"Oh, it's beautiful!" Val squealed to her four friends as the shiny white
limmo pulled into the school parking lot. She smiled at the chauffer as he
opened the door for them, then clapped her hands in delight when she saw
the interior. "Black leather seats! And tinted windows you can see out
of, but nobody can see in! They really went the extra mile for this radio
contest, didn't they?"
"Check out these amps!" Hank marveled as they all piled in. "Bet you get a sweet bass out of 'em! We've so got to get a soundsystem like this for the ambulence!"
Jamie switched on the radio and the familiar tune of Static-X's "The Only" began blaring from the surround sound speakers.
The chauffer, a tall middle-aged man, put their suitcases (which they had been allowed to keep in the office for the day) in the trunk, then, once that was done, they were cruising to the airport in style.
* * * * * * *
Thirty minutes flew by like nothing at all, and all too soon, the five teens found themselves parked outside the front terminal of the Tennessee International Airport. "Well, we're here," Jamie announced, opening the door and stepping out onto the busy sidewalk.
The driver unloaded their luggage and handed them each their plane tickets. "Here are your boarding passes," he instructed. "No need to stop at the ticket counter, you're already checked in. Just go right through security to gate H3, and have fun in Hawaii."
"Thanks a bunch!" Val waved as they gathered their belongings and entered the airport.
They made it throught he metal detectors without much problem, though Tyler did get beeped once for forgetting to take his house keys out of his pocket. Then, after a short walk down the crowded hallwawy, past the many book shops and restaurants, they finally reached their gate.
"Flight 0320 to Honalulu, Hawaii, that's us," Hank said, dropping his dufflebag on the floor and sitting down in one of the chairs.
"I still can't believe this is happening!" Val grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "The tickets are first class, too! It's like a dream come true!"
Tyler and Hank eagerly joined in Val's excitement, but when Jamie noticed Caitie sitting off by herself, frowning slightly, and twiddling her thumbs in her lap, he sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"
His words startled her, and she seemed a little flustered as she replyed, "I...oh, it's nothing...really...it's stupid-"
"What's stupid?" He pressed.
"I...well..." She finally gave in. "Don't laugh...but...I'm really nervous...I mean, I've never flown in an airplane before..."
He couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twisting up.
Caitie's cheeks flushed a rosey pink. "Jamie! You said you wouldn't laugh!"
"I'm not!" He objected, though his smile involentarily broadened.
"Jamie!"
"No! No, I-" He ducked a swing from her left arm. "I think it's cute."
"Cute?!"
"Yeah, you know, your first time flying. It's like a monumental moment."
She sighed and forced a smile, slouching further down in her chair.
"Come on," Jamie kept trying to comfort her. "I've flown loads of times, and I'm still alive. It's fun once you get used to it."
She smiled uncertainly and propped her feet up on her roll-on suitcase.
Just then the attendant behind the counter turned on the intercom and spoke intot he microphone. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? Boarding for flight 0320, non-stop service to Honalulu, Hawaii, will begin now. First class passengers and women with small children first. Thank you."
"That would be us," Hank said, standing up. "Got the tickets, Tyler? Good, let's go then." They got in the fast moving line and Tyler gave the green boarding passes to the young Asian women to run through the scanner.
"Here you go," she said cheerfully, tearing the tickets on the perferated liens and handing them back the part with their seat numbers on it. "Don't forget to grab a Bistro bag on your way down the bridge, and have a great flight!"
"Thank you," Val took the ticket stubs from her and they began the short journey down the bridge toward the silver airplane.
"Airplane food...yummy," Tyler said disgustedly, taking a bag out of the big white, red, and blue Bistro cart.
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Val grabbed one for herself as she took a closer look at the tickets. "Okay, we have Row 3, A and B, and Row 4, A, B, and C. Who wants to sit where?" They reached their seats and Tyler, Hank, and Jamie lifted all their luggage into the overhead bins.
"I'll take 3-A, that's a window seat," Tyler offered, sliding in.
"Okay, and I'll sit next to you, which leaves all of Row 4 for you three to fight over."
"Do NOT put me by the window," Caitie still looked fairly pale.
"Then I'll take aisle and Jamie can have the window," Hank shrugged. "Is middle okay with you?"
"Sure," she agreed, and they clamered into their places to get out of the way of the other boarding passengers.
