C. and I had to catch a flight. We were in a huge, sprawling airport-- I think it was maybe supposed to be Heathrow, there was something about it that made it seem like it was in a different country but it was definitely a predominantly white, English-speaking place. The whole thing felt like a quest; we arrived at the airport with something like six hours to get to our plane. Actually, it started with already being on a plane, from which we disembarked, so it must have been a layover that involved a terminal-crossing plane-change. (Which, yeah, does sound a lot like Heathrow, actually...)
There were lots of bits to the quest but I only remember a few of them. The biggest "set piece" was a strange incident where a whole lot of us passengers were sitting in a waiting room and there was a second floor walkway all around us-- like the kind of thing prison guards would patrol while looking down into common areas full of criminals. Anyway, a couple dozen beautiful women in various airline flight attendant uniforms came out onto the walkway and lined up. They began practicing some sort of can-can-like dance; it was clearly a rehearsal for something. I thought it was probably going to be an ad for the airport, about how all the airlines work together or something.
Then the women began taking off their uniforms, revealing bright, showy Vegas Showgirl costumes underneath-- feathers, sequins, gemstones, the whole thing. Huh! They continue practicing the dance. Everyone down in the waiting area is watching with interest because, you know, who doesn't like a line of dancing showgirls, right?
Then they start flashing us. Not all at once, just one here or one there, and then eventually they're all doing it-- and not just a quick coy peek here or there, they effectively turn into a line of strippers, and in very short order some of the women down in the waiting area start doing the same thing back at them, like a friendly competition or something.
Pretty soon, everyone is in a crazy state of arousal and some people are getting their mack (or more) on in darker corners of the waiting area, and everyone else is sort of squirming uncomfortably, trying to be discreet about the things they are getting up to with the person (or people) next to them. The girls upstairs are pretty much a long chain of soft-core lesbian action at this point, except for the ones who are quite obviously going down on some guys who somehow managed to climb up there from the lower level. Jesus Christ what the hell kind of airport is this? I'm looking around for an untaken dark corner to drag C. off to and then all of a sudden there's a snotty airport staff member with a little moustache clapping his hands for attention: "Everyone, the shuttle is leaving in one minute."
And everyone is scrambling for their stuff, scrambling to get their clothes back on and in place, shit we only have a minute, and the girls upstairs scatter in all directions like they're panicked and there's lots of noise and confusion. C. almost forgets her purse, I almost forget my jacket, we're grabbing stuff at random and running with piles in our arms.
Later there was a segment after we got off the shuttle where a little boy had apparently gotten left behind by his parents and he sort of joined us on our quest for a while-- finding his parents being his personal quest, sort of like Lion trying to get his Bravery I suppose-- but we stopped for snacks at one point and lost him again. One moment I looked down at my wristwatch-- I have't worn a watch since high school-- and the next I looked up and he was gone, carried off by the crowds. I felt like my heart was torn in two, but quests are not easy or safe things...
There was a bit about awful, overpriced airport food and some slapstick involving the horizontal slideways as well, and some other stuff that's less distinct now, and then I woke up before we ever got to our plane. We had an hour and a half to be at the gate when I woke up, out of something like six hours total... I hope we made it.