Happenstance

“So Alicia, how’s college? Everything you hoped it would be?”

Startling back into focus from where she was lazily looking out the window, the brunette forces a smile she hopes doesn’t look too much like a grimace and turns to Travis. Even though they haven’t known each other for long he’s a good man and is clearly trying to make the best of an awkward situation. 

“Oh you know, pretty much as expected. Lectures, papers, a few parties here and there without getting too off track... All is well at Berkeley.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m sure you’re handling it perfectly fine, but should you ever need something, I’d be happy to help.”

“Thanks.” She nods at him in a tone that should make it clear she won’t take him up on that. To his credit he just nods and leaves her be, going instead over to his own son Chris, who is listening to music with his back to them.

Not a great start to the vacation, that’s for sure.

They’re all stuck at LAX, and have been for almost two hours now, most of which her mother has spent by incessantly arguing with the airport staff. What should have been a nice family getaway, or rather one engineered to make them a family, is rapidly morphing into an even worse trainwreck as their flight has turned out to be an overbooked mess.

Not surprisingly Alicia hadn’t been thrilled by the idea to begin with, but it had all been made even worse by Nick’s unplanned absence. Her brother has fallen off the wagon and is back in rehab for the time being, fourth time, the first since she had moved across the state, which makes her feel vaguely guilty and is contributing to her already bad day.

Maybe having to endure this torture is her cosmic punishment for wanting to have some space to herself. For leaving him and getting the hell out of LA.

Before she can explore that borderline intrusive idea any further, Madison finally stomps back from the counter with a bitter expression.

“They say it’s a computer mishap,” She air quotes, “whatever that means. Anyway, our plane is  definitely already gone, but there’s another one in three hours and they will upgrade us to first class for our trouble. That’s something at least I guess.”

“Three hours?”

Travis looks at his wristwatch pensively. “Well, it would take us about half of that to get home and back, maybe more in traffic, we might as well stay here…”

“That’s what I was thinking as well. I just hope they didn’t lose our baggage...”

Just perfect. She stops herself from groaning, but not fast enough.

“Come on Alicia, I’m trying here.”

“Yeah, great. Whatever.”

She knows from experience the entire conversation is taking a very predictable turn towards drama, but once the ball is rolling there isn’t really any way to stop it. As expected the older woman puts on her school counselor voice that she thinks makes her sound wise and reasonable: “Listen, I understand it’s not ideal, but we decided we would take this vacation together and I don’t think this small obstacle should stop us from that. I’m sure we can find a way to make up for the inconvenience when we..”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll wait!” She stops the lecture and doesn’t even bring up the fact that she had no choice in the matter at all and has driven through the night to be back here for this mess, “It'll be great, I trust you. I’ll just go see if there’s some magazine I can buy around here to kill the time. See you later.”

Unable to deny her at least that, Madison nods and calls after her, “Keep your phone on!”

She gives her the thumbs up and mutters to herself as she’s walking off, “I’m not five.”

With no interest in gossip mags whatsoever, Alicia just turns a few corners to put distance between her and the rest of the group, before finding a quiet place to plop down. Her hand moves almost on its own to retrieve her phone as soon as she’s settled down and opens the messaging app. Three hours with her own thoughts, just what the doctor ordered.

Her tense relationship with her mother certainly isn’t new, but this time there’s something else that’s gnawing at her and there’s no way she can put it into words. Berkeley’s really great, she didn’t lie about that. New experiences, new people and a new sense of purpose she was craving all last year, but… (She scrolls through old chat logs, not even bothering to read them as she knows them by heart.) Why does she have to be such a coming of age cliche?

It’s fucking humiliating, that’s what it is.

Mercifully, she’s pulled away from her wallowing by the arrival of a rowdy group near the secluded cluster of chairs she’s chosen for herself. Four loud young adults loaded up with plastic cases, the kind you could imagine military equipment travels in if it wasn’t for the colorful stickers plastered all over them. In their general carelessness, one falls over with a loud bang. 

“Be careful!” The one looking most like the leader yells out rushing to inspect their stuff.  “I swear to god, if you break it I will take it out of your paycheck!”

