Thomas was now alone, on his own, wandering the halls looking for his departure gate. He looked again at his boarding pass to make sure he was right. Gate D37.

When he spotted a direction sign not far above his head, he decided to head to the "Duty Free" stores to buy something to snack on during the long flight that awaited him. After all, his flight was just under an hour. He still had time. He then took a sachet of gummy candies in the shape of crocodiles of different colors and went to the crate. The shop was filled with vacationers taking advantage of the absence of tax to buy alcohol and cigarettes at lower prices, while others were eyeing perfumes they would never have bought without this lure of the reduction, displayed in large at all departments. Thomas had to wait only a few minutes before arriving at the cashier, only preceded in the queue by a man in a blue t-shirt and white pants. He must also have had a warm place as his destination. When it was his turn to pay, Thomas took a small black leather purse from his bag and grabbed a few coins. It was the last time he would use euros for a long time.

Leaving the Duty Free store, Thomas followed the direction indicated by the sign he had spotted before and then took a short time to find door D37. The flight was only scheduled to take place in an hour, but the waiting room chairs had already been taken over. Thomas then resolved to have to wait standing. He put his backpack at his feet and took his phone. He opened the Messages and Piano app. "I'm in the waiting room, there are already a lot of people. We should head to the plane in a few tens of minutes I think. I like you ".

Then he went to the floor, knees bent and his back against the wall. The wait would still be more pleasant sitting than standing for long minutes. Thomas mechanically fixed a point on the ground between his two shoes, and it was then that a feeling of loneliness invaded him.

He won't be alone for very long, he knew. In a few hours, he will discover the Walker family, with whom he will spend most of the time during the coming weeks. And he had just said goodbye to his parents. But the loneliness he felt at the time was quite different, and Thomas was wondering a lot. Will this host family be nice? Will they be happy to welcome me? Will I be able to integrate into my new high school? Will all this really happen as I imagined? Will I be disappointed with my American dream?

All these questions turned upside down in his head. He had the courage to go for it, but fear still tormented his stomach. What to do once there, if nothing goes as he had hoped? What if he finds himself alone in the middle of all this turmoil? Loneliness is certainly worse when surrounded.

About half an hour before take-off time, one of the hostesses in the waiting room made an announcement on the microphone which echoed throughout the room and brought Thomas out of his thoughts.

— Good morning all. Flight DY7059 to Orlando will depart in a few minutes. The shuttle is ready to welcome you to allow you to board in small groups. When your name and ticket number are called, I will ask you to wait outside the door on my left. A person will open you as required so that you can get on the shuttle and embark quietly. Thank you for listening, and have a good trip.

Then the hostess recited the same message in different languages. Judging by the number of passengers waiting like him in the waiting room, Thomas said the plane would no doubt be very large. Over the next few minutes, the waiting room gradually emptied. Thomas was called for the third passage of the shuttle. As requested, he wisely stood in front of the transparent door that had been indicated. A man was standing on the other side, he opened the door barely two minutes after all the passengers for the third pass were lined up in front of it.

— Good morning all. Please follow me.

The man repeated his announcement in English, then turned and headed for the shuttle. Thomas, the first passenger in the line that had created himself, followed him with a determined step. Everyone only had to walk a few dozen meters to reach the shuttle, a vehicle halfway between the school bus and the mini-van.

— Please enter the front of the shuttle and sit down as soon as you see a free seat. Please also be seated at the back of your row so that it is easier for us to identify unoccupied spaces. I wish you a good trip.

Again, the man translated his message into English for foreign passengers. Once everyone was installed, he got out of the vehicle and gave two light taps on the windshield. The driver pressed a button, the doors closed, then the shuttle started.

The journey was short-lived, and soon Thomas found himself in front of the imposing plane where he was about to board. All the passengers alighted from the shuttle and stood in single file in front of the boarding stairs. When no one was in the shuttle, it restarted and headed for door D37. The hostess at the foot of the stairs then authorized the ascent, while the rest of the cabin crew was already inside the aircraft, and stood ready to welcome each passenger. Once on board, Thomas went to his place, window side. He tried as best he could to get comfortable, while a passenger quickly came to sit beside him.

A few minutes later, when take-off time was near, a flight attendant asked everyone's attention. There was a great silence, and the flight attendant spoke again. As he announced the safety instructions, two hostesses in the ranks demonstrated it.

The captain announced the impending takeoff shortly after. Thomas had thought about fastening his seat belt, and he had listened carefully to the safety instructions. He turned his head towards the window to see the airport and the sky of Paris for the last time. As the plane started to move and headed for the take-off runway, Thomas inspected the area through the small window in the window. He didn't take his eyes off when the plane picked up speed and started to take off. Very quickly, the decor shrank and the huge airport, where Thomas was still a few minutes earlier, was now little larger than a coin. Everything became more blurry and foggy, and the plane crossed the clouds. Henceforth, Thomas could only observe a cottony landscape stretching as far as the eye could see.