JOHN
When I woke up Lailah was sitting next to Ahmit. Ahmit was feeding Lailah red grapes as she tried not to laugh. When the last grape went down they both burst out laughing.
I could see Nine's eyes literally popping out of his skull.
'You going to visit your family, Ahmit?' Lailah asked.
He nodded. 'Though I don't think my father will be very happy to see me, after what I did to him.
Lailah looked at his sad eyes and laced her fingers with his. 'Hey, you didn't do anything. You wanted to join the American army, not to become a doctor.'
'Yeah, but the only reason I came back was because my sister asked me to, she said she couldn't live without me.'
'Well, at least she got that part right,' she looked into his eyes shyly.
He smiled and brought her closer. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He put his chin on her head and held her tightly. Very soon they were both asleep.
I looked at the two soldiers cuddling together, protected by each other's arms. Sweet, I thought. Suddenly, the plane jolted to a stop.
'Ladies and gentlemen, we will have to land here in Cairo for a short period of time. Please will no-one get off the plane at any time at all,' the pilot said in his ringing voice.
I saw Nine get up from his seat and trudge over to me. He sat down next to me and looked behind him.
'Who's he?' He asked grudgingly.
'Ahmit Rashid, a friend of Lailah's; worked in the army,' I replied.
He nodded.
'Hey, Nine, are you and Lailah sleeping together?'
Nine's face turned as red as a tomato, but he shrugged. 'Not anymore, I guess.'
About an hour later, the plane restarted. Nine stayed in Lailah's seat and sighed. He turned his head and looked at Lailah and Ahmit. Lailah's back was turned and her legs were drawn up. Ahmit's eyes were open and he was staring at Lailah, gently stroking her cheek.
I looked across my seat at Sam and Sarah. They were playing a game of cards. Sarah was winning. I looked at Six, Ella and Marina, who were all sleeping. Eight was using telekinesis to pull down air hosts pants to reveal their weird-coloured boxers.
I, once again, closed my eyes into a dreamless sleep.