Chapter 7
"Mommy I'm scared." William said as he sat between his parents inside the airplane, getting ready for their flight to New Jersey for their Christmas visit to Beverly.
Penny leaned over and hugged her son. "Don't be scared sweetheart, it's gonna be alright."
"Why are you scared anyway? I thought you wanted to be a Jedi? A Jedi doesn't give in to fear." said Sarah.
"She's right buddy." said Leonard. "What are you afraid of anyway?"
"The plane might explode...or the wings might get ripped away..." said William, making his family laugh as the flight crew passed by, hearing the young boy's silly concerns.
Leonard saw them and smiled. "It's his first time flying..." he told the captain which he recognized by his uniform.
The captain looked over at William. "Hi! I'm Captain Stenson...I'm sorry but I heard you have some concerns about the aircraft?" said the captain.
"Are you the one flying the plane?" William asked, looking up to the captain.
"Yes...and this is First Officer Gibbs...he's my co-pilot." the captain said as Gibbs waved at the young boy.
"Are you sure that the plane is strong enough? Like it won't explode or something?" asked the young man, as a couple of flight attendants join in, finding William adorable.
"I'm pretty sure we're safe here." said the captain. "If you want, you can come with me into the cockpit and see how we control the aircraft from there." he added, making William excited.
"Huh! Really?" said William. "Mommy did you hear that? He's gonna show me how to fly the plane! Can I come mommy!?" he said.
"Okay sweetheart...but promise me you'll behave." Penny said.
"I promise!" William said as Leonard helped his son off his seat.
"If you want, your sister can come as well." said Gibbs.
"Yeah sure!" Sarah said, quickly getting up to join her little brother. "Don't worry mom, I'll watch over him." she added as William followed the captain and the first officer.
"Thank you captain. I'm William by the way." he said.
"Nice to meet you William." said the captain. "Now come on...I'm sure you're gonna like what you see in there."
After a few minutes, the captain along with his co-pilot entered the cockpit welcoming Sarah and William in.
"Woah! This is so cool!" William exclaimed, amazed with all the buttons in the cockpit.
"This is where we control everything in the aircraft...come on, have a seat in here." said Captain Stenson, helping William sit in the pilot's chair.
"How do you know which button to push anyway? There's like a million buttons here!" asked the young man.
"They undergo training little brother...and lots of it." Sarah chimed in.
"Your sister is right...and we have to undergo exams and certifications before we're allowed to pilot this aircraft." said Gibbs.
"And if we were to pilot another aircraft model, then we'll have to undergo another training for that aircraft." said the captain.
"That sounds like too much work." said William.
"It is...because everyone in this airplane is under our responsibility...and it's our job to keep everybody safe once we take off and land." the captain said.
"Is this the thing you move so the plane can fly?" William asked while pointing at the throttle control.
"That's the throttle to control the engine." said Gibbs.
"And this one?" William said pointing to another button.
"That's the backup radio...so we can still call out if our main radio is damaged." said Gibbs.
"What about this one right here?" asked the young man as the captain and co-pilot explained what the different controls do. Sarah just stood there, letting his little brother's curiosity run free as he kept the questions coming, from downright silly to the sometimes very insightful, surprising the two pilots at how a young person is able to ask so many questions.
"And that one is the PA system, so we can inform the passengers in the cabin...you know, welcoming and thanking them...or if we encounter issues during the flight." the captain added.
"So you can use this to say anything and the people back there are gonna hear it?" asked the young boy.
"If you want we can say something now." The captain said.
"Really? But what are we gonna say?" asked William.
"You can pretty much say anything...here...let me start." The captain said as he grabbed the microphone and flipped a few toggle switches. "Ladies and gentlemen this is the captain speaking...with me right now is a smart young man named William..." he paused. "What's your family name again?" he asked Sarah.
"Hofstadter." Sarah said as the captain pressed the button again.
"William Hofstadter with his sister Sarah...they're here with us in the cockpit to learn how we control the aircraft so we'll arrive at our destination safe and sound." he said before handing the mic over to the young man. "Just press here before you talk."
