It's the 6th January and it's snowing unbelievably. The entire country has come to a complete standsill and I have never seen anything like it. I began to panic that I wouldn't be able to leave for New York trip as I watched the constant live feed on the news channels, broadcasting images of backed up traffic on busy main roads and with constant reminders that flights had been cancelled for the whole day.
I left for the airport at 2am and caught the coach with the rest of the people on my course down to Heathrow. I was completely exhausted but the icy roads and the occasional slip of the coach wheel kept my eyes firmly open.
We arrived at Heathrow and it was an uneventful check in and wait around in the airport. I was constantly aware that my eyes were going to drift shut at any moment and couldn't wait to get on to the plane. I couldn't keep still for very long as I watched the ominous board for news on whether our flight would be able to leave.
As I was sitting in the waiting area, talking to a fellow fashion student, I noticed that her eyes had got caught by the movement of something behind me. Something about her facial expression made me turn around to catch sight of a middle aged, platinum blonde woman with bee stung lips and an unmistakeable dress sense who was walking passed us.
Donatella Versace was being led by airport staff to board her flight to Milan undisturbed. I don't think even Ms Versace herself could have turned a blind eye to the row of gawping fashion students that stared and watched her every move as she walked by. I definitely don't think she could have missed the comment made by another girl that she was going to follow her, or the suggestion that they should run up and photograph her. I tried to disassociate but there was something about her clothes, her shoes and her presence that made me not be able to turn away.
Our flight was called and I was grateful to be able to get comfortable in the seats and prepare for some sleep. There was excited chatter and the swapping of plans of the best places to go to and things to see when we finally arrived in New York but I eventually drifted off to sleep.
I was awoken abruptly to an announcement over the plane's PA system that someone had checked in their luggage and then had not actually gotten onto the plane. The Steward explained that for security reasons, the bag had to be located and removed before the flight could take off. If I hadn't been so tired, I probably would have panicked at an announcement like that, especially after the recent difficulties over Christmas. As it happened, I was far too exhausted and promptly fell back to sleep again.
I assumed that everything had gone according to plan as I awoke a few hours later, still alive and flying over the Atlantic Ocean.
No comments:
Post a Comment