It was a dark and stormy night, and I was the only one awake. I was nervous… nervous about tomorrow. But it wasn’t tomorrow I was scared of; it was what was coming with tomorrow. Tomorrow I was going on the biggest adventure of my life.

I woke up with a start, and the sun burning directly into my eyes. I groaned. Then I suddenly remembered. Today’s the day. As I thought, the butterflies in my stomach started fluttering. I looked at the little green clock on my nightstand. It read 6:34. Oh my gosh. I was going to be late. My flight was at 7:40.

I got up, showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast in exactly 17 minutes. Whoa, a world record. I hurried out the door with 30 minutes to arrive at the airport.

I flew past the security guards at the O’ Hare International Airport. I was fidgeting as my luggage took forever to go through security. Finally, I got to my gate right as they were calling my class.

I finally had a chance to rest on the plane. The flight to Orlando was two and a half hours long; I slept for the second half of it. The first half I read a book, the instructions for my travels. Then I was out.

“We are now arriving in Orlando, Florida,” said the pilot over the intercom. The butterflies are back. I sighed, and looked out the window. “Whoa,” I breathed. I had never imagined that Orlando would be so beautiful.







As the plane landed, I prepared for the long, excruciating journey that was ahead of me. I hailed a cab to take me to the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando. I would be the only woman on this mission, and who knows if I would make it back alive.

The taxi pulled into the parking lot that had a sign that said EMPLOYEES ONLY. I gave the taxi driver his tip and got my bags. As the cab pulled out of the parking lot, I took a deep breath and walked up to the door.
I knocked on the door that said DO NOT ENTER; EMPLOYEES ONLY. I wondered, do I count as an employee? Then the door swung open. “Miss Barker?” said the big, grumpy looking man dressed in a black suit. “Yes,” I said. “Miss Kerrie Barker, I’ll have you understand that I meant 10:00 when I said it, and the time is 10:04. Miss Barker, you are late!” “Yes, I’m sorry sir, but, you see, the taxi driver-“Miss Barker, I do not tolerate excuses. The meeting was to begin at 10:00, and it is now 6 minutes past 10:00.”
I was now following him hurriedly, though I didn’t know where to. The man swung open two huge doors at the end of the hall to reveal a large meeting table with seven chairs surrounding it. “Miss Barker, please take a seat.” Then he turned to the people in the meeting room. “Let’s begin!”