Chapter 1:
A week ago everything had been different. Nathan and Taylor had been dating. Daley was freaking out over a school election. Eric had been plotting to hook up with Taylor. Melissa had been bending over backward to be a good friend to Nathan. And Jackson, well, he had been sitting in the back of a police car thinking his life was over. The thing was, he had no idea that in only a week he would be thinking this again as his plane plummeted toward the ocean.
Jackson gripped the armrests of his seat and forced himself to glance out the window. All he saw was a grayish blur as the sky rushed by with alarming speed. No, that wasn't right. It was the plane that was rocketing toward nothing, Jackson realized, his stomach rising briefly into his throat. He swallowed hard, regaining some control over his body. IF he was going to die on this stupid plane, he wasn't going to spend his last few minutes on Earth throwing up. Ripping his eyes away from the window his gaze fell on that Daley girl who was sitting across the narrow aisle. She had a death grip on her little brother's leg, and her mouth was moving but not making a sound. The kid's eyes were huge, but he wasn't screaming. That would be that Jory chick at the front of the plane, a high pitched shriek repeating over and over.
"Will somebody shut her up?" The captain yelled, his voice was panicked and he was sweating through his obnoxious pineapple shirt.
Leave her alone, Jackson wanted to say. Let her express herself however she wants, we're all about to do die, why shouldn't she scream?
Jackson saw the girl he thought was named Abby or Annie grab Jory's arm and pinch it hard, and the screams died away. It wasn't much of an improvement, now the sounds of the wind and tearing metal could be heard much more clearly. Behind Jory and Abby (or was it Annie?) were Nathan and Melissa. He didn't really know them either, but at least he was sure of their names. Nathan had given him a ride home a couple of times, and Melissa had actually convinced him to go on this trip. He'd have to remember to thank her for that one.
"It's going to be ok Mel." Nathan was saying.
Liar. Jackson had to admire the kid's effort though.
Across from Nathan, in the plane's only row of three sat Ian, Taylor, and Eric. Jackson didn't know Ian at all, and the guy's blank stare didn't offer much information. Taylor had been Nathan's girlfriend a week ago, Jackson was pretty sure. Now she was bent forward muttering, "Help! Help!". Eric was talking too, "Oh man…oh man…".
Leave it to rich kids to feel the need to be talkative as they raced toward their imminent and unavoidable doom. Oh well, to each his own. For his part Jackson would end it all in silence. Except that wasn't exactly true. On top of all the surrounding noise, his earphones were still echoing faintly with aggressive Samoan rap music. Suddenly, Jackson had a fleeting wish that he had more peaceful music to die to. For an even shorter instant, he regretted his decision to sit alone. He didn't want to go down holding onto nothing but his armrest.
What was taking so long? It seemed like it had been hours not minutes. Jackson quickly calculated how long it would take the news of his death to spread back home.
"3 days until my foster mother finds out…a week for my jerk of a social worker…a month until my "friends" hear about it…and then MAYBE someone will think to tell my mom"…Jackson swallowed hard, aware that even now he wasn't going to cry…and then…impact.