"But what do I say?" William asked.
"Anything...say hi to them...or why don't you call out to mom and dad." Sarah said, making William smile.
"Okay." said the young boy before putting the mic near his mouth and pressing the button. "Hi mommy...hi daddy...I'm the pilot now. Daddy, don't give mommy a hard time...she's pretty great already!" he said before putting the microphone back on the console as the pilot, co-pilot and Sarah laughed hard.
"You're brother is a little playful huh?" Gibbs told Sarah.
"Do you think daddy would be mad?" asked William.
"I'm sure it's fine...now let's go back in there...Captain Stenson has a schedule to keep." Sarah said, taking her brother's hand and leading him out toward the cabin.
"Thank you!" William said while waving goodbye to them.
"Bye William!" said the captain.
Back in the passenger cabin...
Penny immediately showered her son with hugs and kisses. "Ugh...you're so amazing!" she said.
"Did you hear me on the speaker mommy?" asked William.
"Everyone did, and everyone was laughing with what you said about your daddy." Penny said.
William faced his father. "Daddy I'm sorry...I'm only joking."
"It's alright buddy...but next time you give me a heads-up okay?" Leonard said. "Now tell me what you saw in there?"
"There were so many buttons daddy! Like maybe a thousand or a million...it was so cool!" said the young man, making his parents smile at how inquisitive their son was. "I got dizzy just by looking at all the buttons and stuff."
"Well I'm glad you learned something new." Penny said.
"Did you know that the pilot can sleep while the plane is in the air?" William told his father.
"Really?" Leonard said.
"Yeah...but the captain said they would take turns so the other can still control the plane...if some stuff happens or something." said the young boy before facing his mother. "Mommy I want to be a pilot when I grow up!"
"That's great sweetheart..." said Penny.
"But I'm not just gonna fly a simple plane like this...I wanna be a soldier pilot!" William said.
"Soldier pilot?" asked Leonard.
"Yes daddy...you know the one where he gets to fight the bad guys in the air and shoot missiles and lasers and stuff!" said William, making them all laugh.
"You mean a fighter pilot?" Sarah asked.
"Exactly...and we would fly out from the big ship in the sea and then we would chase the bad guys away." William said.
"That's called an aircraft carrier." Sarah said.
"Yeah that one...that would be so cool, right mommy?" the young man said.
"Yes sweetheart...it is cool." said Penny.
"But for you to be fighter pilot, you need to be soldier first." said Leonard. "You have to undergo basic army training...learn how to use a gun...study military tactics...that sort of stuff."
"What do they do there daddy?" asked the young boy.
"Well, I can't be too sure but they usually do physical training, like running...and getting over obstacles...swimming in mud...they do that so they can get tough when the time comes to face the enemy..." Leonard said.
"I have to do all that before I can fly the jet fighter plane?" William asked.
"Yes little brother...every soldier goes through that." Sarah chimed in as the flight crew made their final preparations for the flight while the plane taxied its way to the end of the runway.
"We'll have plenty of time to talk about it when we arrive at your grandma's." Penny said as she held her son's hand to make sure he won't get scared during takeoff. "I'm sure she'd want to hear everything you know about airplanes."
After almost ten minutes, the aircraft ascended to the skies, slowly picking up speed as it settled in its flight plan from California going directly to New Jersey. William sighed with relief, realizing that he had nothing to fear after all.
"See? Nothing happened." Penny told her son.
"Good thing I was brave mommy." William said, making his parents laugh.
"I'm so proud of you sweetheart!" said Penny, kissing her son when a flight attendant went to check up on them.
"Hi...is everything alright?" said the flight attendant, looking at William. "I'm D'Arcy by the way."
"Hi...I'm William...and this is my daddy, Leonard and my mommy Penny...and that is my sister Sarah." William said.
"Are you okay? Did you get scared during takeoff?" asked D'Arcy.
"A little bit...but now it's not so bad..." said the young man.
