The Japan Trip (3)

After the driver dropped her off, Xiu Ling walked into the airport dragging her luggage.

As she entered, Xiu Ling looked around the place and failed to spot her best friend. According to the message she received on the way over, Joann should have arrived already.

Xiu Ling frowned with confusion as she fired off a message to Joann to enquire about her position. The reply came quickly and Xiu Ling moved to find her friend.

Instead of standing in the middle of the airport where every passing individual could see her, Joann selected the seat at the farthest corner of a café attached to the airport. Joann did not wish to be seen in the public and Xiu Ling could understand her sentiment.

Joann stood up to give Xiu Ling a hug when the two friends met. Xiu Ling then sat down across from Joann. The smile on Xiu Ling's face was genuine while the one on Joann's was a bit forced.

To be perfectly honest, Xiu Ling was more excited about this trip compared to Joann. Joann just wanted to hide herself at home like a hermit as this scandal blew over. Even though this trip began as a favour for Joann, Joann agreed to it more for the sake of Xiu Ling. She heard how excited Xiu Ling was on the phone, and she did not have the heart to say no. This was the kind of friendship the two women shared.

Since the boarding time was still quite far away, Xiu Ling sat down and started with small talk, "Joann, have you been here long? Who brought you here and how was the family's reaction to this sudden trip?"

"No, I've just arrived." Joann said, "Xu Jing and Sylvia were understandably shocked when I told them the news but they agreed for me to go with you. Then again, they probably only said that because I prefaced the news with the announcement that I've already made the decision to go with you. They knew they wouldn't be able to stop me even if they tried."

Joann managed a weak smile. "It was Xu Jing who drove me here and he told me to thank you for treating me to this trip."

"Aww, he shouldn't have. It's not me who is paying after all," Xiu Ling answered as dictated by the social rules, however, there was another train of thought at the back of her mind. 'Xu Jing, Xu Jing. I've almost forgotten all about him. Should I tell Joann during the trip? But the purpose of the trip is to leave every problem back at home… In that case, perhaps I should wait until the trip is over then…'

Joann nudged her. "Xiu Ling, what's wrong, why are you spacing out?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Xiu Ling smiled as she stood up. "Come on, let's go check-in already." To avoid an awkward situation, she suggested that they move on.

Both women were lightly packed. Xiu Ling and Joann only had a small carry-on and a single suitcase each so they did not need to lug a heavy load across the airport, an experience that was not enjoyable, especially when you were racing against time.

"Kyoto… Kyoto…" Xiu Ling mumbled to herself as she raised her head up to check the board that listed the gate and boarding time for the different flights.

"It's Gate 3," Joann supplied. Joann had seen the details because she had spare time to waste while waiting for Xiu Ling to arrive. "But, let us go to the check-in and security counter first. God, I hope the queue at security isn't long."

Unfortunately, the queue at security was long and it would seem like they would need to spend at least 1 hour in queue before they could get on the plane. Joann dreaded this. She wondered what kind of hard-to-answer question people might approach her with or what unsavory things the public might say about her behind her back.

Xiu Ling sensed the discomfort in her friend and she offered, "Joann, how about you go back to the café and I'll line up for you. I'll message you when it's about our turn."

Joann appreciated the gesture but if she couldn't face something like a small scandal, then she wouldn't be the superstar she was that day. "Thank you, Xiu Ling but I'll be fine."

"How about we go to the check-in counter for our flight first? The line at the counter doesn't seem that long. Perhaps when we're done with that and when we return, the line at security wouldn't be that long anymore," Xiu Ling said but she knew the hope was an empty one. The line at the security would only get longer as more people passed through the check-in counters.

"Okay." Joann accepted Xiu Ling's suggestion and they both moved to the check-in counter for their airline.

Xiu Ling arrived first and Joann stood behind her. Xiu Ling handed her plane tickets and other necessary documents to the man behind the counter and proceeded to place her suitcase on the conveyer belt for tagging.

The man looked at Xiu Ling's ticket and he keyed in the corresponding information in his computer. As he read the information that appeared on screen, the frown between the man's brows deepened.

Xiu Ling noticed this and she wondered what was wrong. Just as she was about to ask the man about it, the man leaned back to whisper something into his co-worker's ear and the latter proceeded to take Xiu Ling's off the conveyer belt.

However, instead of handing it back to Xiu Ling, the worker just took it away. He carried the suitcase round the corner and seemed to disappear into the belly of the airport.

"Hey!" Xiu Ling had just cried out in panic when the man at the counter stood up from his seat and said in a firm yet polite tone, "Miss Xiu Ling, do you mind coming with me?"