There I was, on a packed plane on my first flight ever. Not the best experience, mind you, as the cramped compartment was filled with many anxious people.
It was flight 2910, the plane taking patrons to the International Business and Public Service Cooperation or IBPSC, convention in Sydney, Australia. The United States had wanted to send many types of business leaders, and workers, to the convention to show its worldliness and compassion for the "little people".
The commercial airplane was crowded with businessmen and women, both big and small. A little girl was holding a teddy bear next to her suited father, who was chatting quickly with his business partner on his thousand-dollar cell phone. An old couple was reading the newspaper together: the agriculture section. I had been picked by my boss to represent the social workers of the country. No pressure, of course.
Unfortunately, I was stuck between two of the most opposite people that I had ever seen.
On my right, in the window seat, was a middle-aged man. His gut was quite large, and he was guzzling coffee like there was no tomorrow, letting it drop lazily on his shirt. He was also gabbing away on his cell phone, making enthusiastic gestures so his hands kept hitting me in every place imaginable.
The guy on the guy on my left, however, had just pulled out a book of crosswords and a nice, neat pencil. His suit was immaculate, and his black, curly hair was neatly gelled to the top of his head. He squinted at the crossword, obviously not having any idea as to what the answer to the clue was. I peaked over his shoulder, and smiled. I knew the answer.
The Egyptian symbol for immortality.
"It's the Ankh." I said, and then slapped my hand over my mouth. I hadn't meant to say the answer out loud. The man looked over at me and smiled.
"Thanks," he said, and immediately filled in the answer. "That makes the answer to the next clue make sense." I looked at the puzzle again. Gaseous German catastrophe. It was the Hindenberg, of course, corresponding with the last letter of my answer.
"What's your name?" he asked casually while filling in the white boxes.
"Paige Matthews, representative of the Social Workers of America," I answered. I was practicing what I had been told to say to everyone I greeted. He raised his eyebrows, and then held out his hand for me to shake. I did.
"Cole Turner, representative of the Walmart of America." He said, and my jaw dropped.
"You represent Walmart?" I asked. "That's just one company, though."
"With more money than many third world countries have put together." He said. I gulped and stared up at him.
"Are you the CEO?" I asked, amazed that I would meet such a powerful man.
"No," he answered flatly, "I'm his son."
"How fun," I answered sarcastically, and he nodded.
"Not a family I would have chosen to be born into." He said, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a pack of gum and held it out to me. "Want a piece?"
"Sure," I said, and grabbed one of the mint strips. I unwrapped it and placed it in my mouth, chewing happily. He seemed like he was about to say something when the flight attendants stood in their positions in the aisles. He rolled his eyes and went back to the crossword, seemingly bored of what was about to happen.
A voice came over the intercom, greeting us and beginning to explain all the safety procedures. The key word was beginning. Just as the first few sentences were finished, three women crashed into one of the flight attendants, making the whole presentation begin to get interesting.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" One of the women screamed, her chocolate brown eyes widening. She reached down and helped the rumpled attendant up, her long brunette hair covering her face as she bent. The other two women were right behind her, with one seeming to push the other along.
"Come on, Prue, we're going to Sydney! It will be fun!" The woman speaking seemed to be the youngest of the three women, and she was shoving hard into the back of the one that seemed to be the eldest, and obviously named Prue.
"But I have to get back to the"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Prudence! You are going on this vacation whether you like it or not!" The younger brunette exclaimed, and pushed the woman into the row of empty seats just a few numbers ahead of where I was sitting. Cole and I looked at each other questioningly, and then looked back at the women like everyone else in the plane.
"Why did I ever bring you two with me?" The helpful woman said. She had succeeded in bringing the attendant to her feet, and now was standing up straight with her hands on her hips. It wasn't too daunting, as she seemed to be just over five feet.
"Because you love us?" the youngest answered with a nervous smile. Prue wore a matching expression.
"Phoebe!" the woman scolded, and pushed the said woman into the row.
"What, Piper?" Phoebe asked innocently, batting her eyelashes and acting oblivious. Piper rolled her eyes and looked around the plane to find everyone staring at them. She immediately turned beet red.
"Sorry," she said quickly and quietly. She then sat down and ducked low in her seat.
"Look what you did, Phoebe!" Everyone heard the eldest snipe.
"What I did? You were the one who refused to get on the plane." The youngest retorted.
"Quiet!" Piper said, and the other two immediately settled down. There was an uneasy pause in the cabin, and then people started talking again.
"That was interesting." Cole said sarcastically as I tried to get another peek at the women. It was useless, because the other ones seemed to match Piper in height.
"I think they're sisters." I said, looking up at him.
"So do I. Three P's – Prue, Piper, and Phoebe." He observed. "I would hate to sit next to them."
"Same," a man said, leaning over the aisle towards Cole. Looking at our confused expressions, he spoke again. "Sorry for butting in, but I couldn't' help overhearing. I'm Andy Trudeau, Police Officer."
"Paige Matthews, Social Worker."
"Cole Turner, WalMart." Andy stared at Cole for a moment, and then Cole held out his gum. "Want one?" Andy immediately obliged, taking a stick.
"Thanks. The lift-off always messes with me unless I chew on something, and I forgot to bring food." He popped the gun in his mouth and began happily chewing.
"Oh, shit," I said, and buried my face in my hands.
"What?" Cole asked, and I could feel his hand on my back.
"We're going to lift off… this is my first flight."
There was a pause.
"Good luck with it." I heard Andy's voice, and I sighed. This was going to be a long flight…
It was eight hours into the flight, and I was flat bored. The fat guy next to me was asleep, and Cole and Andy were talking about football – an area in which I have no expertise.
"How much time do we have left?" I asked the men, interrupting their delightful conversation about which linebacker was the best. Cole flipped up his shirt sleeve and looked at his Rolex.
"About… fourteen to sixteen hours, give or take." He said, and turned back to Andy.
"Why did I ever volunteer for this?" I thought out loud, hitting my head against the back of my seat. The last thing I expected happened – I heard a scream.
I unlatched my seatbelt – the sign was off – and turned around to watch a man wipe coffee off of his shirt.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said, and jumped over Cole's seat to sit in the currently empty seat next to the man. I helped him wipe the caffeinated beverage off of his shirt, careful not to get too low.
"It's okay, it's okay," he said, and picked up all the moisture he could. There was still a brown residue, but there was nothing either of us could do about it. "I'll be fine…"
"Paige Matthews, Social Worker," I answered, and held out my hand. I couldn't count how many times I had needed to say that so far on the flight. He shook my hand.
"Kyle Brody, FBI agent," he answered and smiled. Have I mentioned how cute I thought he was? If I haven't, make a note of it. His smile made him even cuter, even up to Hott in my book. "Nice flight so far, don't you think?" He asked, and I could detect a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Yes, positively swell," I answered, faking a pompous attitude that was dripping in sarcasm. He smiled even wider, but it disappeared as soon as the airplane started to shake. I jumped back into my seat and strapped myself tightly in, staring up at the flashing seatbelt sign just a few feet in front of me. I made eye contact with Cole, and saw something I didn't expect – fear. He was afraid, and now, so was I.
A voice came over the intercom, one that seemed to be panicking.
"Our engines have just died! Assume the crash position!"
I curled myself up into the position indicated in the pamphlet I had read near the beginning of the flight, and felt a hand against mine. It was Cole's – he was trying to comfort me while everyone around us seemed to be screaming. I closed my eyes and braced myself. This was it…