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Part II - 36 - Reduced

  OMG I KNOW YOU ALL HATE ME RIGHT NOW BUT PLEASE JUST WAIT AND HOLD ON FOR A FEW MORE CHAPTERS OKAY I HAVE EVERYTHING PLANNED OUT.

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Part II

36 - Reduced

 

Luke Waters

Everything happened very fast on my flight back home.

 After I was done watching Predator, we were served dinner and then it was about nine-ish Indian time, so I was wide awake. Caleb was nodding off next to me, clearly jetlagged. I didn’t know why he was in New Delhi in the first place, I never asked. It was very quiet, everyone had settled and the air smelt like the combined perfumes and deodorants of the passengers. My camera bag was nestled near my feet, I had my book in hand, but I didn’t feel like reading. I needed to pee but the seatbelt sign was still on – there was still mild turbulence outside. It was dark, so I couldn’t see much of anything. I wondered how far from Delhi I was. Maya was probably done with dinner – it was a Saturday so she must’ve been watching a movie with Sam. Mr. and Mrs. Sumedh were either watching with them or talking in their study. Blu must have been asleep, the house quiet. Everything must have already gone back to how it must have been before I’d arrived in July. My room must have been bare. The next time they’d have guests over, they would sleep in the same bed I had slept in.

 Thinking about Delhi depressed me a little so I tried thinking about what I was flying to instead of what I was flying from.

 As I was trying to do this, there was a jolt.

 It was sudden, like the sudden bump on the hydraulic chairs at amusement parks – a sudden pull behind your navel and then it’s gone. There were a few thuds and curses and everyone started looking around at everyone else as if it was their fault. When nothing happened for a few seconds, everyone went back to their books/laptops/movies/pillows. Caleb didn’t wake. I just looked around, not knowing what to expect. Across the aisle a girl about my age met my eye – hers were wide and she was looking up and down the plane.

 Before I could do anything another bump jolted us. My heart started beating a bit faster – so did everyone else’s around me. Caleb woke – he looked around with a disoriented expression.

 “Wuzzgoinon?” he slurred.

 “The turbulence is getting worse,” I told him, sitting up straighter in my seat. “I don’t know –”

 Another jolt; this one more violent – a few women screamed. I saw quite a few people bump their heads on the seat in front of them. I grabbed onto my armrests. The fear increased a notch.

 It’s just turbulence, I told myself.

 “Shit,” Caleb muttered. He glanced up at the seatbelt sign; it was still on.

 Abruptly the cabin lights came back on, flooding the plane in brightness. A stewardess came walking down the aisle, telling passengers to straighten their seats, open their windows. The baby a few rows behind me started to cry again, this time it didn’t stop.

 The captain made an announcement. I could barely listen to it. He told us to keep our seatbelts on – the ride might get bumpy.

 But, of course, there was nothing to worry about.

 For some reason, I didn’t believe him.

 Everyone was now wide awake. Caleb was trying to peer out of the window.