First Chance Book 5

Raven

“What do you want now?” I grumble, annoyed that Selena thinks it’s okay to call me this early in the morning.

“Get your stuff together, sweetheart! We’re heading to Los Angeles in a few hours,” she says, completely ignoring my obvious lack of enthusiasm.

“And why would I want to go to Los Angeles? I’ve got stuff to do.” I throw out a weak excuse, hoping to avoid the flight.

“You can reschedule. We’re going to see Abagail. She’s on a two-week break, they all are, and she called me a few minutes ago to say they’re flying us out.

“We have tickets waiting at the airport. A car will be there for you in two hours, be ready.”

The line goes dead before I can protest. She hung up so I couldn’t say no.

Not that I don’t want to see Abby. I do, but I hate flying. I’d much rather take a four-day road trip than a six-hour flight.

On a road trip, I could drive, or Abagail if she wanted. We could blast music the whole way, as loud as we wanted.

We wouldn’t have to deal with airport security treating us like criminals.

We could stop whenever we wanted, eat whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. On the way back, we could take our time and visit interesting places.

Flying doesn’t let you do any of that.

I tried it once, flying that is, with Selena. It wasn’t fun at all.

Before we left, she told me to buy a pack of gum and a drink after we went through security, so I could bring them on the plane.

She said the drink would help settle my stomach and the gum would help with ear pressure. As soon as the plane took off, I knew she was full of it.

The gum didn’t help at all. Nothing about chewing Juicy Fruit helped with my ears popping. The higher we went, the worse it got. It’s not something I can easily forget.

I remember Selena sitting by the window and me stuck in the middle. We were on our way to Miami for Spring Break.

Again, I suggested renting a car for the twenty-something-hour drive. I even offered to drive the whole way.

I’ve met a lot of people in my life, and strangely, not one of them ever mentioned the feeling of vertigo when flying.

I could feel the pull of gravity, my body pinned to the seat. If I tried to move my head, I felt off balance. It made my stomach churn.

It wasn’t until we reached cruising altitude that the pull of gravity eased up, but that didn’t help much. Hearing was almost impossible.

You know when you’re a kid and you're swimming with friends, and you play that game where you go underwater and try to guess what your friend is saying?

But you never really hear what they’re saying, so you make ten guesses based on the shape of their lips?

That’s what it was like for me. Every sound was muffled and distant.

So instead of trying to talk to Selena, I read a book the whole flight.

That wasn’t the only lie she told me. I should have expected it, considering how the ascent went. But I didn’t.

Descending was worse. The pain of the air pressure in my ear equalizing shot down into my neck. It lasted the entire descent.

When we finally landed, I was relieved, even though I couldn’t hear for hours after.

I put my foot down when it came to the return trip. We refunded our tickets and I rented a car, driving the whole way back.

That was four years ago, and I never planned on doing it again.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show,” Selena says.

“You’re lucky I came. You know how I feel about flying.”

“That was years ago. It might be different this time. I picked these up for you.

“I was waiting for you and thought I’d get us some gum and drinks. While I was shopping, I found something I thought you’d like.”

“What did you get?” I ask, only because she’s trying to make up for the fact that I’m now in an airport, years after swearing off flying.

“They sell these things here that you can put in your ears to help with the pressure. You have to put them in before we take off. It’s worth a shot.”

“I’ll try it. Let’s find our gate before they start boarding.”

“Okay, we’re at gate A2. It’s just around the corner, follow me.”

I’ve got my purse, filled with everything I’ll need to survive this ordeal. My Kindle, and a few snacks. I checked my bags before going through security.

A few seconds later, Selena leads me to a seat at our gate. We should be boarding any minute, hopefully.

“Do you know how they board here? Do we have assigned seats or do they board in sections?” I ask Selena.

“Didn’t you look at your ticket? Abagail got us first class tickets. We have assigned seats, and I think we board first.

“I’ve never flown first class. This is going to be amazing,” she says, excited.

“I don’t think that will make flying any easier for me, but at least we won’t be crammed into a tiny row.”

Just then, a flight attendant opens the door that leads to the boarding tunnel.

The flight attendant’s voice comes over the intercom, announcing that boarding will begin with passengers who need assistance, followed by first class.

I rise from my seat, gathering my bag, ready to board. There aren’t many passengers needing assistance on this flight, so they move on to us pretty quickly. Not that I’d mind waiting.

They call for first class, and Selena and I step forward, handing over our tickets.

We make our way down the blue tunnel and onto the plane. Another flight attendant waits at the open hatch, guiding us to the first class section on the left.

The plane is divided into coach and first class, with coach taking up a much larger area than first.

I’m pleasantly surprised when we enter the first class seating area. The seats look incredibly comfortable, each one nestled in its own compartment.

I glance at my ticket to find my seat number and slide into my assigned compartment. Selena’s seat is right next to mine. Once I’m seated, I can see her over the divider.

I can’t help but smile, feeling a spark of excitement about flying for the first time. I set my bag down on the floor in front of me, eager to explore my new surroundings.

A small LCD television is mounted on the divider in front of me. I experiment with the chair, discovering it reclines into a comfortable resting position.

Unlike the minimal recline in coach, this chair leans back as far as a car seat. I’m loving it.

“Put in your earplugs,” Selena’s voice floats over the divider.

I’m glad she reminded me. I adjust my chair and reach into my purse for the earplugs.

Fifteen minutes later, the flight attendant’s voice comes over the intercom again, announcing that we’re about to taxi to the runway.

She goes through the usual safety speech about seat belts and oxygen masks. I tune her out, losing myself in an ebook on my Kindle.

“Those earplugs didn’t help at all. Being in first class eased the discomfort, but it didn’t eliminate it.

“I’m never flying again,” I tell Selena as we wait for our luggage at the conveyor belt.

“You say that now, but then you’ll remember that Los Angeles is more than a day's drive from home and you’ll reconsider your decision not to fly again.

“Imagine, we could have been in coach, crammed next to someone else like matches in a matchbox. Enduring each other’s sweat, or overpowering perfume.

“Imagine if someone farted. You’d be trapped with the smell. In first class, if someone farted, it would be in their own compartment with a bigger fan than in coach.

“Keep that in mind next time you fly, and in first class, things could be worse.”

“Whatever. If you had farted while sitting next to me, I would have announced it to everyone, just because you made me fly.

“That would be my revenge,” I retort, moving towards the conveyor belt to grab our luggage that’s finally arrived.

“Do you know who’s picking us up?” I ask Selena as we head outside.

“I’m not sure, it might be a driver.”

***

“Life is what happens between goals. It’s meant to be lived and enjoyed.”

- Sid Caesar