"Um...hey," Val looked up as a young guy, about her age, set his carry-on suitcase down in the aisle. He was tall with bleach-blonde spiked hair and soldier-blue eyes. He had several piercings, including two in each ear, one in his eyebrow, and one in his nose, complete with a chain that linked his cartilage ring on his left ear to the black spiked dog collar around his neck. "Just...letting you know this is my seat." He stuffed his things under the chair next to Val and sat down, holding out his hand. "My name's Jason."
"Er..." she timidly regurned his hand shake. "I'm Val...short for Valerie..." Now, Val had hung around Caitie and her crowd of punks, rockabillies, indies, and goths enough so that Jason's heavilly punctured face didn't bother her at all, but there was something else about him...the way his eyes seemed to be staring her down, stirring something deep inside her, sending shiveres up her spine, along with the fact that he was obviously coming on to her...she just felt uneasy around him.
"Pretty name," he smiled. "And I see you're going to Hawaii, too. Beautiful state, very romantic..."
Tyler stiffened in his spot, eyeing Jason warily, mentally threatening him to back off. Maybe he didn't realize he and Val were together, but it still should have been obvious by her reactions that she wasn't interested in his shameless flirts.
His attention was soon diverted by the plane's intercom as a voice spoke, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. The weather appears clear and calm, so it looks like you'll be in for a smooth, quick flight, flying time should be approximately two hours once we take off here. As soon as we reach our cruising altitude, the flight attendents will be serving drinks to go along with your meal, complimentary from the Bistro company. Also, in the seat pocked in front of you, you'll find a pair of American Airlines headphones. You may use these to either listen to the in-flight radio, or to hear the free movie. This onth's flick is 'The Skulls II.' Now, please turn your attention to the flight attendant in the aisle as she demonstrates some important safety and emergency procedures. Thank you for choosing American Airlines, and have a nice flight."
"Uh...safety and emergency procedures?" Caitie's voice sounded a little hoarse.
"Well...yeah..." Jamie chose his words carefully. "Just...what to do in case we have to make an emergency landing, or...or we crash, or-"
"Crash?!"
He realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly tried to correct himself. "I mean, just in case-"
"Just in case?! Just in case?! Are you telling me there is a possibility that this plane could crash!?"
"No!...Well..."
"WELL?!"
"The odds of it crashing are slim-"
"How slim?"
"Very slim."
"How slim is very slim?"
"Caitie...almost non-existant..." He smiled lovingly at her as she ran nervous fingers through her shoulder-length hair. "It'll be okay, just relax."
The plane's engines revved up, and Caitie jumped slightly, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Here," Jamie took the headphones out of the seat pocket and plugged them into the jack in the armrest. "Watch the movie, it'll take your mind off everything."
She nodded and shakilly accepted the head set, putting it on. Then she suddenly yelped and latched on to his arm, burrying her face in the shoulder of his leather jacket as the airplane picked up speed going down the runway. "Too fast! We're going too fast! We'll never make it off the ground!"
"Caitie," he said firmly, squirming out of her hold. "Watch the movie."
She did as she was told, sitting back in her chair and gulping at the sudden change of air pressure as the aircraft gained altitude.
* * * * * * * *
The movie soon ended and Caitie looked around. Maybe it wasn't so bad, once you got in the air. She glanced over at Hank who was nodding his head up and down to the beat of "Holidae In," then at Jamie who was reading the AmWay magazine.
"It's not so scary, is it?" He asked, feeling her eyes on him.
"Well...no..." she admitted.
Suddenly, they felst the plane shudder.
Caitie gasped, gripping the armrest so thightly her knuckles were turning white. "What was that?!" She couldn't believe Jamie could remain so calm.
"Just turbulence, nothing to be afraid of," he shrugged.
"T...Turbulence?"
"Yeah." His index finger traced invisible circles on the back of her rigid hand. "Just pockets of rough air. They're quite common, so we were bound to run into some-"
But he was cut off as the intercom clicked on, and the captain spoke in a slightly wavering voice. "Um...excuse me, ladies and gentlemen...please...don't panic..."
*
*
*
A/N: .:points and laughs:. Ha! A cliff-hanger ^_^ And I apoligize for the beginning being so...ugh. It's just...getting them *to* the airport and on the plane was something I hadn't considered, and I didn't quite no what else to do...ick. But I do promise you the next chapters WILL be better! ^_^ And I loved Jason so much I just had to bring him back XD And "The Skulls II", that's a good movie staring Chris Ralph and Aaron Ashmore, Shawn's bro ^_^ Well, please review if you want to know what happens to our favourite volunteer EMT squad ^_^
"Check out these amps!" Hank marveled as they all piled in. "Bet you get a sweet bass out of 'em! We've so got to get a soundsystem like this for the ambulence!"
