Ariadne was proud of herself as she stepped aboard the first class Air Euro jet. The seats were widely apart from each other to stretch out and form into beds. In front of each seat were a TV and a menu. She took her seat immediately by a window and relaxed against the cushions. Flying third class for hours would be too frustrating. This was the best idea you've ever come up with, she told herself.
Her peace and quiet was interrupted by two pre-teens arguing over Team Edward and Team Jacob. Ariadne rolled her eyes and looked onto LA through the window. She hoped her sisters took all the pictures of her in the house away, so no one would know they had a sister. As soon as that show came out, she realized she would have to get a fake ID.
Her trail of thoughts cut to an edge when the seat next to hers was filled. It was probably a rich woman in Prada or a businessman.
"Hi." The voice didn't sound American but it was masculine and deep. Ariadne turned around to face a man around her age. He had messy espresso colored hair that matched his coffee bean eyes. The blue and white-checkered scarf around his neck indicated that they would get along nicely.
"Hey." A small smile crept on her lips. But then she thought he had the wrong seat.
"I think I've seen you before." He said. "But we never met face to face."
"Where did you see me?"
"Weren't you the student who designed the set for Monster High?"
"Yeah." That was a project at school she helped with a year ago. The theater school would always hire an architecture student to sketch and arrange the sets for their productions and Ariadne created a high school for monsters.
"I was Duce in that play. The guy with the snake Mohawk."
"That was you? Then I guess you have seen me before. You go to theater school in Paris?"
"Oui. I'm Jean Neacteaux, in case if you didn't know that already."
"Neacteaux… my grandma always mentions that name when it comes to her work."
"Is she a wine maker?"
"Yes."
"Then she's probably competing against my father's vineyard."
"Your family makes wine too?"
"One of the biggest in France. I'm sure you've tasted some?"
"Not recently." Said Ariadne. "When I go out with my friends, I usually go for a beer. That's just how Canadian I am."
Jean laughed a chuckle like a powerful gods. "Your from Canada?"
"Originally. Then I moved to LA with my grandparents and moved to Paris for school." She pushed some of her hair back. "That's a cool scarf."
"Oh?" he looked down at his scarf. "Why, thank you. I like to wear them all the time."
Ariadne pulled on the green scarf around her neck. "I have at least thirty sitting around in my apartment."
"So do I. Do you wear them all the time?"
"Even on hot days, I have a scarf on." She said with a smirk. "A lot of people tell me to take my scarf off and I just smirk at them."
"I once dated a girl who would say, 'It's hot out. Lose the scarf'. And she broke up with me over that."
"She dumped you over a scarf?"
"She got sick of my collection." Jean chuckled. "So she broke up with me because of that, and she didn't like my obsession with black and white movies."
Ariadne laughed. "Some girls are so closed-minded. Its too bad closed-minded people don't come with closed mouths."
"Life is cruel sometimes." Said Jean.
"So what movies do you watch?" she asked. "Black and white ones, that is?"
"The monster classics." Jean began. "Dracula with Bela Lugosi, The Wolfman, The Mummy, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein, and then I like the classics; Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, King Kong, The Three Stooges… I only like originals. I can't stand remakes."
"I've only watched The Three Stooges a few times."
"And my favorite movie is The Count of Monte Cristo."
"I've never heard of it."
"You should watch it. It's a about a man who escaped prison planning revenge on the men who turned him in. It's also quite romantic, that is, if you like romance movies. You see his lover was forced to marry his enemy."
"I'm not really a romance person." She said. "But it sounds interesting. I'd love to see it."
"I have all of my movies put on my laptop." He said. "We can watch some once the plane takes off. After all, were going to be sitting here for ten and a half hours."
"Don't remind me." Said Ariadne with a laugh.
"At least they're feeding us."
"Processed chicken and fish." Ariadne predicted.
"Actually…" Jean took out a menu from the pouch behind the seat in front of him. "They have a choice of pepperoni or cheese pizza for lunch, and fancy pastas for dinner. And look at this; all the wine you can drink."
"I've had plenty of wine in my life." Said Ariadne. "I'll just go for a Budweiser."
"What exactly does beer taste like?" Jean asked. "I've never tried it."
"Uh… I really don't know how to describe it. You have to try some. And get Canadian beer because that's the best there is."
