xp_logs | Home Again (Sooraya, Crystal, Angel)

Sooraya finally returns to the United States.

Sooraya Qadir had had a long day.

The situation in Afghanistan was getting worse, and she had been lucky to get out when she did. She still feared for her mother's well-being, but Mirah had been sent to Kabul after the incident with the warlords. Living in the capital was as painless and contemporary as the country ever got, and until her mother could be properly processed and brought to the United States, it was an acceptable compromise.

It had been a flurry of activity: the UN had intervened after the attack on the camp, and Sooraya had been whisked away on a C-130 and flown to an American air base in Germany. From there, she had had her citizenship checked, with all the requisite phone calls made to Xavier's school to verify her identity; her passport (which had been taken from her when the warlords took over) was re-issued, and she was driven to Mannheim by a very nice lady from the USAF. From there, she boarded an airplane, had a terribly long layover in Frankfurt, and finally, after what felt like weeks, she had her feet on the ground at JFK International Airport.

The contrast was nice: people smiled at her and waved her through the passport control without much fuss. Back in Afghanistan, she'd been subject to extra scrutiny, simply by virtue of being a woman. But here, she was just another person, even if she did cover her hair and speak English with a horrid accent.

Following the crowd, and pausing at intervals to read the signage carefully, she made her way to the baggage claim. Whoever was due to pick her up from the school would meet her there. She was still a bit nervous, though: she had nothing on her person save a Handy -- a cheap mobile phone that they'd given her in Germany, which wasn't even equipped to dial internationally -- to confirm her arrival with.

In the end, Sooraya really had nothing to worry about when it came to being welcomed at the airport. The moment that Angel had heard her former roommate wasn't just coming back for a visit but back to Xavier's, she'd hounded and harassed everyone on staff for a chance to be part of the meet and greet. In the end, they'd laughingly gave in and she'd even been asked to drive over.

The red head had grown a few inches since last she'd seen Sooraya and she was using it to her advantage. Perched on top of one of the benches, she was holding up a neon sign with the other girl's name on it. "There she is!" she cheered, jumping up and down. She switched to Dari as she still went to weekly language sessions with Doug and had expanded her use by communicating with Sooraya in letters and such. "~Over here! Welcome home!~"

There was a crowd by the baggage claim, Sooraya noted with amusement. People with signs, and flowers, and --

Oh.

One of the signs had her name on it. She noticed Angel and let out an enthusiastic, stereotypically girly squeal. Her bags could wait for all she was concerned.

"Angel!" Sooraya ran as fast as she could with all the crowds around. "~Hey! Thanks for the warm welcome!~" She thumbed over her shoulder toward the carousels. "~I still need to get my things, but who's with you?~"

"I am," Crystal said with a smile, glad to see the joyful reunion between the former roommates. "Welcome back to New York, Sooraya." The younger girl had been away for over a year; so much had happened from Crystal's perspective since then and she was sure her former suitemate had stories of her own to tell. There was so much catching up to do.
Jumping down, careful to not lose the sign, Angel had indulged in a bit of squealing on her own part before stepping up to give Sooraya a hug. "I can't believe you're back, it's been so long! And you look..." She took a step back and grinned. "Really tired. Do you have a lot of bags to grab?"

Sooraya grinned ruefully. "Yes. The flight was long." She looked back over her shoulder. The carousel was finally starting to move. "And I have only one bag, but it is large." With a shrug and a stifled yawn, she turned around to go and wait. "I will not be long."

"You look fit to fall over," Angel protested, falling into step with Sooraya. "Just pick out which one is yours and I'll play bag girl for you. It's not that far to the car and unless you're hiding Jimmy Hoffa in there, it'll be fine." She looked over her shoulder and frowned. "Hey, Crystal, who exactly is Jimmy Hoffa anyway?"

"Jimmy Hoffa?" Crystal repeated, puzzled. "I am sorry, Angel, I do not know who he is or why anyone would wish to hide him in their luggage." Crystal assumed there was some sort of meaning in Angel's statement and that she had not really thought Sooraya was hiding someone in her bag, but she was not at all sure of the circumstances surrounding the phrase. "Perhaps when we return to the school, we will type his name into a search engine and see what we will discover."

Sooraya followed the conversation as best she could, but she just shrugged helplessly. "Whoever that man is, he is not in my bag." She stifled another yawn, then glanced at the carousel. Her bag was coming around the bend: a plain black, mid-size upright suitcase. "Ah. There it is." She turned to the two girls. "This is everything."

Grinning, Angel leaned over to snag the bag as it slowly chugged past them. It was heavy but since Sooraya had mentioned the weight, she was prepared and lifted it up and over without much difficulty. "Alright, there we go!" she said, getting a better grip on the bag. "Homeward bound and all that jazz?"

With a smile, Crystal nodded. "Yes, and Angel is our driver, Sooraya. I am afraid that obtaining a license to operate a vehicle is not something that I have done as of yet." Crystal would have taken Sooraya's bag herself had Angel not already made the offer to do so. While she knew there were now many students at the mansion who had not been at the school when Sooraya left, if Angel was a good measure, Sooraya wouldn't have a problem fitting right back into the student body.

"I will be glad to get home," Sooraya admitted. "And I want to see Angel's driving skills as well." She didn't drive. In Afghanistan, that simply wasn't something that women did. Perhaps she would get a chance to study and get her license this year. She was eighteen - certainly old enough for a learners' permit. "So. What has been happening at school since I was gone?"

What had happened was discussed most of the way home.