Jamie switched on the radio and the familiar tune of Static-X's "The Only" began blaring from the surround sound speakers.
The chauffer, a tall middle-aged man, put their suitcases (which they had been allowed to keep in the office for the day) in the trunk, then, once that was done, they were cruising to the airport in style.
* * * * * * *
Thirty minutes flew by like nothing at all, and all too soon, the five teens found themselves parked outside the front terminal of the Tennessee International Airport. "Well, we're here," Jamie announced, opening the door and stepping out onto the busy sidewalk.
The driver unloaded their luggage and handed them each their plane tickets. "Here are your boarding passes," he instructed. "No need to stop at the ticket counter, you're already checked in. Just go right through security to gate H3, and have fun in Hawaii."
"Thanks a bunch!" Val waved as they gathered their belongings and entered the airport.
They made it throught he metal detectors without much problem, though Tyler did get beeped once for forgetting to take his house keys out of his pocket. Then, after a short walk down the crowded hallwawy, past the many book shops and restaurants, they finally reached their gate.
"Flight 0320 to Honalulu, Hawaii, that's us," Hank said, dropping his dufflebag on the floor and sitting down in one of the chairs.
"I still can't believe this is happening!" Val grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "The tickets are first class, too! It's like a dream come true!"
Tyler and Hank eagerly joined in Val's excitement, but when Jamie noticed Caitie sitting off by herself, frowning slightly, and twiddling her thumbs in her lap, he sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"
His words startled her, and she seemed a little flustered as she replyed, "I...oh, it's nothing...really...it's stupid-"
"What's stupid?" He pressed.
"I...well..." She finally gave in. "Don't laugh...but...I'm really nervous...I mean, I've never flown in an airplane before..."
He couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twisting up.
Caitie's cheeks flushed a rosey pink. "Jamie! You said you wouldn't laugh!"
"I'm not!" He objected, though his smile involentarily broadened.
"Jamie!"
"No! No, I-" He ducked a swing from her left arm. "I think it's cute."
"Cute?!"
"Yeah, you know, your first time flying. It's like a monumental moment."
She sighed and forced a smile, slouching further down in her chair.
"Come on," Jamie kept trying to comfort her. "I've flown loads of times, and I'm still alive. It's fun once you get used to it."
She smiled uncertainly and propped her feet up on her roll-on suitcase.
Just then the attendant behind the counter turned on the intercom and spoke intot he microphone. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? Boarding for flight 0320, non-stop service to Honalulu, Hawaii, will begin now. First class passengers and women with small children first. Thank you."
"That would be us," Hank said, standing up. "Got the tickets, Tyler? Good, let's go then." They got in the fast moving line and Tyler gave the green boarding passes to the young Asian women to run through the scanner.
"Here you go," she said cheerfully, tearing the tickets on the perferated liens and handing them back the part with their seat numbers on it. "Don't forget to grab a Bistro bag on your way down the bridge, and have a great flight!"
"Thank you," Val took the ticket stubs from her and they began the short journey down the bridge toward the silver airplane.
"Airplane food...yummy," Tyler said disgustedly, taking a bag out of the big white, red, and blue Bistro cart.
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Val grabbed one for herself as she took a closer look at the tickets. "Okay, we have Row 3, A and B, and Row 4, A, B, and C. Who wants to sit where?" They reached their seats and Tyler, Hank, and Jamie lifted all their luggage into the overhead bins.
"I'll take 3-A, that's a window seat," Tyler offered, sliding in.
"Okay, and I'll sit next to you, which leaves all of Row 4 for you three to fight over."
"Do NOT put me by the window," Caitie still looked fairly pale.
"Then I'll take aisle and Jamie can have the window," Hank shrugged. "Is middle okay with you?"
"Sure," she agreed, and they clamered into their places to get out of the way of the other boarding passengers.
"Um...hey," Val looked up as a young guy, about her age, set his carry-on suitcase down in the aisle. He was tall with bleach-blonde spiked hair and soldier-blue eyes. He had several piercings, including two in each ear, one in his eyebrow, and one in his nose, complete with a chain that linked his cartilage ring on his left ear to the black spiked dog collar around his neck. "Just...letting you know this is my seat." He stuffed his things under the chair next to Val and sat down, holding out his hand. "My name's Jason."
