Elle staggered down the aisle of the plane, clutching Frank's carrier and trying to keep up with the worms. "Uh.... Boys!" she called. She couldn't believe that whoever arranged these tickets expected her to play mommy for four worms. "Slow down! Wait for me!"
"Coffee!" One of the worms cried when he spotted the pot in the back in the stewardess's work area.
"Sit down!" Elle frantically motioned to the worms with her free hand. Why wasn't X helping her? He had been assigned to play father to the worms. She looked back to see him protectively clutching the bag with his crystals inside with both hands. She shook her head at that. It looked like she was on her own with the worms.
"Ma'am, that dog needs to be checked with the bags," a perky blonde stewardess said as she came over. Elle had a feeling she was going to be a lot less perky by the time that this flight was over.
"Here's his ticket," Elle muttered as she fumbled in the envelope while keeping one eye on the worms whom had cornered another stewardess in and were demanding coffee. "Boys, get back here! They'll bring you coffee in a few minutes!"
"You let your children drink coffee?" an older woman who was seated across the aisle said with a disapproving expression.
"It's our religion," Elle muttered as she fiddled around trying to fasten Frank's carrier into his seat.
"Coffee will stunt their growth," the woman muttered.
"That's what we're hoping for," Elle mumbled as she thought of how large the Worm Emperor was. She finally secured Frank and hurried after the worms, catching them and dragging them to their seats.
"Just sit here and be good." Elle told them sternly as she fastened their seatbelts. One of the worms was clutching a large can of coffee while another had a thermos. They all had their favorite mugs. Elle motioned to the stewardess. "Can we get four cups of coffee over here?"
A few minutes later, worms safely supplied with the sacred bean, Elle collapsed into her seat. Of course, X had taken the good window seat, forcing her to sit on the aisle. Suddenly, she caught a whiff of some terrible odor. "What's that smell?" she muttered.
"Not me," Frank whispered from the carrier.
"Uh...."
"X, you didn't take a shower to wash off the pig, did you?" Elle moaned.
"Where was I going to find working plumbing?" X grumbled. "Believe me, I'm not happy about the smell either."
Elle slumped back in her seat with a loud sigh. She was never going to survive this flight.