“Wait, you guys are getting paid?” Another voice jokes referencing the meme and while his friends burst out laughing, even Alicia has to hide a small grin, thankful for the distraction. 

Her interest piqued, she spies them more closely trying to figure out who they could be. A girl with blue streaks in her hair hovers around them filming on a small handheld camera, vlogging most likely, so maybe some kind of youtube. It’s LA after all. 

There’s a patch on one of their backpacks, a purple hand print with the number one scrawled in its palm. Like the cases it’s vaguely militaristic, but with too much flair to be at home on a uniform, a logo maybe? When the group finally stops fussing around and sits she manages to read the bold letters on another design: First Hand Dispatch - Free Journalism Collective. 

She types the name into her phone browser and finds a website, but a cursory look tells her it’s too wordy even in her bored state, so she clicks on their featured social media links instead and reads the significantly shorter Instagram bio:

Raw, true, direct. News from the world’s hotspots, with no ulterior motives. 100% crowdfunded.

Cool.

The first image on their feed depicts a street protest somewhere in the Spanish speaking world, bright orange spots of fire contrasting with the pitch black night of a city without electricity. In the foreground a man in native face paint is captured right as he’s about to hurl a bottle against a line of riot police, a link to the full article in the description.

Right after there’s a slice of sunny Mediterranean, two small fishing boats stacked full of refugees trying to make their way to Italy or Greece, the names and identifiers of the vessels blurred out so they’re not outed to the local authorities. The attached piece of writing is titled “Hell and Hope on the High Seas”.

They really seem legit, even though the appearance could have fooled her. (When she looks up at them they are bickering like children over a box of twinkies.) 

Alicia’s eyes are caught by another picture, this time of a girl with short hair in a drab green helmet and vest looking out towards a red desert horizon in what looks like a war zone. She’s not among the present so she clicks on the personal tag on a whim and ends up scrolling through her personals.

@ALwithaHyphon

editor-at-large with @1stdispatch

Editor-at-large. She’s not sure what that means, but it sounds important. There’s a fair share of impressive shots lined up on this profile too, but they seem less polished and more candid than the others, personal mementos rather than packaged content.

She pauses on a bikini pic. Al-with-a-hyphon is grinning, a drink in her hand and her arm slung loosely over the shoulders of one of her colleagues, matching neon green sunglasses perched on their noses. It’s not the caribbean, but an above ground pool thing on a dried out lawn. She looks… cute. Hot?

Alicia’s eyes slowly travel down to her cleavage.

Shit! She stops herself and looks off to the side. Is this what she does now? Lusting after girls like a horny teenager? Or did she do it before too, but just didn’t notice? 

What the hell is going on? 

“Oh god, I should really take that one down.”

Alicia jerks around alarmed by the voice out of nowhere, only to come face to face with the girl whose boobs she was just ogling. Not at all perturbed, Al’s leaning over her seat, with a duffel slung over her back and a giant cup of coffee in her hand.

“Hi.” She points at her phone, “That’s me.”

Her first instinct is to chuck the phone in one direction and bolt off in the other, but even in her embarrassed haze that seems like overkill, so instead she forces herself to stay still and nods slowly. “Yes.”

“I look super hungover, I should take it down I think.”

“I…”

Shaking her head the journalist puts her luggage down and grins, “I don’t want to get into your business, but that’s normally where you say I look great. You are not really good at this creeping-slash-flirting thing, are you?”

Already horrified to have been found out like that, a new wave of shame washes over the young brunette and she stammers trying to explain herself. “I-I wasn’t creeping, I swear. I just saw that sticker, so I went to see what that was about, and...”

“...and you ended up on my personal account. It happens.”

Yes. That’s exactly what happened! Taken aback by Al’s chill, she frowns: “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be? That’s what social media is for. I was about to turn it to private  though, so you better follow me if you don’t want to be shut out. Real professionals sometimes have a second account just to stalk people in incognito, you can consider that a free pro tip.”

“Are you making fun of me?” She asks, silently praying the other journalists aren’t listening in on their conversation, but she doesn’t dare turn around and check either. This scenario is very close to a number of nightmares she’s had since recently starting to question things, a close relative of the “go to school naked” category.

