Chapter Fourteen: Departure
24th of December, 2019.
After the 22nd, Rigby and Mordecai barely talked, only ever exchanging gestures or waving at each other. Just after seven in the morning, Rigby and Mordecai were downstairs, hanging up some Christmas decorations.
"Hang that over there." Rigby said, pointing over to the opposite side of the frame of the door.
"Dude, I am." Mordecai answered, reaching up to where Rigby was pointing and pinned up a paper Santa onto the frame of the door.
"Urgh, I hate Christmas…" Rigby muttered.
"Yeah, and you hate Valentine's Day…and Easter…what else? You hate your own birthday?" Mordecai laughed.
Rigby sighed and walked over to the couch in the living room.
"Come on dude, it was only a joke." Mordecai rolled his eyes and followed Rigby and sat beside him on the couch.
"Why do you hate Christmas anyway?" Mordecai asked.
"Family issues." Rigby crossed his arms.
"Oh dude, you're a scrooge!" Mordecai laughed.
"What the hell are you talking about? I need you to stop reading those crappy Christmas Carol novels, now shut up." Rigby countered.
"Sorry, then why do you hate Christmas?" Mordecai continued to question.
"My reasons are my own." Rigby muttered.
"And Easter?" Mordecai continued.
"Dude, back off." Rigby warned.
"Sorry, just curious." Mordecai rolled his eyes. Rigby sighed and picked up the remote from the coffee table in front of him and placed his legs onto the table. Mordecai did the same thing and glanced at the remote as Rigby switched on the television.
"Dude, what're we watching?" Mordecai asked.
"Dunno, guess we'll just flip through channels and see what we find." Rigby shrugged and started pressing the channel button to change the channels. The first channel was a talk show, featuring an all-black cast.
"…and so I said, 'Ellen, you be talkin' some weird shit.'" The television spoke, followed by laughter from the TV.
"Oh god, change it." Mordecai shielded his eyes and Rigby switched channels. The next channel was a cartoon channel.
"…Jake the Dog, Finn the Human…" The television spoke, in a sing-song voice.
"This show?" Mordecai asked.
"Hell no!" Rigby switched channels again.
"…investigators have to find out, before another pilot…makes the same mistake." The television spoke, with the video of an American Airlines jet crashing into a neighbourhood.
"What's this?" Rigby asked.
"It's just some old television show, I think it's still on television, though this does look like a re-run…" Mordecai said. Rigby pressed the 'Info' button on the remote.
"Mayday: Queens Catastrophe…" Rigby read.
"Season Thirteen, Episode Five." Rigby continued to read.
"This show looks interesting." Rigby said to himself, sitting the remove down beside him.
"Dude, it isn't the most encouraging show to watch when you're flying on a plane this evening." Mordecai warned.
"Dude, I'm not scared of some television show, are you?" Rigby playfully punched his friend.
"Whatever man, don't say I didn't warn you." Mordecai rolled his eyes.
"…investigators believe, the first officer was following his training, when he overreacted to 'wake turbulence'." The television spoke, before a picture of the 'American Airlines' flag came on screen.
"Your totally gonna be scared." Mordecai chuckled.
"Shut up dude, we're learning something, isn't that what you did at art college?" Rigby grinned.
"Shut up man." Mordecai sighed. Rigby chuckled triumphantly and continued to watch.
Later that day…
Rigby was packing his bags in his room, while Mordecai was downstairs watching more of that show they were watching earlier. Rigby looked at his wristwatch, which read; 2:31PM. Rigby shrugged and began to sing.
"Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, gonna go see my long lost sister, doo, doo, doo." Rigby was singing to himself while he was packing. A few moments later, Benson knocked on the door and walked inside.
"Rigby? You all packed?" Benson asked.
"Not yet Benson, I'm almost finished." Rigby answered, stuffing some clothes into his big backpack.
"Um…Rigby, you don't wear clothes." Benson said.
"Well, my sister doesn't know that." Rigby shrugged.
Benson rolled his eyes.
"Rigby, I noticed you and Mordecai had hung up the decorations for Christmas, just like I asked. I'm very pleased." Benson glanced at Rigby.
"Thanks boss." Rigby glanced at Benson and watching him walk out.
"Doo, doo…" Rigby continued to sing to himself, while Benson walked downstairs.
Benson reached the end of the stairs and noticed Mordecai watching something on television.
"The Brasilia, on autopilot, is climbing towards its cruising altitude of 24,000 feet." The television spoke.
"What're you watching?" Benson asked, walking over.
"Rigby got me onto a show called 'Mayday'." Mordecai answered.
"Ha! I used to watch that show." Benson walked around the couch and sat beside Mordecai.
"Please, don't tell me what happens…" Mordecai pleaded.
"I promise, I won't." Benson answered.
