also seemed very girly, scratch that, she was very girly. She was wearing a skirt, hot pink stilettos, had beautiful, long, inky-black hair, and her makeup was done perfectly. She was pretty much an Asian beauty. I suddenly felt very self-conscious.

"You have a very pretty voice." She commented with a slight accent, "Do you think you could do that in a recording studio?"