Hello, here is the next chapter! The next one will take a bit longer as I will have to research all about India! I have obviously never been there.

All right to Colleen Houck of course!

EMMA

I awoke nine days later in my own bedroom, the sun filtering through the tiny gap between the curtains. I rubbed my eyes, brushing away the sleep and glanced around the room blearily. Then I sat up straight.

Today we were going to India.

I hastily reached under the bed and flipped open my suitcase which I had packed last night with all my clothes. There was still some space left, so I began to pile in books on my bookcase. Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, The Hobbit, Harry Potter and an Indian dictionary. I grabbed my backpack with a few essentials such as a compass, water, sunscreen, aspirin and a hat. I was ready to go.

I dragged my suitcase down the stairs, wincing with every thud. I buzzed around the kitchen, pouring myself some juice and putting bread in the toaster. Just as I sat myself down to eat my breakfast, Alyss came jumping down the stairs.

She eyed my suitcase wearily.

'Do you have to go?' she whined. 'I will miss you too much.' I pulled her into a hug.

'Yes, but I'll be back soon. You won't even notice I'm gone.'

'You're always gone,' she protested, taking a bite of my toast and pouting. 'You're always over at Anik's. I never see you apart from when you pick me up from school.' I felt my heart breaking and I sighed, smoothing her hair.

'I'm sorry. He is very sick-'

'Yeah yeah, I know,' Alyss interrupted and slid off my knee. 'Have fun in India.' She turned and walked away, and I felt tears welling up. It was true I hadn't been spending enough time with my little sister, and the realisation hurt. I couldn't leave her like that, so I quickly wrote a note.

Dear Alyss,

I love you very, very much, and it will be hard to leave you, even if it's just for a couple weeks. I'm trusting that you will look after dad when I am gone. You are in charge of the house now. I'm sure he will read Alice in Wonderland to you before you go to bed if you ask nicely. There are ingredients for pasta in the fridge. Don't let him to forget to cook it.

It is hard to leave you, and I know we haven't spent much time together lately. I will make it up to you, I promise. We can go to the video shop when I get back and you can rent whatever movies you want.

Love always,

Emma.

We all sat at the airport lounge, waiting to be boarded onto Ren's private jet. I still couldn't believe Anik's family were this rich. Like seriously. Private jet! I clenched my plane ticket tightly in one hand, crumpling it slightly. Edison sat to my right, eating a cheeseburger and reading a magazine. Anik was on my left, sipping on his Boost Juice and frowning at the movie choices for the flight.

'They don't have Lord of the Rings,' he grumbled. 'Or Transformers. Just kid stuff like 'Barbie: Fairytopia.' He flung the program into my lap in mock disgust.

'Hey, don't be mean about Barbie. Fairytopia is a good movie.' I protested. 'I watch it all the time with Alyss. Hey, there's 101 Dalmations… I used to love that movie…'

'Hey we should watch Shrek!' Anik exclaimed excitedly and Kelsey rolled her eyes. 'That was the best movie… remember when we…'

We continued to reminisce the past, when we were little and had arranged sleepovers, watching movies until late at night. We kept on going like this until the jet was ready to board, and the nerves that had disappeared suddenly came back in a flurry. I had never been on a plane before, and neither had Anik. Let alone a jet.

'Relax kids,' Ren whispered from behind me and I jumped. 'This will be fun.'

We boarded the plane, and I glanced nervously at the rows of seats. There were air hostess' walking around with their plastic smiles stuck on their faces. Kelsey and Ren were placing their luggage in overhead lockers and I gripped my suitcase, gulping.

'Emma, Anik,' Kelsey called from behind us. 'Sit wherever you want.'

'How come you have air hostess' on a private jet? How much money do your parents have?' Anik didn't answer. I found a row near the back and picked up my bag, ready to fling it in the locker but Anik suddenly appeared at my side, taking my suitcase.

'I've got it,' I protested as he lifted the heavy bag and easily placing it in the locker. He gave me a wink and a smile.

'I know,' he said and gestured for me to take the window seat.

The plane rumbled beneath my feet and vibrated the seat. I hastily clicked my seatbelt into place and flattened myself against the back of the chair, squeezing my eyes shut. I felt the plane start to move and I gripped Anik's hand, holding it tightly. An unknown pressure pushed me against the back of the seat and instantly I felt us lift of the ground. I heard a gasp and glanced behind me, where Edison was, looking slightly green. Then I remembered he had lived hundreds of years in the past and probably never even seen a plane, let alone been on one.

I looked across the aisle and saw Kelsey leaning her head on Ren's shoulder, her eyes closed. A book lay open on her lap. Ren was absentmindedly threading his fingers through her hair, gazing off into space. They looked so peaceful.

Finally I stared at Anik, whose excited eyes where on the landscape below.

'Look,' he whispered happily. 'All those cars are microscopic! Look at the tiny little people!' I turned my gaze to the window and marvelled at how the world looked hundreds of feet in the air. Everything was so small, and I suddenly realised what a small part we all play in the world. Down there, our lives feel so significantly important… when really we are just all playing a part in a complex society where none of that matters.

Anik and Edison's twenty-four hours were up and they were in their tiger form, comfortably sprawled along the rows of seats. Anik and I were looking through the movie guide.

'Pirates of the Caribbean,' I argued, 'is way better than X-men.'

Anik growled grumpily and shook his head stubbornly. 'No,' I could tell he was trying to say. 'X-men is way cooler.'

'Sure. Because a guy that had metal blades coming out of his fist is cooler than pirates with Johnny Depp.' Anik stared at me with his golden eyes. He nodded as if that was obvious.

'Fine. You watch X-men on your screen, and I'll watch Pirates of the Caribbean on mine.'

Anik huffed in annoyance and his shoulders slouched, and I knew he was conceding. I smirked.

So we watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on my screen, my head resting on his shoulder, sharing headphones. My eyes were drooping shut, and I barely made it until the end before I fell asleep. When I opened them again, we were in India.

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