Chapter 50 Fifty

Rachel almost missed her flight from Boston to Portland.She almost got on the plane from Chicago and arrived in La Guldia on time.Departure from New York was only 5 minutes late, and arrival in Boston was 15 minutes late, arriving in Boston at 11:12 p.m., leaving her with only 13 minutes to connect.She might have made it to the plane, but the airport bus was late, and she was restless, switching her feet constantly, switching her travel bag from her left shoulder to her right shoulder, as if she was going to the bathroom of.We waited until 11:25, and the car still hadn't come.Rachel ran to the machine switch. She was wearing shoes with low heels, but her ankle still hurt from running, so she stopped, took off her shoes, and started running in her socks.She ran past the Alleghane airline change, and then the Eastern airline change, with a dry throat, panting, and pain in her chest and ribs.Finally she saw the Delta Air Lines sign and rushed through the door, almost throwing one of her shoes, at 11:37.

One of the two watchmen looked up at her. Rachel gasped and said, "Flight 104, to Portland, has the plane taken off yet?" The attendant glanced at the sign behind him and said, "The sign says not yet, but they broadcast the last boarding announcement 5 minutes ago. I'll call them and ask, does your bag need to be checked?" " "No need," Rachel said breathlessly.She pushed the sweaty hair from the corners of her eyes behind her ears with her hands, her heart was beating like a wild horse in her chest. "Then don't wait for me to call them, I will call and ask... But I suggest you run to catch the plane."

Rachel didn't run fast, she couldn't run anymore, but she ran as hard as she could.The elevator was closed because it was night.She ran up the stairs step by step, with an astringent taste in her mouth.She ran to security, tossed her travel bag in front of the startled female clerk, and waited to be cleared.She clenched her hands for a while and then let go. Before the bag was completely out of the conveyor belt in the security room, she grabbed the belt and ran again, with the bag behind her constantly slapping her buttocks. As she ran, she looked up at the sign, which read: Flight 104, flying to Portland, departure time: 11:25, boarding gate: 31, is boarding.

Gate 31 was at the other end of the hall. She took a last look at the sign and saw that the words "Boarding" had disappeared and were replaced with the words "Departing". Rachel let out a cry of frustration and ran to the gate just as the flight attendant was putting away a sign that said "Flight 104, Boston to Portland, 11:25." Rachel asked incredulously, "The plane has already taken off? Did it really take off?" The attendant looked at her sympathetically and said, "It's a pity the plane left the runway at 11:40, ma'am. But you did your best." The attendant said, pointing out the large glass window; Rachel saw a large 727 The plane, bearing the Delta Airlines logo, had taken off.

"God, didn't anyone call to tell you I was boarding?" Rachel yelled. "Flight 104 had already started to take off when the guy downstairs called to tell us. If I called it back, it would be headed for runway 30, and the pilot wouldn't have had my ass smacked, let alone on board. That's about 100 passengers. I'm very sorry, if you could come 4 minutes earlier..." Rachel walked away without listening to the waiter.When she was halfway to the security checkpoint, she felt dizzy in her head. She staggered to another gate and found a seat and sat down until the darkness in front of her eyes and the dizziness in her head passed. , she saw a cigarette butt sticking to the sock.She grabbed the cigarette butt, put on her shoes, and thought gloomily, my feet might be very dirty.

She walked back to the security checkpoint.The clerk at the security check looked at her sympathetically and asked, "Did you make it?" "Yes, not in time." Rachel replied. "Where are you going?" "Portland, then Bangor." "Oh, why don't you rent a car? If you really have to go there, you can rent a car and drive. Usually I would advise passengers to stay overnight in a hotel near the airport, but I see that you seem to be really serious." It's like I have to get there tonight." "Yeah, I've got to go there," Rachel said, thinking, "Yeah, I guess I could do that, can't I? If only one of the offices had rental cars."

The security clerk laughed and said, "Oh, they have cars for rent. The only time they don't have cars is when there's a lot of fog at the airport and planes can't take off. It's going to take a long time for the fog to clear." Rachel hardly listened to what the clerk was saying any more, she just kept thinking and calculating to herself. Even if she was driving too fast, there was no way she would get to Portland in time to catch the plane to Bangor.Then drive back all the time, how long will it take?It depends on how far away it is. 250 miles, the number flashed through Rachel's mind, and maybe Chad had said it.It was at least a quarter past twelve, perhaps nearly half past twelve, when she drove from here.All you have to drive is the main road.She figured she could drive non-stop at 65 mph, and divide 250 by 65 for less than 4 hours.Well, even if it's 4 hours, she might have to stop, go to the bathroom or something.Even if she wasn't sleepy yet, she knew herself that she might need to stop for a black coffee to pick herself up, but she could still make it to Luther Hall before dawn.

After thinking it over, Rachel walked up to the stairs. The car rental office was one floor down from the lobby. The security clerk said loudly, "Good luck, honey, and be careful." "Thanks," Rachel said, feeling lucky.