"Attention passangers, we are ready for takeoff. Please fasten your seatbelts and put all personal belongings under the seat in front of you. The flight from Los Angeles California to Paris France is estimated to be ten hours and forty-two minutes. During your flight, food will be provided…" the pilot on the PA went on about airplane safety and what to do if the plane was on fire or falling or if it hit the water. The experienced passengers already knew what to do so they were very annoyed at the stewardess demonstrating how to use an oxygen mask.
"Just shut up and take us already, I have school." Ariadne grumbled, tapping her fingers against the arm of her seat.
"I have rehearsal at noon." When the talking finally stopped, it came up again. The exact words were repeated but only in French. Jean rolled his eyes and swore in his first language. It seemed like hours until the pilot shut his mouth and the plane began to move.
Take off and landing were the best parts of a flight, according to Ariadne. The time in between felt like nothing. She just hoped a storm wouldn't come in and rattle the jet. That would scare her to death.
Since she got up early to make the flight, Ariadne decided to take a quick nap. She reclined her seat, rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. When she woke up, she felt something soft supporting her head and something warm over her body. Jean smiled as he saw her wake.
"You looked cold." He said. "I asked them to bring those for you."
"Oh?" she asked still a little tired. "Thanks."
"Tired?"
"A little." She yawned and stretched out her arms. "How long was I out?"
"Two hours. That means eight and three quarters more to go." On his lap was the script to his most recent play.
"That's a big script." She pointed out. "What part are you?"
"I'm the male lead." He said without bragging or snarling.
"Your Hercules? That must be exciting… Does your director need help with sets at all?"
"I don't know. I'll talk to him about that. But yes, the set you made for Monster High was amazing. I think he'd love it if you helped him out again."
Ariadne blushed a little. "Well thanks. You just let me know what he thinks. So is this like the Disney Hercules or what?"
"Actually, it is. There are way more songs though."
"Doesn't Broadway usually do Disney on stage first?"
"Usually; but since they're so busy with The Lion King, we decided we wanted to bring a Disney movie to life also. The director asked them for approval already. I'm surprised they agreed to let a theater school perform it."
"But it's professional theater." She was half guessing, half stating.
"For theater majors, yes." Said Jean. "When I finish school, I plan to live in the Paris Opera and perform there."
"That's a beautiful theater. I had to go there for a school project once; I was stunned."
"There's nothing quite like European architecture. In the United States it's alright… but in Europe-."
"I had to work a lot to get the money to got to school in Paris. But tips and paychecks weren't enough so my grandparents pitched in. And it was worth it."
"Some of the ugliest buildings are in the United States." He thought that would make her a little mad but she nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. I couldn't study in North America. I did consider London and Rome but in the end I choose Paris."
"And a wise choice that is." Said Jean. "So, care to watch a movie?"
Ariadne completely forgot about the movies he mentioned. "Oh yeah, sure. Do you have that one movie you told me about?"
"I do." He said as if he was swearing in court to tell the truth. Jean went through his extensive movie library and pressed 'return' on the movie title. Ariadne plugged her earbuds into his laptop and watched. For the entire duration, she couldn't stop looking at the screen. It was like a book she couldn't put down. Even when she had to get up to use the restroom, Ariadne stayed in her seat until the end. "So, how was it?"
"It…" she couldn't find words for it. "It's defiantly something I have never seen before quite like it. I mean… I saw The Notebook and Titanic and never cried once. This movie almost made me cry at the end."
"If this movie can't make you weep, I don't know what will." Jean closed his laptop and put it away. Lunch rolled around the corner and the two wound up chatting up a storm between bites of their pizza and drinks of their beers.
Jean didn't care much for the taste of Budweiser but he would do anything this girl asked him too. It's almost as if he was falling for her like a mad man. A few hours later, she was out again. He wanted to comb those brown waves and smell her perfume. It was the scent of heaven. Jean thought it was cute whenever she rolled over or stirred in her slumber.
Many hours later, the flight ended. Ariadne was still snoozing. Jean shook her lightly.
"Were here now." He told her. She blinked.
"Oh?" she yawned. "Finally."
He let her get out of her seat and followed her into the terminal. Jean didn't want to lose her so he tried to stay close. Once they exited the gate, he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Before you go…" he said. "Take this with you." Jean ripped out a sheet of paper from his notebook and wrote something on it.
She looked at the slip and smirked. "I'll call you." She said. "Guess I'll see you again soon."
"I sure hope so."