[ti]solo[/ti]Laminated Sign

Bryan sat down in a heap on the first empty bench. He was growing increasingly ambivalent towards the idea of airports. It had been a simple mission. In and out, get some breakfast, a coffee, a selfie with the Pokemon Plane, pick up the V.I.Ps at gate 83 (which is a long way from gate 25, just by the way), then take them on a friendly trip back to UNOVRCON and show them all the bells and whistles, all the behind-the-scenes secrets! It was supposed to be easy!

But it was hard to tick off the stops on the tour when the plane was 55 minutes late landing. It's status had changed to 'HOLDING'. What did that even mean!? Holding what? Holding up the days and lives of everyone who had expected the plane to arrive on time? Bryan shook his head.

He took out his phone and checked to see what cool events he was missing out on. Wheel of Fortune! Damn I wanted a go at that. No matter. it'll be open until midnight, I'm sure I can drop in at the eleventh hour. Another loot drop at the store! I might have to ping Bethany and ask her to put aside some stuff for me. A panel on Attack Spacing, that one I can miss, I'm not a DPS main anyway. Oh! The Clanwar 2 demo is on at midday! He checked the time. It was 11:18. There was no way they would make it in time. Bryan swore. "It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. Everything is coolio. We're going to have a great time no matter what. There's plenty of time to see and do everything. They're flying in especially for the event and we're going to have a totally based time.

Bryan flicked through the app menus, looking for distraction.

Instead he found the stamps page.

Ah! Aviator stamp! He looked around, as if the stamp would be hiding behind the benches. He checked the app, which had a handy-dandy map. "Okay. It's in arrivals. That makes sense. Easy. How far away could it be? Enable location and...zoom out...oh come on!"

Bryan started the long walk back to gate 25. Well, at least he'd be able to get another selfie with the Pokeplane.

'Dear God,' Bryan prayed, as he walked back to gate 83 with a plastic bag full of questionable sushi and bran muffins, 'in a world already so full of war and famine and natural disasters, why do you feel the need to fill the mundane lives of your most untroubled children with such day-to-day suffering! Am I being punished for something? Is this because I haven't been to church since Christmas? Or because of all the La Croix? I swear that if you just make that godda- uh, that blessed plane arrive in like, ten to fifteen minutes, that I will come to church this Sunday. Well, wait, actually.' Bryan checked his phone calendar. 'Scratch that. I've got a thing with investors on Sunday. I think my Mum is busy too, and it would feel going without her. I can totally do next Sunday though. I'll go next Sunday, and you just make that plane arrive in fifteen to twenty. Deal?'

He reached gate 83 for the umpteenth time and collapsed into a seat. He set down his coffee cup, already empty, and stared down at his bag of brunch. The sushi lurked in the plastic bag, its vibes completely at odds with the calming aura that Bryan usually surrounded himself with. He reached into the bag like a man trying to defuse a bomb, or pet a rabid tiger, and instead grabbed out a bran muffin. It was quite dry. He wished he had more coffee.

But before he could go in search of another sunny barista, there was an announcement over the PA system. "ATTENTION EVERYONE WAITING FOR FLIGHT PA152 FROM LAX."

'That's me!' Bryan wanted to scream. 'I'm waiting! I've been waiting for almost ninety minutes now and I'm about to die from sushi poisoning because you couldn't get a two hour flight here within three and a half hours!'

"WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATENCE. FLIGHT PA152 FROM LAX WILL NOW BE ARRIVING AT GATE 25. THANK YOU!"

Bryan blinked. He looked out the window, and let his eyes focus on a distant plane, fast approaching the airport. That was his flight. After all this time all it had taken was some divine bargaining.

He picked up his sushi and tossed it in the nearest bin, keeping one of the muffins just in case one of the V.I.Ps happened to complain of an exceptionally wet mouth. That way he could swoop in gallantly and provide an elegant and high-fiber solution. He pulled himself upright, straightened his graphic tee and blazer, and approached gate 83.

'Wait. Did they say gate 25?'