Stress of Standby

At this calm and quiet corner of the airport, there's a humming from the distance, the buzz and excitement from other travelers, the regular activities from the rest of the airport - aisles teeming with noisy tour groups and school children in sports uniform and families with crying babies and businessmen in suits and black cases, softened by the therapeutic voice of the airport announcements (HKIA's voice is probably the most comforting voice in the world). Yet it does little to calm the nerves, the pressure of knowing that I might be getting on a plane, or I might be sent home and wake up ridiculously early the next morning and come back to this forgotten corner of the airport again. The wait and the uncertainty is stressful, but also somewhat thrilling at the same time. Occasionally the lady at the standby counter belts out in a loud voice, in the speaker phone, "STANDBY NUMBER XXX TO XXX PLEASE COME AND COLLECT YOUR BOARDING PASS" You check your small yellow slip of paper - even though by now you've memorized your number - and it's not your number. You keep waiting. Other standby-ers around you are slowly disappearing. You wait anxiously. Next announcement comes on, check your ticket, then you secretly jump for joy, say thank you to the loud lady at the counter, breathe a sigh of relief, then RUN because you have 20 minutes to get to the other side of the airport.