"Is Rigby all packed?" Mordecai asked, seeming disappointed.
"Not yet, but he's almost finished. He's just packed a bunch of random clothes that he doesn't wear." Benson chuckled.
"That's definitely Rigby alright." Mordecai sighed.
"Mordecai? What's up? Is something the matter?" Benson questioned.
"Well…I just kinda wished that Rigby would've been able to stay for Christmas." Mordecai sighed.
"I know, sorry Mordecai, at least you'll know that he'll be with family." Benson reassured him. "I guess." Mordecai shook his head.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Rigby called, walking down the stairs with his backpack on his back.
"We're just watching a TV show." Benson answered.
"Wow, Benson watching TV with Mordecai, something's not right…" Rigby chuckled.
"Ha, Ha, very funny." Benson got off the couch and walked over to Rigby.
"Okay Rigby, want a lift to the airport?" Benson asked.
"Yeah, I'd prefer not to call a cab." Rigby answered.
"I can take him!" Mordecai exclaimed, getting off the couch and running over to them.
"Guys, I don't leave until four thirty." Rigby furrowed his left eyebrow.
"Oh, sorry." Benson apologized.
"Don't you dare apologize, I'll take Rigby there when it's time." Mordecai scolded Benson.
"Well, fine." Benson shrugged and walked out.
"Well…okay." Rigby chuckled.
"I see you're eager." Rigby chuckled.
"I'm not asking to go earlier." Mordecai said, crossing his arms.
"I know." Rigby seemed confused.
"We got two hours, what do you wanna do?" Mordecai questioned.
"I dunno, I was gonna go get a coffee or something." Rigby shrugged.
"Sounds like a good idea." Mordecai shrugged and nodded at his friend. Mordecai and Rigby walked out of the house and down the stairs, then they got into the cart, that was beside the bottom of the stairs and drove off.
The trip to the coffee shop, downtown was silent. Lots of things were going through Mordecai's mind, even though there was nothing serious happening. Not too long later, they arrived at the coffee shop and got out of the cart.
"Dude…can I ask you something?" Rigby asked, as he got out of the cart and grabbed his backpack.
"What is it?" Mordecai turned to his friend.
"I'm kinda scared about flying over to England…" Rigby admitted.
"See? What'd I tell you, watching 'Mayday' wasn't a good idea, wasn't it?" Mordecai shook his head.
"Maybe it wasn't, but I could really use some support." Rigby sighed.
"Of course, let's just go get some coffee and head to the airport, I'm sure you'll be fine." Mordecai chuckled and walked into the coffee shop with his friend. Mordecai and Rigby walked downstairs and sat at their usual table. Mordecai shivered when he sat down, remembering the time he killed his friend a few months ago.
"Hey guys…the usual?" Margaret walked up to them, holding her notebook.
"Yeah, just the usual." Rigby answered.
"Sure." Margaret rolled his eyes and walked off. Not too long later, Margaret returned with two coffees.
"Here's your coffees, guys." Margaret handed over their coffees.
"Thanks." Rigby thanked her.
"Thanks Margaret." Mordecai thanked her aswell.
"Yeah, sure." Margaret walked off. Mordecai rolled his eyes, while Rigby began to drink his coffee. Suddenly, Rigby groaned and held his hands above his crotch.
"Shit! Gotta use it!" Rigby ran off into the men's room.
"Um…" Mordecai glanced at the men's room, wondering what just happened.
"Hey Mordecai." Margaret walked up to the table.
"Yeah?" Mordecai replied.
"I was wondering…maybe you'd like to come back to my place? I need a little help moving…" Margaret asked, purposely leaning onto the table.
"No thanks Marg, I'm in a relationship." Mordecai politely declined.
"Come on…please…?" Margaret pleaded.
"No!" Mordecai exclaimed.
"Hey man, what's the problem?" Rigby asked, approaching the table.
"Nothing important." Mordecai glared at Margaret, who just scoffed and walked off.
"You haven't had any of your coffee." Rigby pointed out.
"I've lost my appetite for coffee…" Mordecai sighed.
One Hour Later…
Mordecai and Rigby arrived at Twin Peaks airport and were standing in front of the terminal.
"Well…hope you have a good Christmas…" Mordecai sighed.
"You too man, sorry you couldn't come." Rigby attempted to pat his friend on the hip, but accidently slapped him on the ass.
"Oh, sorry." Rigby apologized.
"It's fine…" Mordecai chuckled a little.
"Well, I'll call you when I get there." Rigby said.
"You better, otherwise I'll go over there myself." Mordecai warned, playfully.
"At least I know I'll be missed." Rigby chuckled.
"American Airlines Flight 41 is leaving for London, England in one hour. At gate 15." A voice came from the loudspeaker, inside the airport.
"Well…I guess I'll go buy my ticket." Rigby smiled at his friend.
