Her head was laid against his chest as they continued to wait for the airplane. I hope this plane never comes Melissa thought to herself, I wish this moment could stand still forever. I like this just the way it is. Jackson here, not trying to help settle the controversy on the island. He's not angry or mad at anyone. It's so peaceful. An engine roared from a plane in the background taking off and the news played on a TV near by, but all was finally at rest.
"You can go back to sleep. The plane isn't here yet," Jackson look down at the girl resting in his arms, "It's not like we need to get in the tents before it rains or anything."
"I know, but I was just thinking," Mel replied quietly. Jackson had gotten so accustom to this quiet voice, he was sure he could pick it out of a screaming crowd, "what's it going to be like when we get back home?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, are we all going to be friends still, or is Eric going to hang out with his slacker friends? Is Taylor going to go back to being a pretty princess? Is Lex going to be around at all, and are Daley and Nathan actually going to get together like Nathan wants…"
"Wait, you know that Nathan wants to ask Daley out? Did you hear us talking? I thought you were sleeping,"
"Cody, you don't need to overhear a conversation to know about the obvious," Melissa giggled.
Jackson looked around. The accident on the island seemed to have brought people together in unpredictable ways. Nathan and Daley were sitting side by side talking…a rivalry ended, or at least mended for a bit of time. Taylor and Eric sat in a corner teasing each other. You could see them elbowing each other and laughing, and Lex wandered through each of the groups with ease that the little boy didn't have before the trip. Who knew suck a disaster, could be so great. A silver lining. But, Melissa did have a point. What would happen when school resumed for them again, and the drama of home started back in?
"Jackson, what do you think will happen?" Melissa asked again.
"You know, I don't know, and I could never predict it. We're just going to have to take things as they come, just like we did on the island," he replied. Melissa nodded, accepting the answer given, but the question still haunted him. Everything he had known for the last while was based off of the island. Real life might be harder than he had anticipated.
"GUYS!" Jackson's thoughts were broken as he heard Lex scream. "GUYS! Look at the TV." Lex motioned all of their eyes to the tv. Eric and Taylor scurried over to see what the yelling was about.
"Yea Lex, it's the news," Daley said, "What's up?"
"Hold on, you'll see in a second."
The news reporter came on. In the background behind her was a photo of an island. They all breathed in at once. It was an island they knew well. Their island.
"Today is a momentous day for some teenagers and their parents, friends and family," the news reporter said, "They were on the way to a school sponsored activity to study plants and animals, but a storm hit their small plane and crashed leaving them deserted on an island. The group split up, one half stayed on the island to keep a watchful look for rescue and the other packed up to find cizilization somewhere an the vast island." Every mouth was hanging. The other half of their grouped walked up behind them… Ian, Jory, and Abby. Captain Russell was still off doing his own thing.
"Is that us they're talking about," Abby asked astounded.
"I…I think so," Nathan couldn't help but stare at the screen.
"We've been giving you updates on this story for weeks," the news reporter continued, "The group is now on their way home. They were found yesterday."
"It was deffinatly a real life version of The Lord of the Flies wasn't it," the male reporter chimed in with.
"It certainly was," the female reporter responded with, "Now here today we have the parents of one of the girls, please welcome the parents of Miss Melissa Wu."
Melissa gasped. It was the first time she had seen her parents' faces in what seemed like so long. Tears flowed down her face. Jackson held her a bit tighter to try to comfort her.
"Mel," her mom began, "We've missed you so much. If you're watching this at the airport or where ever, know we never forgot. We kept trying to find you. They searched everywhere. We're so glad you're almost home."
She was now to the point of sobbing.
"Mel, what's wrong?" Jackson softly asked, "Aren't you excited to see your parents again?" He laid a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Of course I am," she said through the sobs, "I just forgot how much I missed them and how much I wanted to be with them."
"We're almost home Mel. Just a few more hours of riding on the airplane."
"I know," she said sniffling as her sobs quieted, "I just started realizing I had forgotten what they looked like and what it was like to hang out with people other than all of us, but I really do hope that things stay good between you, me, Daley, Nathan, Lex, Eric and Taylor, like they were on the island. That's the only reason why I don't want to go home."
The roar of a landing plane echoed outside their terminal. Lex ran over to the window as fast as he could, "That's out plane! We're going home!" His cry of delight was heard over the passersby.
Nathan looked at everyone in their group. A thought was reverberating though his mind, Isn't it ironic, he thought, that our adventure ends the same way it begins…with a plane trip.