Arrival

The Hackleman ladies arrived at the airport without father due to the enormous size of Hilary's suite case. Upon arrival they also discovered that each daughter could have checked an additional 50lb case. This lead to some last minute packing adjustments in a $30 Virgin Atlantic duffle bag that threatened the dominance of Hilary's suite case.

After receiving tickets and checking the luggage they proceeded to the international building at LAX that provided an assortment of restaurants to satisfy a variety of pallets. Father Hackleman would not have been sad to have missed this dining experience due to his lack of affection for Mexican cuisine.

The girls waved farewell to their mother as they effortlessly ascended on an escalator to the terminals. They waved without reservation and experienced a fleeting feeling of freedom followed by imminent responsibility. Once on board their flight both girls poured through the on flight movie listings. Hot Fuzz was first on the list followed by other Hackleman girl staples: Arrested Development, Doctor Who and The Office. Sleep was not an option due to the cramped space and general fear of missing something.

The flight fittingly flew by and landed like a really heavy feather. Suite cases were found and hauled all over Heathrow. The Newbold ride looked at their luggage with dread and hurried them to the parking lot. With expertise and determination all the luggage was piled into the Nissan four-door. The ride drove on the wrong side the entire time and arrived with speed and at Binfield in under 45 minutes.




After some arranging the dean managed to fulfill Deirdre's three-month-old request to room with her sister. During this time both girls waited a couch, Hilary curled up on her side resting her head on her sisters lap. Once in their first floor room the girls used their last ounce of energy to leave the school to find an adaptor, shampoo and bath towels.



The town was farther away than they thought and the 4pm Sunday closing time was fast approaching. Hilary and Deirdre both wished that Hilary's beloved Lark was there to help carry her and her sister to town. They found a hardware store that had an adaptor they could use. The young man who helped them named Michael, required five other attendants to answer their second question: if Safeway was still open and if they had towels. Sleep deprivation was starting to make everything cloudy and increasingly sleepy. One more fast-talking brit would destroy the girls ambition soon. With their new adaptor in hand they returned to the school and bought some soap and conditioner at a mini-mart down the way that was apprently in violation of the Sunday law or so Hilary thought. When she asked the clerk about it she was told that "little shops weren't held under that law." And, "It's not like America here, not all stores are open 24 hours." With unusual self-control, Hilary recoiled and did not take offense at the gross generalization.

Back in the room both girls checked and wrote e-mails to inform their loved ones of their safe arrival, made their beds and went to sleep...