"Well I have a few coloring books here...do you want to try them out?" said D'Arcy as William took a coloring book with a nature theme.
"Did you know that trees take in the bad air and make it into good air for people like us?" William told D'Arcy, making her laugh a bit.
"Wow...I didn't know that!" D'Arcy said, playing along with the young boy. "You're a smart boy huh?"
"Uh huh...I can also do math like three times four is twelve...and twelve times five is sixty...that sort of stuff." he said, slightly surprising the flight attendant.
"Wow...that's impressive. Do you mind if I give you a little test?" said D'Arcy.
"Okay...I'll try my best." William nodded.
"Okay...what is twenty-six times...seven?" D'Arcy asked.
William thought for a while and looked up, trying to compute in his head. "One hundred and...eighty-two." the young man said.
"He's right." Sarah butted in.
"Oh my god, that is so impressive!" D'Arcy said, giving the young boy a high-five. "Did your mommy teach you how to do that?"
"My sister mostly...she's a genius you know?" said William, referring to his sister. "She's just twelve years old but she's gonna finish school soon and then go to the bigger school...to study the more serious stuff." he added.
D'Arcy looked at Sarah. "Is that true, you're gonna graduate high school soon?"
"Yeah..." Sarah said, slightly embarrassed at being put on the spot.
"Wow...your mom and dad must be very proud of you huh?" asked D'Arcy.
"You're right...we're very proud with both of them." Penny said, giving her kids a kiss on their cheek.
"Well, you enjoy your coloring book okay? And if you want more, just tell me alright?" D'Arcy said, handing William a box of crayons.
"Thank you Ms. D'Arcy...you're great!" William said, making the flight attendant smile before walking away.
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After almost six hours of flight, the plane safely landed on New Jersey with William being able to handle it this time, knowing its normal to hear a lot of noise and feel the plane rumbling, given its size and speed as it landed on the ground, eventually slowing down and docking to the assigned tubes for the passengers. After the plane has completely stopped, the couple stood up to take their carry-ons from the overhead bin so they can leave the aircraft with the other passengers. After a few minutes, they started heading for the door, making a beeline with the other passengers and making sure their kids were with them. The flight crew were standing by the door, thanking each passenger and wishing them well as the pilot and co-pilot joined them.
"Hey William...you have a nice Christmas with your grandma okay?" said the captain.
"You too! And good job captain...you landed the plane in one piece." said the young boy, making them laugh while the couple rolled their eyes at how sassy their son is.
"Well I'm glad to hear it...bye!" the captain said, waving goodbye to them.
"Bye!" William said as he followed his family.
"Come on sweetheart...we still have to get our luggage..." said Penny, taking his hand and leading him to join Leonard and Sarah.
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"Is this your house when you were just a little boy daddy?" William asked as they walked up a path leading to Leonard's childhood home.
"Yeah...and still looks the same after all these years." said Leonard as he pushed the doorbell. "Mom, it's us!" he said as they hear someone walking towards the door.
Beverly opened the door with Sarah and William quickly jumping in to hug their grandmother. "Ugh! I missed you guys so much!" said Beverly as the kids hugged her tight.
"We missed you too grandma!" Sarah said, pushing her face on her neck.
"Me too grandma!" William added, never letting go of Beverly.
"Your dad told me that this is your first time flying...how was it?" Beverly asked the young man.
"Here we go..." Leonard said, making Penny laugh as they bring their bags into the house while Beverly led the kids to the living room. All of a sudden, Alfred came out from the kitchen to join them in the living room.
"Hey guys!" Alfred said as the young family looked at him, not knowing what to make out of his presence in the house.
"Uh...grandpa? What are you doing here?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah...about that..." Beverly said as he walked over to stand beside Alfred. "We have some big news for you guys..." she said as Leonard quickly reached into his pocket for his inhaler, shaking it a few times before taking a puff.
"What's happening mommy?" William asked when they saw Beverly slowly holding Alfred's hand and giving them a big smile.