“No,” The woman with a serene grin, “ We’re going to the Middle East, they don’t appreciate thirst traps like you do. I usually turn it back to normal when we get back stateside. ”

"Oh.”

“So, you gonna follow me or what? Don’t leave me hanging like that.”

“You -are- making fun of me.”

“Oh lighten up. I’m Al.” She holds out her hand. “Althea. Al is fine.”

“Alicia.” She responds out of habit before she can think of making up something else.

Besides, for all her forwardness Al seems alright. She’s joking around, but there’s no malice in her voice or eyes and seems to be a genuinely interesting character to chat with. And she happens to be very pretty up close, wearing a henley and beanie combo as gracefully as the swimwear, even if she isn’t completely ready to admit that part yet.

“And where are you going, Alicia?” 

“Hawaii.”

The journalist laughs, taking a seat beside her, but leaving an empty one in between. “Don’t be too excited about the white beaches...”

“It’s a stupid family thing  I was forced to attend to get to know my mother’s new boyfriend and his kid. I was hiding her to take a break from them. ”

“Sounds complicated.”

“It is.”

“And what do you do when you aren’t creeping on girls you don’t know?”

Just when she thought she had successfully navigated away from that conversation, Alicia can feel her blush come back in full bloom. “I wasn’t creeping! And you ask a lot of questions!”

“Professional hazard.” Al shrugs.

“I’m a student at Berkeley.”

“Fancy.”

She hums. “Are you really going to the Middle East?”

“Yes, first we’ll fly to Ankara and then northern Iraq. Our final stop is in Syria, there are some independent territories there we’re going to check out, where women work and fight side by side with men, but first we have to find somebody that will get us in.”

“Adventurous.”

“It is, but we aren’t boarding for a while. How about you let me buy you a coffee?”

She opens her mouth, then closes it, unsure. The cup already in Al’s hand tells her she probably doesn’t need the caffeine and points to a more personal gesture. If it was a boy asking her she would know how to handle it, if to accept or blow him off gently, but this...

Her hesitation doesn’t go unnoticed. “Did I read something wrong here?”

“No, I guess not… Shit.” Is she this transparent?

“Don’t overthink it Alicia. It’s just coffee. Yes or no?”

“Yes.”

Al smiles again, this time mirrored by her, and then offers her a hand to help her up. 

“Check my bag, dingus.” She calls over to her friends.

“Aye aye captain. Bring me a donut.”

After the initial difficulty in breaking the ice it’s actually very nice to sit with Al for a while and chat, the journalist being able to strike the right note between probing, but not too intrusive, for a stranger she just met. Alicia would even go as far as to say she’s having fun.”

“Wait! Say that again?!”

“Szewczyk-Przygocki.”

She burst out laughing. “Not a chance. Please tell me you use a pen name.”

“I’m a videographer actually, mainly so I don’t have to sign things.”

“Good call there, buddy.”

“So, moving on from your extreme rudeness about my proud Polnish heritage, I’m pretty sure there’s still something bothering you. Is it just the family vacation from hell?”

Her tone is more somber now, but the ghost of the previous smile still lingers on her face and somehow  that lulls Alicia in a sense of safety. With Nick in isolation for the next few weeks there isn’t really anybody else she can talk things over with, she considers.

“There’s another thing,” She clears her throat half way trough, “But it’s stupid.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Like I said, it’s stupid. Not important.”

“Well, I happen to be a journalist specialized in stupid, non-important stuff, so you are in the right place.” She encourages her, “You could say I’m an expert on it.”

Fine. Might as well.

“Would you believe this is my first coffee date with a girl?”

“Absolutely yes.” Al answers a little bit too fast, but something in Al’s delivery makes it funny rather than judgemental, which at least helps her nerves and makes them both laugh. 

“Who’s being rude now?”

“I’m just being honest!”

Shaking her head Alicia takes a deep breath. “That bad?”

“No.Not at all, but I can see you being tense a mile away. You really shouldn't sweat it, we’ve all been through it at some point or other. I’m guessing it’s a recent development?”

