The decor having become very monotonous, Thomas pulled his head out of the airplane window and began to inspect more around him. The man sitting next to him was quietly leafing through a sports magazine, glasses on his nose. Thomas discovered in front of him a screen embedded in the back of the seat, but he paid little more attention to it. He grabbed the backpack he had placed under his seat, opened the zipper, put his hand in it and took out a small red brochure.

On the cover of the brochure appeared what looked like a logo. A golden disc in the background of a leaping tiger that seemed to hold the initials "HB" between its paws. With the inscription "Home of the Panthers" just below. The logo was so large compared to the size of the brochure that Thomas only saw after the embossed text "Harvey Benjamin High School - Presentation Booklet".

He scrolled through the pages one by one and read the contents carefully. He learned that the school was named after Harvey Benjamin, a former governor of Florida who campaigned for a quality public school, as well as the internationalization and reception of students from all over the world. A black and white photo accompanied the text and showed a man with a slightly bearded face, medium length hair and a broad smile. A few pages later, Thomas discovered photos of his high school.

He wanted to be surprised until the last moment and therefore did not want to do any research beforehand. He was delighted to see for the first time the idyllic setting in which he would be able to study. The campus was near a large lake where a few trees drew what must have been a nearby forest. The buildings seemed huge and far more imposing than those he was used to in France. However, a feeling of serenity and lightness emanated from the photos, certainly thanks to the many green spaces which allowed to bring finesse to the whole. It was exactly as Thomas imagined.

Suddenly, the words began to dance on the page and fade intermittently. Thomas then understood that with the pressure that had subsided, it was now sleep that was beginning to gain him. He had slept very little last night, so a little rest would do him the greatest good. He put the brochure back in his bag and then slipped it under his seat. He put his whole back on the back of the file, closed his eyes, and had only a short time to wait before falling into Morpheus' arms.

Thomas was awakened by the intense sunlight reflecting on the clouds. He lowered the window blind in the hope of being able to go back to sleep, but realized that he didn't really want to. He had no idea what time it was, how much time he had left before setting foot in the United States, but he was fit and rested. He saw the screen in front of him and decided to turn it on. He pressed a button and immediately the screen started to light up. A map appeared shortly after, overflown by an airplane icon that appeared to be moving slightly on a white line. At the top left was "Time remaining: 2:20 » and Thomas deduced that the plane represented its GPS position in real time. At the top right of the screen, Thomas touched an icon represented by three horizontal bars and where the word "Menu" appeared right next to it. He selected "Movies" that had just appeared, and many movie posters suddenly appeared before his eyes. By scrolling through the various posters at the end of his index finger, Thomas realized that the catalog offered was immense. Luckily, his favorite teen movie was on the list. A film about a young boy fond of music who has just joined a new high school where a big rock competition catalyzes all passions, and who will in spite of himself find himself at the head of a group supposed to represent the high school. A film he had seen dozens of times, but whose messages he loved. The discovery of a new horizon, the leap into the unknown that it represents, the culture of unlabeled friendship or even unexpected love. Seeing him again didn't bother him in the least, and it would make the trip go a little faster.

When the end credits scrolled across the screen in front of Thomas, he ended the video and the display returned to the home screen. By now, the small plane had approached its final destination considerably and the time remaining indicated was only 30 minutes. Thomas climbed the window blind and peeked through. The clouds had given way to endless expanses of land dotted with lakes and waterholes like holes in a Gruyere cheese. He now saw with his own eyes the environment that will be his for a few months. At least he could see it vaguely because the plane had not yet descended.

A few minutes later, the captain spoke on the microphone and asked everyone to keep their seatbelt fastened, indicating that the landing was imminent. The flight attendants and stewards passed through the ranks to check once again that the safety instructions were being followed.

As the aircraft approached the airport and began to descend, Thomas became increasingly aware of the surrounding area, which was mainly swampy. Small turbulence jostled the passengers somewhat, but it was not the cause of the anxiety that Thomas was beginning to feel. In a few minutes, he will be officially on American soil, faced with all his uncertainties and released into the crowd. But he was looking forward to meeting the Walker family, who will certainly be his only familiar faces for the months to come.

The plane landed safely and slowly moved towards a building with a large "Hub 4" written on it. Thomas was surprised that he didn't have to take a shuttle to the airport. Instead, he went through a walkway to go directly to the hub. Fortunately for him, the signage was omnipresent and he had no trouble navigating. He took charge of security checks, and soon realized that they had nothing to do with those at French airports. He presented his papers to the person responsible for checking, answered a few questions and passed a biometric check, then the latter handed him his papers indicating that he had to collect his luggage at terminal B. After a brief thank you in which Thomas put on his best American accent, walked over to what seemed like a metro line.

He didn’t have to wait long before a train arrives. With his bag on his back, he climbed aboard, sat down in a free seat and looked out at the landscape through the window facing him. The doors closed and the train started. The decor was not very different from what he had seen when getting off the plane, the rail vehicle crossed a large body of water and very quickly Thomas arrived at terminal B.

He was blown away by the greatness of the place. He only had to walk a few meters to realize that the sunlight, which passed through the huge glass roof, illuminated the many tables below. It was both grand and magnificent. As expected, he waited for his suitcase in front of the treadmills. After a short wait, ten minutes at most, his big blue suitcase appeared. Once it was recovered, Thomas headed for the exit doors. He took an escalator to descend to the lower floor and reach the exit to the parking lot, as a sign indicated to him. As he descended effortlessly, like many travelers in front of and behind him, he saw in the distance a crowd gathered in front of transparent doors. He started looking for a sign of his future family, scrutinizing the groups of people one by one, then his eyes suddenly stopped on a large white sheet of paper.

"THOMAS DUVAL" was written there in black felt pen.