Chapter 4 - Newcomers

The rumbling of the jet engines had been constant for the past 6 hours. A quiet roar echoed through the cabin of the Boeing, as it hovered over the East Coast of the United States. Inside the plane was a full group of passengers, including our two protagonists, whose antlers you could recognize from anywhere you could see them.

It was 7:22 PM local time, and Blake and Erik Toivonen sat next to each other on the right side of the plane, with Erik occupying the window seat and staring into the distance with his earphones blasting his favourite bands. Blake, on the other hand, was watching a movie, wearing his headphones and sipping on his coffee with cream. The flight seemed so long for Erik, as he shifted in his seat. This was by far the longest flight Erik has taken in his life, but it won't be his last.

A few more hours passed until the captain's voice interrupted the silence. "Good evening, this is your captain speaking. At this point we're beginning our descent towards Minneapolis-St. Paul. Please shut off all your electronics and mobile devices and buckle your seat belt. Our crew will be with you soon to dispose any garbage you may have left. We're landing in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 20 minutes. Thank you."

Blake put away his headphones and leaned back on his chair, looking over to his son and poking him on the shoulder. Erik turned around and took off his headphones, as Blake told him what's going on in their native Finnish. With a nod, Erik sat upright and finishes his song before putting his oPod away. The plane began to shake harmlessly, as the blanket of white clouds absorbed the plane, as it descented, soon unveiling the landscape that was Minnesota, with the Twin Cities approaching below them.

The city came more into sight as the plane lowered itself onto the runway to the best of the pilot's ability, before the wheels touched the asphalt and the plane was on the ground after 8.5 hours in the air. With a sigh of relief, Erik rubbed his head, looking out the window. It seemed so different for Erik, but his father was by his side. The two wouldn't want to be alone on this journey. Family is just so important to have around.

10 minutes later, the plane docked onto its terminal, and with a beep, the seat belt sign was off. The commotion was starting, as passengers sat up, reached for their belongings and waited for the crowd to move out. One by one, people made their way towards the exit, and soon it was time for Erik and Blake to move out. Grabbing their bags and other utensils, the two reindeer moved their way with the crowd towards the exit. With a "Have a nice evening!", the flight crew welcomed the Finns to American Soil. Though they weren't through just yet.

The two reindeer men walked up to the airport, taking turns and lining up with the other travelers at the 'border'. Papers and passports in hand, Blake stands out from the crowd, while his son resumed listening to his grunge playlist, with only one earphone plugged into his ear. The line moved along rather slow, but more officers opened gates so the line can be cleared faster and ready for the next flight.

"Erik, headphones." Blake spoke to Erik in English. The long-haired cervine looked confused at first, but with a reassuring "Oh.", Erik pulled out his earphone and turned off his music, as the two made their way to the next booth, where a grizzly bear officer was awaiting them.

"Hello, gentlemen." the pudgy-looking officer greeted them, as Blake handed two passports and immigration papers over to the officer. Seconds passed, until the grizzly acknowledges them.

"Big day, huh?" he said.

"Yes, it's finally happening." Blake nodded. Erik looked around the building, but that's to be expected for a kid fresh out of high school in Finland and experiencing America for the first time.

"Ok, you guys are good for now, but I have to ask you to stick around. I'll call up my partner to get you guys to fill out the last few papers." the grizzly acknowledged them as he handed the papers and passports back.

"Yes, of course." Blake nodded.

"Great. Please step behind the booth and wait for him to come." the officer said and called upon the next traveler. Blake and Erik moved out of the way, so the lines moved as easily as possible.

A minute later, another officer came along. This time, a well-built cougar, who looked like he could make a career in the FBA, having some resemblance to Mike Lee (Puma, F, WPG).

"Alright, follow me." the cougar asked the two reindeer. They made their way past travelers and more officers towards the US government office for Immigration and Homeland Security. The glass door and walls were non-transparent, marked with the Homeland Security seal on the door. As the three entered, Blake saw a desk with another officer behind it. In front of the desk were a few rows of seats, partially occupied by other non-US travelers, who are either immigrating or just visiting. It was a grey room with not much decoration, but it served the officers just fine.