"Er..." she timidly regurned his hand shake. "I'm Val...short for Valerie..." Now, Val had hung around Caitie and her crowd of punks, rockabillies, indies, and goths enough so that Jason's heavilly punctured face didn't bother her at all, but there was something else about him...the way his eyes seemed to be staring her down, stirring something deep inside her, sending shiveres up her spine, along with the fact that he was obviously coming on to her...she just felt uneasy around him.
"Pretty name," he smiled. "And I see you're going to Hawaii, too. Beautiful state, very romantic..."
Tyler stiffened in his spot, eyeing Jason warily, mentally threatening him to back off. Maybe he didn't realize he and Val were together, but it still should have been obvious by her reactions that she wasn't interested in his shameless flirts.
His attention was soon diverted by the plane's intercom as a voice spoke, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. The weather appears clear and calm, so it looks like you'll be in for a smooth, quick flight, flying time should be approximately two hours once we take off here. As soon as we reach our cruising altitude, the flight attendents will be serving drinks to go along with your meal, complimentary from the Bistro company. Also, in the seat pocked in front of you, you'll find a pair of American Airlines headphones. You may use these to either listen to the in-flight radio, or to hear the free movie. This onth's flick is 'The Skulls II.' Now, please turn your attention to the flight attendant in the aisle as she demonstrates some important safety and emergency procedures. Thank you for choosing American Airlines, and have a nice flight."
"Uh...safety and emergency procedures?" Caitie's voice sounded a little hoarse.
"Well...yeah..." Jamie chose his words carefully. "Just...what to do in case we have to make an emergency landing, or...or we crash, or-"
"Crash?!"
He realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly tried to correct himself. "I mean, just in case-"
"Just in case?! Just in case?! Are you telling me there is a possibility that this plane could crash!?"
"No!...Well..."
"WELL?!"
"The odds of it crashing are slim-"
"How slim?"
"Very slim."
"How slim is very slim?"
"Caitie...almost non-existant..." He smiled lovingly at her as she ran nervous fingers through her shoulder-length hair. "It'll be okay, just relax."
The plane's engines revved up, and Caitie jumped slightly, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Here," Jamie took the headphones out of the seat pocket and plugged them into the jack in the armrest. "Watch the movie, it'll take your mind off everything."
She nodded and shakilly accepted the head set, putting it on. Then she suddenly yelped and latched on to his arm, burrying her face in the shoulder of his leather jacket as the airplane picked up speed going down the runway. "Too fast! We're going too fast! We'll never make it off the ground!"
"Caitie," he said firmly, squirming out of her hold. "Watch the movie."
She did as she was told, sitting back in her chair and gulping at the sudden change of air pressure as the aircraft gained altitude.
* * * * * * * *
The movie soon ended and Caitie looked around. Maybe it wasn't so bad, once you got in the air. She glanced over at Hank who was nodding his head up and down to the beat of "Holidae In," then at Jamie who was reading the AmWay magazine.
"It's not so scary, is it?" He asked, feeling her eyes on him.
"Well...no..." she admitted.
Suddenly, they felst the plane shudder.
Caitie gasped, gripping the armrest so thightly her knuckles were turning white. "What was that?!" She couldn't believe Jamie could remain so calm.
"Just turbulence, nothing to be afraid of," he shrugged.
"T...Turbulence?"
"Yeah." His index finger traced invisible circles on the back of her rigid hand. "Just pockets of rough air. They're quite common, so we were bound to run into some-"
But he was cut off as the intercom clicked on, and the captain spoke in a slightly wavering voice. "Um...excuse me, ladies and gentlemen...please...don't panic..."
*
*
*
A/N: .:points and laughs:. Ha! A cliff-hanger ^_^ And I apoligize for the beginning being so...ugh. It's just...getting them *to* the airport and on the plane was something I hadn't considered, and I didn't quite no what else to do...ick. But I do promise you the next chapters WILL be better! ^_^ And I loved Jason so much I just had to bring him back XD And "The Skulls II", that's a good movie staring Chris Ralph and Aaron Ashmore, Shawn's bro ^_^ Well, please review if you want to know what happens to our favourite volunteer EMT squad ^_^