Yes Professor Johansson

Chapter 29:

Unedited

Scarlett holds my hand tightly as we begin take off. I turn my head to hers and see her eyes almost sealed shut by her fear, her head pressing back against the padded chair and her neck muscles fighting against the force.

"Hey, hey, look at me." I brush my thumb across her hand and she opens her eyes, bringing her attention to me. "We're okay...we're okay."

She furrows her brows and nods.

Not long after take off the seatbelt sign is turned off. Scarlett immediately unclips and calls one of the flight attendants over.

"Yeah uhm, two glasses of tequila please." She says with haste.

"Yes of course ma'am." She nods her head and walks away.

"We just had two glasses of champagne, after a little while you'll be calm. We can watch a movie if you want." I try to calm her and stop her from resorting to alcohol to ease her nerves.

"I know, I know. I just usually need a drink or two in my system to calm me down that's all." She gives me a reassuring smile and I nod, she can have the one. Can't deal with a drunk Scarlett again. Not that it wasn't just the best experience ever.

Yes I'm being sarcastic.

The drinks are brought over and she sips it thankfully, I do the same and leave it in the cup holder next to me. I then take out my poetry book that I found when me and Mom were cleaning out my old apartment.

Whenever I was flying anywhere, or just traveling in general, I'd make sure to write at least two poems in it, or two trains of thought. Well that's all that poems are really aren't they?

"I didn't know you wrote poetry." Scarlett glances over the pages with an intrigued grin.

"Well I used to, thought now would be the best time to dive back into it with all the inspiration around me." I give her a look of satisfaction, not satisfaction you get from watching bars of soap be cut or watching things being painted with a perfect stroke. A satisfaction of being able to be effortlessly relaxed around a person.

Nobody knew about my interest for writing, but now she does and I don't feel ashamed or embarrassed about it.

"Would you let me read one? It's just fine if you don't, I won't be bothered." She winks to me and I let out a deep exhale and hand her the book.

"Just the one on that page, I haven't read the others yet, can't have you reading really awful ones." I let out a chuckle but she just gazes at the paper before reading aloud.

"I've always thought of darkness and water being the same.
Providing the same blanket of safety for your mind and body and the same comfort.
But darkness is a very peculiar thing, see with water there are two things that can happen;
You get out,
or you drown.
But with darkness it doesn't just drown you, it tares your mind apart from the inside out.
Darkness makes you vulnerable, like you're at your most vulnerable in the shower, darkness makes you vulnerable to yourself.
And you.
Well you are the scariest thing you can possibly be for yourself."

She takes a moment before speaking "this is very personal, I could never be able to bring my mind to paper like that, I envy that." She hands me the book and gives a genuine look.

"Thank you Scar, that, that means a lot." I smile to her with a blush and she does the same.

"Darkness makes you vulnerable to yourself." She whispers to herself under her breath but I hear it, she seems genuinely intrigued by that snippet. I couldn't explain what I meant by that right now but maybe some time in the future it'll all come back to me and I can explain it properly to her.