"Do I get a goodbye kiss?" Mordecai asked.
"Of course." Rigby jumped up and Mordecai caught him. Rigby leant in and kissed Mordecai passionately.
"Get a room!" A woman walked past with her children, covering their eyes.
"Bitch." Mordecai muttered, pulling out of the kiss.
"Well, um…can you drop me?" Rigby asked.
"Sure." Mordecai put his friend down and smiled at him.
"Um, you got a little…something…" Rigby pointed at Mordecai's mouth.
"Oh." Mordecai wiped off a little bit of saliva from his lips.
"Well, I'm off. Bye man." Rigby waved goodbye and re-adjusted his backpack. Mordecai sighed and walked back to the cart.
"Guess I'm spending Christmas with the stupid park crew." Mordecai sighed and drove off.
"Here's your ticket." A lady said, taking Rigby's cash and handing him a ticket.
"Thanks…um…can you remind me what gate to go to?" Rigby asked.
"Gate 15, sir." The lady answered, checking her computer.
"Thanks." Rigby thanked her and walked into the cafeteria and bought himself something to eat.
"Maybe I should've let Mordecai stay so we could've eaten something together." Rigby muttered to himself. Rigby shrugged and sat on his seat.
50 minutes later…
"American Airlines Flight 41 is now boarding at Gate 15, I repeat, American Airlines Flight 41 is now boarding at Gate 15." Someone said over the loudspeakers.
"That's my flight." Rigby said to himself, picking up his backpack and walking over to bag check. Not too long later, he passed through bag check and into a small lounge, with a few hundred other passengers boarding the same plane as him.
"I wonder what kind of plane we're boarding…" Rigby wondered.
"Okay, the plane is ready to be boarded." A man dressed as a flight attendant said, directing the passengers to a door. Rigby stood up and was one of the first people to leave the terminal and looked at the plane.
The plane was an American Airlines 737.
"Woah…" Rigby gasped, as he walked to the plane. Rigby and the other passengers walked up the stairs and into the plane, one by one. Rigby was one of the first people that entered the plane and glanced at his ticket.
"Seat F4." Rigby said to himself, scanning the plane for his seat. Not too long later, he found his seat and opened a small compartment above him, then slipped his backpack in.
He stretched and sat down in his seat, putting on his seatbelt and watched as passengers began to board the plane.
Ten minutes later, the captain of the plane began to speak to the passengers via an intercom from the cockpit.
"Attention Passengers, this is your captain; Stoneman speaking, welcome to Twin Peaks and thank you for choosing American Airlines. It's currently 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but when we get to London, the temperature will drop dramatically, so we hope you've brought your winter gear, because you may need them. Thank you for choosing American Airlines and we hope you enjoy your flight." The captain explained.
Rigby was still nervous from watching 'Mayday' earlier that day. He'd watched only three episodes of the show and yet he was frightened that he'd die.
"This is 2019…the technology we have these days aren't as bad as they were before…this is a very strong plane…you'll be fine…you'll be fine…" Rigby said to himself.
"Scared of flying, eh?" Someone asked, beside Rigby.
"Oh, yeah. First time, in a very long time." Rigby answered.
"Well, this is my first time all together." The man chuckled.
"You heading to London, too?" Rigby asked.
"Yes, going to see some family for Christmas. I guess that's what most of everyone on this flight is doing." The man explained, in a British accent.
"What's your name?" Rigby asked.
"My name is Lord Gumbledorf." The man answered, then suddenly burst out into laughter. Rigby chuckled.
"Ha! My name's not Gumbledorf, that's my uncle's friend's name, my name's Tom." The man extended his hand.
"Well, it's good to meet you Tom, my name's Rigby." Rigby smiled at him.
Tom was a thirty-two year old anthromorphic cat, who had a patch over his left eye that looked like it was sticky-taped on.
"What happened to your eye?" Rigby asked.
"Just an accident at work, accidently poked myself in the eye with a pen." Tom chuckled.
"Ouch." Rigby replied.
Meanwhile, in the cockpit, the captain and co-pilot were doing routine checks before they could get the plane off the ground.
"Should we get clearance yet?" The co-pilot asked.
"Yes, call it in." Captain Stoneman answered. The co-pilot nodded and began to talk into a little headset he was wearing.
"Twin Peaks Air Traffic Control, this is American Airlines flight 41 calling in, we're requesting permission to take off." The co-pilot said.
"American Airlines Flight 41, you're cleared to taxi to Runway Charlie 6, and be wary, we've had reports of heavy turbulence north east of the airport." The Air Traffic Controller answered.
"Roger ATC, thanks for the all clear." The co-pilot signed off.
"All clear?" The captain asked. The co-pilot pulled the throttle forward, and looked at the captain;
"All clear."