Airplane Pt. 3

I can't sit here!

"Of all the stupid times for the alarm not to go off!!!" She huffed running from the car remembering just in time to turn and give a brief frantic wave to her neighbor who had been the one to finally wake her up. He'd been waiting in the car for 10 minutes and had finally pounded on her door. She still couldn't believe that not only her phone, but the bedside alarm she had purposefully set hadn't gone off. Normally an early riser, she had a restless night like always before flying, and had only drifted off as the dawn started painting the sky.

Now she was racing frantically through the airport hoping a miracle would happen and she could make her flight. As she tried not to show her panic while going through customs, she noticed a few suspicious looks from them.

"Alarm didn't go off..., and my plane is supposed to board..." her voice trailed off as she heard her flight starting to board announced. "Now." She groaned.

Thankfully, the TSA's lady was nice, and since she had everything in order including having her shoes off and her electronics pulled out got her through relatively smoothly.

As she rushed to put her shoes on while dragging her bag behind her, she could feel one shoe not completely on.

"Final boarding for flight..." the announcement was enough for her to ignore the discomfort and run faster than she ever had.

Dodging strollers, other passengers, and even a trash cart or two she arrived at the gate almost breathless as they looked to be preparing to close the door.

"Wait!" She gasped out. "I'm here. Please please..." she was out of air and hunched over her knees trying to not throw up from the rapid pace she had just run.

The gate attendant at first looked irritate, but then seeing her state softened slightly and nodded.

"Ticket." She held her ticket up while still trying to gasp out a breathless "thank you!"

"Hurry please and find your seat. The flight is taking off."

She managed to gasp out another "thank you" as she again found her second, or was it 5th wind by now to jog down the walkway. She slowed as she got to the door, but not by much. The flight attendant also appeared a little irritated but didn't say much beyond showing her to her seat.

How she had managed to get such a deal she still didn't understand. First class! She had flown a lot, and between her and her friend were able to combine airline points and a little magic dust to get her a flight in first class for this almost 15-hour flight.

Sure, it would have been nice to have gotten there early enough to enjoy all the amenities like boarding first, drinks before take-off (even if she didn't drink alcohol, she could sure use a water right now), and just settling in.

She plopped in her seat (thankful it was an aisle one due to her claustrophobia on planes) as the captain announced they would be preparing for takeoff. She felt her heart rate slowly returning to normal as she quickly buckled herself in. Normally panicked during takeoff, she had a tried-and-true routine she would use involving music and breathing techniques. Which would have been great if she had gotten here on time.

But her heart was still pumping so quickly she didn't know if it could get any higher. Maybe this once she could get by without it? She thought sending a silent prayer as she debated trying to grab her phone and earbuds, that always seemed to be in bottom of her purse...

But as the plane made the final slow turn lining up with the runway, she felt the panic setting in and froze. Her phone and headphones were in her purse under the seat in front of her, but she was losing the ability to move her arms. The same arms that now held a death grip on the arm rests on either side of her.