“Yes. It’s… to give you the extreme cliff notes…” Suddenly a thought occurs to her. ”We’re off the record, right?”

“I was just joking around Alicia, I’m a conflict reporter. Are you saying the story you are about to tell me has that level of death and destruction?”

“No, I guess not…”

“We’re completely off the record. My lips are sealed forever.”

“Good.” She nods feeling silly about the question, but it’s too late to turn back now. “So as I was saying, cliff notes: I get to college, get invited to a party and immediately fall into bed with somebody…”

“A girl.”

“Yes, a girl.” Even saying it is strange. “And… I don’t know, if I said it was a conscious decision I would be lying, if I said it happened by accident I would be lying too… I don’t know if I’m explaining this right…”

Sensing the younger girl’s rising stress levels Al reaches out and takes her hand. “I understand what you are saying. Are you still in contact with her?”

She shakes her head. “Didn’t get her name or number. Was gone when I woke up.”

“And do you want to? Get in contact?”

“Not really. I mean, it feels a bit unfair that my entire world was turned upside down and for her it was just another tuesday, but that’s my thing to deal with.”

 “And you never thought about it before?”

“My family has baggage. My dad died, my brother is… an addict. My mom had to figure out a lot of  things out on her own, and I may have gone on autopilot for a few years I now realize…. Not really paid attention to the small stuff, you know?”

“Like you happiness.”

“Yep.” Alicia pops the syllable trying to hide how serious the talk’s gotten.

Her shoulders are hunched down a bit now, her eyes trained on the small table between them, it’s like she’s actively trying to make herself smaller and disappear from view, a feeling Al remembers all too well from her own past.

“Hey,” She tries to get her attention back squeezing her hand where they are still connected, “I’m sorry I can’t help you much, but in my opinion you’re more than justified to be a bit awkward with your flirting. That shit takes a lot of practice.”

That’s rewarded with a small snort, so she decides to press on.

“...and you clearly already have great taste in women, so that’s half the battle.” A wink. “I really think you should just give yourself time and figure it out at your own pace. No final exam on this subject, I promise.” 

“Good, ‘cause I can’t study for shit lately.” The brunette breaths quietly.

“Oh that’s definitely a symptom.”

She’s very grateful to Al, who quietly keeps the conversation going by herself for a while and stirs it to lighter topics until she’s finally able to contribute more than half sentences again. The journalist recounts a few of her group’s funniest past adventures, recommends a few sights for her in Hawaii and even busts out dog pictures to nurse her mood back to health. When her phone finally rings and she realizes it’s almost time to get back to her mother she’s incredibly glad to have met the kind stranger.

“Don’t even mention it ok?” Al tells her with an exaggerated serious frown as they walks towards the general direction of her gate, “But one day you may stumble across another baby gay somewhere, and you’ll have to pass it on.”

Shaking her head at the antics she nods, “Of course wise one, I will.”

“Good.” They share a smile. “Oh, and one more thing Alicia.”

She turns towards Al, who’s slowed down a little and then...

She’s kissed.

Soft lips meet hers, not deeply, but their contact still burns on her skin. Al’s hand rests for just a moment against the back of her neck, barely there and then gone.

She didn’t even notice closing her eyes, but when she opens them again the other woman is standing incredibly close and gently tells her, “There, baby gay no more. Now you are a veteran womanizer.”

“I don’t think that’s how this works.”

“But it helps, doesn't it?”

She nods dumbly, hard pressed to hide a smile.

“Good. Hug before I leave?”

Right, because this isn’t a fairy tale and ride off together in the sunset. The emotional rollercoaster from the last few moments to this realization leaves Alicia staggering for a beat and it’s only mechanically that she wraps her arms around the other woman.

“When are you…”

“Coming back?” She can feel her shrug in the embrace, “I’m not sure yet, but you really should follow me so I can tell you. If you want to know, that is.”

“I..yes.”

"I'm pretty sure you know where to find me. I'm looking forward to those thirst likes then."

"You're terrible!" She shoves her playfully, putting on a brave face to fight off the tears.

"See you soon, Alicia."

"Bye, Al."