lol here's my short story I wrote for class.
[p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"][span style="font-size: 48pt; lineh-eight: 115%;"]The Arrival[o:p][/o:p][/span][/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"][o:p][/o:p]Loud Speaker:[span style=""] [/span]Time is 6am departure time for American Airlines flight 1252 to Chicago O'Hare then on to Vancouver YVR is now boarding......[/p][p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"]
[/p] [o:p][/o:p]Karl Stanley never would have thought that this moment in his life would be so life changing.[span style=""] [/span]"It's just a plane ride," Karl thought.[span style=""] [/span]Little did he know it would be the biggest plane ride in his young 20 years of life.[span style=""] [/span]See what Karl didn't realize was that he was about to become a man, he was about to grow up.[span style=""] [/span]Long gone were the days of him being relying on by his mother Anne or his father John or even his dreaded annoying younger sister Mary.[span style=""] [/span]Karl was about to grow up and he knew it deep inside, but a part of him wanted to still be a child.[span style=""] [/span]That child, Karl thought, was the thing that was holding him back.[span style=""] [/span]Karl was also nervous and excited at the same time.[span style=""] [/span]He had never felt so many weird emotions before at such an odd moment.[span style=""] [/span]Deep inside he knew he was about to embark on something special.[span style=""] [/span]Karl was going to have responsibility, something he dearly craved but never showed. [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"]"Bye Mom!" as Karl waved to his mother before going through the tunnel on to board the plane.[span style=""] [/span]Anne was sobbing uncontrollably.[span style=""] [/span]Yes she thought "finally, after two years of being lost, he's finally on the right track."[span style=""] [/span]For the past two years Karl had struggled to finish school.[span style=""] [/span]He almost dropped out of high school but out of his mother's determination she got him into an online school so that her son could graduate high school and still have a life for himself.[span style=""] [/span]"I've done all that I can do, it's up to him now, and he's finally growing up."[span style=""] [/span]Anne was tired, worn out after years of teaching her son Karl, how to live, work and be a good human.[span style=""] [/span]She never gave up though, unlike Karl's father who threw in the towel a year ago.[span style=""] [/span]To her Karl did the impossible, he got out of a jam that for a while seemed impossible to reach.[span style=""] [/span]She was ultimately sad though, because her precious son is now moving on with his life.[span style=""] [/span]Although this is what Anne wanted, she still was sad to see him leave her to such a faraway place.[span style=""] [/span]Anne always asked Karl "why Vancouver, Canada?" and Karl being Karl would say "well mom, Canada is a pretty big place if you hadn't noticed and is it me or is it getting a bit too crowded here in the states."[span style=""] [/span]Karl was obsessed with all things Canada.[span style=""] [/span]He found a giant Canadian flag on a Florida trip to see his grandma a few years back.[span style=""] [/span]Then Karl had this pen pal in Vancouver who sent him a giant Flag of British Columbia.[span style=""] [/span]Karl treasured these flags, they were his prized possessions.[span style=""] [/span]He would listen to the CBC radio and watch television clips of news on the internet.[span style=""] [/span]His favorite political icon was Pierre Trudeau.[span style=""] [/span]Karl's friend at first completely hated his obsession of Canada.[span style=""] [/span]"That's all you ever talk about" he would say.[span style=""] [/span]True enough, Karl was living in an almost fantasy land of Canada 24/7.[span style=""] [/span]He was known as a talker to the family and was laughed at for it, but this time he was determined to see this dream through.[span style=""] [/span]No more "crazy Karl" with his zany ideas that do not make any sense whatsoever he thought.[span style=""] [/span]Karl wanted to show them, show his family and most importantly himself that he could do this.[span style=""] [/span]Karl did not want to be known his entire life as the "crazy kid who talks a lot."[span style=""] [/span]Not this time, he would say to himself, "Karl means business."[/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"]As Karl walked down the tunnel ramp to the plane the flight attendant for the flight a girl not to much older then Karl said hello.[span style=""] [/span]Karl thought she was really pretty.[span style=""] [/span]"Where are you from?" Karl asked.[span style=""] [/span]"Richmond, which is a suburb of Vancouver." Michelle replied.[span style=""] [/span]"Cool." Karl said back to her quickly.[span style=""] [/span]He knew where Richmond was by looking and studying maps of Vancouver.[span style=""] [/span]He knew it was a predominantly Asian suburb, and that most of the people who live there used to live in Chinatown, in Vancouver.[span style=""] [/span]He didn't want to bother her with these facts he'd acquired because he thought it would make him look foolish and she looked busy anyway.[span style=""] [/span]Then after awhile when everyone got in their seat, the plane started to move.[span style=""] [/span]Karl got excited.[span style=""] [/span]He loved to fly but for some reason Lambert International Airport, Karl's home airport made him nervous.[span style=""] [/span]"I just don't feel comfortable at Lambert." He would always tell his dad.[span style=""] [/span]"Other airports I feel great in but there's just something about Lambert."[span style=""] [/span]He never knew what it was but for some reason or another he would always start shaking and grinding his teeth before a flight.[span style=""] [/span]Meanwhile the plane was picking up speed, "Here we go" he said to himself.[span style=""] [/span]As he said that the plane left the ground.[span style=""] [/span]Karl looked into the window and said goodbye to Saint Louis and tried to find his home from the air.[span style=""] [/span][/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"][span style=""] [/span]The flight to Chicago for Karl was a rather smooth one.[span style=""] [/span]If you have ever flown from Saint Louis to Chicago you know it's a quick one.[span style=""] [/span]As soon as it seemed like the plane just took off it landed.[span style=""] [/span]Chicago was snowy and cold looking.