On the desk were blank green application papers on clipboards, ready to be filled out. The two Toivonens sat down and took a pen each to start filling out the last papers. Erik felt a little intimidated by the officers around him. Even Blake was feeling nervous, as he has traveled to the US before, but now, he sees a whole new perspective of it.

"What are your occupations?" the cougar officer asked the two Finnish reindeer as they filled out their papers. Blake leaned his head up to the officer.

"Well, I'm a sports agent, and my son is going to college soon." the older reindeer answered honestly and without any hesitation.

"Agent, eh? Which sport? Football? Soccer?" the cougar carried on.

"No, basketball. FBA, to be precise." Blake nodded as he continued.

"Ah, cool." the officer nodded. "We don't have a team up here, but if we did, I'm sure we'd have a fine team."

"I'm sure you would, officer." the reindeer replied, as he passed on his paper to the red wolf in uniform, as did Erik, shortly after he finished copying most of Blake's information. Sans name, of course.

The red wolf checked over the filled-out form. "Blake Toivonen from Finland." he thought out loud as he processed the paper. With a nod, he stamped Blake's paper and moved on to Erik's. The slight smile faded, as he dropped Erik's paper and handed it back to him.

"You forgot to fill out a few things." the red wolf acknowledges the problem as he circled a pair of blank boxes before handing it back to Erik. The younger reindeer leaned forward, brushing his hair to the side, wondering what was wrong. Blake leaned over and explained the boxes to him in their native Finnish. With a nod, Erik filled out the last two spots and handed his green paper back. The red wolf officer received it and stamped it shortly after.

"Say, how much English do you know?" the cougar officer approached the teenage reindeer. Erik looked up to him. "I know a bit of English." he answered.

"Good." the officer replied. That comment made more butterflies appear in their stomachs, but Blake felt the urge to intercept.

"We've been practicing very hard before we got here, officer. He's only been learning English in school, but he has signed up for courses here." Blake answered, as the red wolf got the software ready to take a picture of the two immigrants and take their hoof prints.

"Good good." the cougar replied. The reindeer were a bit confused, as to why the cougar was being rather nosey.

"Ok, Erik? Please sit in front of the camera for your photo." the red wolf instructed Erik, who seemed to understand as he sat down in front of the camera and slouched a bit, before the officer asked him to straighten up. The photo was taken, then the reindeer pressed his index finger into a glass-like pad and let his hoof print be recorded. Blake was up next.

"It's good to know that some people know how to survive in America. You ain't getting nowhere when you can't even speak our language. Some of them coming here just don't know English worth crap." the cougar spat from the back as he leaned against the wall.

"Alright, Rodger, that's enough." the red wolf demanded, as the two reindeer felt intimidated by that, despite proving their ability to communicate and understand English. "I'm sorry, gentlemen. We don't mean to come across that way to two good people like you." he handed out their filled out green sheets back to them. "Take these to the guy before the TSA, and you folks will be good to go. Welcome to America, gentlemen." he smiled.

"Thank you, officer. We shall work hard." Blake nodded as he took his bags and papers and lead his son out of the office. The cougar was disgruntled from being told off by his colleague. But it was his own fault.

Blake and Erik went to the next checkpoint, calm and in no hurry. The green papers were passed to a large lion, who checked them briefly, then handed them back. The two reindeer got through the TSA scan with no further stoppage and soon made their way to baggage claim.

Once they arrived, the crowd had decreased as most of the bags were already claimed, and the Toivonen's luggage was circling around until the rightful owners got them off the trolley and carried them to the doors of the terminal. Finally, after a long and draining flight overseas and dealing with rude security officers, the Toivonen family had arrived in America.

"Aaaaah, joo!" Blake remarked as he inhaled his first breath as an official immigrant. Erik chuckled.

"(It's about time. I felt so crammed in in that plane.)" he told his dad in Finnish, as he stretched out. "(And, man, those officers were unfriendly. Like, come on, what's up with that!?"

"(It happens, Erik.)" his father replied. "(But we're finally here. Let's get a taxi, so we can get to our hotel.)"

Erik nodded as Blake waved to the next available taxi at the airport door. Soon, the two were packing their bags into the vehicle then climbing in. And thus, their new chapter in life began.