Rookie Mistake!

My first international trip was to Spain with a group from school. I was new to travelling, but very excited and in awe of everything.

We were waiting for the security gates to open at the Heathrow airport when 2 students decided to go for a walk, leaving their bags with us. The airport security staff opened the gates while they were gone and welcomed us through. Being a newbie, I never realized that you should not carry someone else's bag through security. Especially not someone you don't know and therefore have no idea what's in the bag! 

When I walked through the gates with two backpack they "randomly" selected me for further investigation and asked about the spare pack I had. I was evidently not thinking straight and said it was a guy's and I was taking it for him... bad answer!

Thankfully after interrogating me for a good 15 minutes, tears streaming down my face, they let my worried teacher come and explain the situation! 

I got lucky back then, airport security measures were not as strict as they are now. These days I would have probably been kicked out of the airport! Take my advice, make your friends carry their own backpacks!