[span style=""] [/span]The sky was all gloomy, a storm was coming.[span style=""] [/span]While the plane was barely even occupied from the flight to Chicago, it was packed from Chicago to Vancouver.[span style=""] [/span]As people started to pile in, curious Karl started asking questions.[span style=""] [/span]First person to sit next to him was Bob, a Chicago native with a thick Chicago accent.[span style=""] [/span]He was going to Vancouver for a business meeting.[span style=""] [/span]For the next 20 minutes or so Karl and Bob talked about Chicago sports.[span style=""] [/span]Karl being a Cardinals fan and Bob being a Chicago Cubs fan had some great stories to tell to each other.[span style=""] [/span]Karl was having fun.[span style=""] [/span]He kept telling everyone how excited he was to be finally going to university, especially in his favorite city, Vancouver.[span style=""] [/span]Chicago was a short stop and as soon as the plane landed it seemed to be back in the air on its way to glorious Vancouver, Karl's promise land.[span style=""] [/span]About half way through the flight Karl started to get really anxious.[span style=""] [/span]When Karl starts to get anxious, he panics.[span style=""] [/span]Karl quickly went through all the important documents he needed to leave YVR and enter Canada.[span style=""] [/span]Thanks to the new passport law, Karl had to get a passport.[span style=""] [/span]He felt so grown up about having a passport.[span style=""] [/span]He'd never had one before.[span style=""] [/span]After Karl found the necessary document, he felt relieved.[span style=""] [/span]While he was creating all this commotion a man across the isle named Dan started to help Karl.[span style=""] [/span]Dan was a military man.[span style=""] [/span]He was taking his family to Victoria on vacation.[span style=""] [/span]He was with his wife and young daughter.[span style=""] [/span]He was very excited.[span style=""] [/span]He gladly helped Karl put his entire luggage back into the overhead compartments.[span style=""] [/span]Karl thanked Dan and they went their separate ways.[/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"][o:p] [/o:p]Loud Speaker: "This is your Captain speaking.[span style=""] [/span]We will be arriving in Vancouver shortly.[span style=""] [/span]Thanks"[/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"][o:p] [/o:p]"Oh my god, it's finally here," said Karl.[span style=""] [/span]"I'm actually landing in Vancouver, and starting a new."[span style=""] [/span]If you could see the look on Karl's face it was priceless.[span style=""] [/span]He was grinning in to ear, his hair started to stand up, he was getting goose bumps.[span style=""] [/span]"Wow."[span style=""] [/span]Karl was speechless and for the next 10 minutes he said nothing and just stared out of the window to look at his new home, British Columbia and Vancouver.[span style=""] [/span]The only thing that took Karl off the window was the sign by the Michelle the flight attendant to turn off all electronic devices.[span style=""] [/span]Karl could see the airport now, he was super excited.[span style=""] [/span]In what seemed like an hour the plane landed and Karl was finally able to get out of the plane.[span style=""] [/span]"VANCOUVER!!!" Karl shouted, jumped up and down and did a jig.[span style=""] [/span]For the first time in his life, Karl felt at home and at peace.[span style=""] [/span][/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"]"Hello Mr. Stanley," said a strange thick French accent.[span style=""] [/span]Karl turned around "Oh oops, duh, I'm supposed to check in with you guys."[span style=""] [/span]Karl forgot to immediately go to the check out for international passengers and talk to the border agents.[span style=""] [/span]Karl's border agent was Pierre Martin, a French Canadian from Quebec.[span style=""] [/span]"So what are you doing in Vancouver?" Karl then shows him the school certificate that shows he's a student and the passport.[span style=""] [/span]"Ah, let me check the data base here to see if I can find your student visa." Pierre says, "sure enough it's right here."[span style=""] [/span]"Merci." Karl responds and is handed his student visa and passport back.[span style=""] [/span]Karl was finally in Vancouver.[span style=""] [/span]Karl now had to take the Canadian line which is a mass transit line run by Skytrain in Vancouver.[span style=""] [/span]Then he was instructed to get off at Granville Station and switch trains to go to on the Millennium line which would take him all the way to UBC or University of British Columbia.[span style=""] [/span]This is where he would spend the next four years studying Political Science.[span style=""] [/span]Karl kept thinking about how far he had come in just a little over a single day.[span style=""] [/span]He had flown across the continent and landed in another country before dinner time.[span style=""] [/span]Wow he thought, amazing world I live in, as he watched the houses go by on the Skytrain.[span style=""] [/span]The closer he was to UBC the more it hit him, he had finally grown up.[span style=""] [/span]Only Karl would come to this conclusion that he would grow up in one plane ride.[span style=""] [/span]It wasn't just the plane ride for him, it was the way he went about it that made him think this way.[span style=""] [/span]This was the first time in his entire life where he didn't have to ask for help from his family.[span style=""] [/span]He was all alone and in charge.[span style=""] [/span]He was the man.[span style=""] [/span][/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"][o:p] [/o:p]Loud Speaker: "UBC next stop..."[/p] [p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"][o:p] [/o:p]Karl couldn't believe his eyes, UBC looked even prettier then it did in the pictures or on television.[span style=""] [/span]He immediately remembered that he had to meet his orientation student helper at the library.[span style=""] [/span]Awe struck at where he was at, Karl walked to the library.[span style=""] [/span]While staring at the trees Karl heard a voice calling his name.[span style=""] [/span]"Karl, Karl Stanley" said a male voice with a slight accent.[span style=""] [/span]"Yes" said Karl.[span style=""] [/span]"Welcome to Vancouver![span style=""] [/span]My name is Jordan and I'll be your student guide."[span style=""] [/span]"Sweet" Karl replied.[span style=""] [/span]As Karl walked away with Jordan, Karl realized that he had finally, arrived.[/p]
