Another World

chap. 1

Chap.1

"Attention Airline passengers, we will be landing in about half an hour. Please keep your seatbelts on and refrain from using the bathroom," The lady at the front of the plane announced into the intercom. I was flying solo to Hawaii to visit my dad, who I only got to see in the summer time. I wasn't able to see him last year because he had broken his leg and wasn't very able to take care of me, but this year I was getting to see him.

I had packed my report card to show him my grades (3.5 gpa this year!), and brought pictures of the dog he had shipped to me, Duke, and my younger brother, Britain. But the best thing about this years trip was that my best friend Paige was coming on the trip with me.

"Oh my goodness, we're almost there!" Paige gushed as she squeezed my arm. "I'm so excited, this is gonna be so much fun! The beach, tanning, boys, shopping, boys, swimming, boys.."

I tuned her out. I was excited for all of that, yes, but mostly I just really wanted to see my dad. Things has been really hard at home with my mom and Britain. My brother has a learning disability that makes him learn a lot slower than other 8 year olds. And lets just say that my mom isn't the most patient person in the world. I was kind of glad that I was getting to see my dad and get away from my stressful life back home.

All of a sudden the plane took a large dip in the sky. I yelped, and Paige squealed. "Not to worry girls, just a bit of air turbulence," The little old man next to me said with a smile. I turned to Paige. She knew of my fear of heights, and she comforted me with a pat on the back. Her bubbly mood gone, she said, "Kennedy, it's fine. Just turbulence." I nodded but my throat caught and no words came out.

My fear of heights was unexplainable. I couldn't sit by the window on the airplane, and my mom always worried about me flying by myself because of the fear.

"Here," Paige said. "Lets play the rating game." Paige and I always played this game where we picked out cute guys and rated them on a scale of one to ten. I never really liked it because I always felt very judge mental, but Paige liked it so I played it with her. Plus, it would get my mind off of the fact that we were very high off the ground.

"How about...that one?" Paige said with a smile and pointed to a boy probably about 17 or 18 years old two rows behind us. "I say a 7." She said. "Hmm...8.5." I said. "He has pretty eyes." I was a sucker for pretty eyes. "How can you tell from here?" Paige asked. "See the way the sun glints off the left one? They're blue." I answered. Paige squints at the boy. "Don't stare Paige, sheesh!" I said, and turned her head around before he caught us looking.

Paige and I were sitting in the second row of the 2nd class compartment. I noticed that the curtain to first class was slightly open. I peered in. There were a boy who was turned around and joking with the boys behind him. He had blonde hair, and from here it looked like blue eyes, with an adorable crooked tooth smile. He was laughing. "Paige, that one." I said, pointing to the first class compartment. "Who?" She asked, turning back around from the boy she had picked to rate while I was staring at blondie. "The one over there-" My words were interrupted by another dip in the air. I gripped my seat as the plane tilted sideways and then dipped down again. The curtain to first class had slipped closed and I lost sight of blondie.

Sounds of surprise arose from our compartment. "Paige, what's happening?" I squeaked. The plane jerked to the left, and nose-dived a few feet. "Is this normal?" I asked, my voice raising an octave. "I-I don't know." Paige tried to sound calm, but I could see from the expressions of the other passengers that this was not a normal thing. A lady screamed, a baby wailed. The plane jerked up and down and seemed to vibrate. Tears filled my eyes and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep them from spilling over. "Kennedy, breathe." Paige commanded. "Look at me, Kennedy."

The lady came on over the intercom, and said in a tight voice "Ladies and gentlemen, we are having problems with the engines. Please don't panic, the captain is trying to fix the problem as soon as possible, but in case we have to crash-land, please follow these steps." She went into explaining where the life jackets were located, but I wasn't listening.

Tears leaked out of my eyes. Paige knew why this was so upsetting and scary for me. My brother had almost died the last time this happened, and now he has a learning problem. What if the same thing happened to me? Or Paige?

Suddenly, the plane reared to the right and dropped.