Simon let out a content sigh as he zipped his back. The school did a senior trip with the entire class. They were going to Sand Island, Hawaii for spring break. After the long school year he had, this was a much-needed break.
Nora poked her head through the doorway. "Abby's here," she called. The senior class was meeting at the school. They would then take a bus to the airport. Simon hugged his younger sister around the shoulders. "Alice says she hopes you have a great trip."
"I hate that I'm going to miss her visit," Simon sighed. "Now I'm going to be the one talking over Skype."
"You're probably going to be in a different time zone," Nora reminded him.
"That won't stop me," Simon declared.
"Besides, you're going to having too much fun," Nora teased. "It would be sad if you spent your entire senior trip calling home. You should go out there, become an adult. Maybe, you'll even find a boyfriend."
"That hasn't even crossed my mind," Simon said. That was a total lie. Simon had made his goal of this trip to find Blue, the boy he had been an email-only relationship with. He's confirmed that he is going, narrowing down his list to the senior class only.
Simon walked down the stairs. "I'm heading out," Simon announced.
"Call us when you arrive," Jack reminded his son.
"I will," Simon promised. Simon hugged his parents goodbye before stepping out. Abby's car was parked in front of the house. Simon threw his bag into the back of Abby's car. Simon climbed into the backseat, joining his other friend, Leah. Nick was sitting in the passenger seat.
"Hi, Simon," Abby greeted.
"Hey, Abbs," Simon said. They then pulled out of their parking spot and drove towards the school.
An hour later, the teens were making their way through the airport. They were buzzing with excitement. The group of teams had made their way past security when Abby groaned. "Looks like trouble is already here," she sighed.
Martin Addison was already at the gate. Martin had found Simon's emails to Blue, and began to blackmail him. Martin has a huge crush on Abby and wanted Simon to set him up on a date with her. Simon, reluctantly, agreed to it. On Christmas Eve, Martin outed him on Creeksecrets, the school's gossip Tumblr. The blackmail caused a temporary rift between Simon and Abby, but she forgave him after a few days.
"I hate him," Leah growled.
"You hate most people," Nick argued.
"Your point?" Leah asked. Their gate number was then called to start boarding. "Time to go. Next stop, Sand Island."
Simon had managed to fall asleep two hours into the flight. He woke up two hours later. He smelled smoke, and he looked out the window. Simon stopped himself from screaming since the left-wing had caught fire.
"Turbulence," The pilot announced. "One of our engines has exploded. Prepare for an emergency landing."
"Emergency landing," Leah screeched. She was sitting beside Simon in the aisle seat. "We're flying over the pacific ocean. We're not going to survive this. Simon, we're going to die!"
Simon wished he could tell Leah everything would be okay. He wished he could tell her she'd get to see her mom again. If he told her that, it would be a lie. So he just took her hand as the plane began to plummet into the ocean.