Chapter 4 – Laura's Admission
Laura fidgeted in the oh-so-uncomfortable airplane seat as she attempted to concentrate on her notes. She didn't know if it was her nerves or the person sitting very closely to her left that caused her such lack of focus, but it was annoying. She needed to cram.
She stole a quick glance of her teammate. The guy was always a little hare-brained, she suspected because of his superior IQ, but right now, sitting in economy on the large 777 to New York eating a good twenty packages of peanuts, Laura suspected Sam was on a whole new level of nervousness.
"You alright?" she questioned in concern. Sam turned quickly towards her, her words having disturbed wherever his mind was at, and gave a quick and not so reassuring nod/smile.
He was so not alright. Laura grinned at her teammate and his continuing attempt to remain calm and courageous.
"He's afraid of flying," Brian breathed in exasperation from her right. Well, of course he was. She rolled her eyes at her brainy friend. He didn't have to embarrass Sam like that.
"I'm fine," the blue eyed boy snapped back, then presently shoving another handful of peanuts in his mouth. Yea, definitely embarrassed and still clinging to that bravery. He might have gotten away with the act too had the fasten seat belt sign not come on at that very moment. Laura saw Sam's back tense and eyes grow weary while staring at the tiny notification above their heads.
"You know statistically," Brian continued "the chance of a plane going down because of turbulence is less than what, one in a billion?" Sam and Laura both mirrored each other's eye rolls.
"Or is it a million?" the scrawny teenage boy wondered, "I can't remember if it's – "
"Shut up, Brian" Laura told him, frustrated. She saw the discomfort his worthless facts were causing Sam and it surprisingly rubbed her the very wrong way.
"Listen, Sam, don't pay attention to him, ok? Everything's fine. They're still serving drinks." Laura explained adamantly. She was surprised at how the need to comfort her friend arose in her so quickly. But her attempt did little to calm his nerves. A flight attendant came rushing down the aisle at her words and hurriedly whispered something in her co-worker's ear. Laura saw Sam watch in horror as the lady returned to her station and half-heartedly attempted to draw the curtain between them. She then rushed to get buckled up in her seat. This can't be good.
"Folks, it appears we're going to have a little bit of a bumpy ride for the next few minutes. We ask that you, please, fasten your seat belts and put your tray tables and seat backs into their upright positions until we get through this. Thank you," the pilots shaking voice crackled across the PA. Laura rushed to follow his instructions before looking to Sam. His face was one of sheer panic and fear, and she guessed hers was not much better. She felt her hand flutter to her chest as the shakiness of the air craft grew more violent.
Suddenly, the jet seemed to take a short dive earning a worried yelp from most of its passengers and the female flight attendants to lose control of the drink cart. The dangerous projectile rolled down the aisle nearly hitting Sam head on and crushing the original flight attendant in the process. The scene threw Sam into a panic as he instinctively reached for Laura's hand, crushing it with his own, as the plane continued to experience extreme turbulence.
His touch sent shockwaves through Laura's body and her heart racing, neither of which she suspected were from fear of their current predicament. Are you kidding me with this, Laura? The plane could go down right now and you're just happy that this kid will be holding your hand?
The shaking continued. The plane's overhead bins began ejecting the baggage they held, falling onto the unsuspecting passengers below. Just as Laura began fearing the absolute worst, the aircraft began to steady and the hopeless atmosphere in the cabin became much mellower. It seemed, for now, they were safe. The crowd breathed a sigh of relief.
And there she was, with Sam Hall's large hand suffocating her own dainty one. She still couldn't breathe. This had to stop. Laura, no more distractions remember.
"Sam," she cautioned, noticing the fear still in his eyes and posture. "Sam, can I have my hand back?"
He looked down at their grip and back to her, his expression portraying that he really had no idea he had grabbed for her, not to mention that hard and immediately released his grasp.
Laura laughed nervously at his attempt to play it cool and then even harder when the yellow face masks exploded from above their heads earning yet another panicked expression from Sam.
Ok, so, it was a little adorable that this sort of manly guy had such a fear of flying, but that was all Laura was going to admit. She quickly returned to her decathlon notes. No more butterflies, she had a competition to win.
