Shooting Stars, Racing Cars

Say Yes To Heaven

CASSANDRA

Vienna International Airport, 07:10 am.

"Hurry it up, Cass. The plane's gonna leave whether you're on it or not." my older brother Cole says through an exasperated exhale.

So, this is it then. Eighteen, and suddenly i'm allowed to exist in the spotlight. All I can do is accept that and live it.

"You're eighteen, it's your choice." In my head I can hear the words my dad told me a few months ago.

I agreed.

This is my fault.

I do know how lucky I am, though. Complaining about first class flights and paddock passes sounds ridiculous, and i'm not about to pretend otherwise.

My parents are at the other side of the airport, boarding the plane. I need to just suck it up and go with Cole.

Or I could run away, change my name, start a whole new-

My thoughts are cut short by my brother's snappy tone for all of Vienna airport to hear.

"Yeah, today would be nice, Cassandra!"

I scoff, fixing my jumper. "Okay, give me a second to sort myself out!"

He's about to reply when the airport tanoy can be heard:

"Flight AUA12 to London Heathrow, this is the last call for boarding at Gate 15."

And then he's dragging both me and our luggage to our boarding gate, looking like Kevin's parents have just left him behind again.

Once we arrive at the boarding terminal, my hair is absolutely everywhere.
I look as if i've lost a fight to a tornado.
My makeup isn't as "perfect" as I intended, but honestly i'm past caring, as long as we make it on this plane.

It's not like anyone would really recognise me anyway. Cole's spent years appearing in the paddock, and i've been doing the exact opposite.

Cole and I approach the gate desk, he is in a panic. And it is my fault.

"I'm so sorry. Uhh, Cole and Cassandra Wolff? We're booked to be on this flight under those names." Cole spits out frantically.

The look on the Gate Agent's face is almost comical. I can definitely spot the recognition flashing across her face. She looks to be on the verge of laughing but stays composed and professional.

"I'm going to have to see your passports quickly." She states.

We show her our passports, and it's honestly a miracle that I'm let through because I look nothing like my passport photo. Granted, it was taken three years ago, when I was 15, and we weren't arsed about updating it.

We hurry onto the plane and realise we're seated in economy, whilst our parents are in first class. Which is something someone from a wealthy family would complain about, but I like the simplicity. Staying humble.

"2 and a half hours in economy. Fuck me, man." Cole sighs, placing our suitcases in the overhead compartments and settling in the (slightly uncomfortable) economy seat.

I scoff, sitting down in the window seat. "Atleast we're actually on the plane."

Cole slumps down in the chair, nudging my shoulder with his own. "Coming from you."

"And you even get the window seat." He continues, his broad arms taking over the armrest.

"You know how I get on planes." I remind, glancing his way, bluetooth headphones already out to block out the ambient sound of passengers coughing.

He reluctantly sighs and ruffles my hair.

"Yeah, true. But you'll be fine, planes are safe. Just be grateful you're not on a boat." He shudders suddenly. "That would be bad."

As soon as we start moving, I click on spotify and scroll through my playlists.

I pause when I reach my local files playlist, filled with demo's i've become familiar with.

I huff slightly and scroll past it before ending up on a playlist named "💤".

I click shuffle, and the first song to play is Bags by Clairo, but the Electric Lady Studio version (arguably, the better version).

It takes as long as the chorus before the plane speeds up on the runway. I hate this part, always have. Cole remembers, he's always been sat next to me on planes when it happens, and my reaction has never differed. Fidgeting hands, gripping the armrest a little too tight, keeping my head down. There are a lot of giveaways.

It's not long before he takes my hand in his, not saying anything, but being a familiar presence in an unfamiliar environment.

Once we're in the air, a "ding" is heard, telling everyone that it's safe to take seatbelts off if necessary. I'm put at ease, and Cole releases my hand.

And then he taps my shoulder instead. I take off my headphones and raise an eyebrow at him.

"Check the time." He says softly, fixing his hair.

I do as he says and I check the time. It's 11:11am. I smile at him.

"Thanks."

i'm an absolute fanatic for 11:11. I never miss it, and when I do, I consider it bad luck. I'm superstitious: I never step on cracks, I make a wish when I see a shooting star, and I believe that broken mirrors are bad luck.

My 11:11 wish does change sometimes. My current one, I've had going for two months or so, and it hasn't done me any favours yet.

But who says it won't?

I close my eyes, think, and open them again before putting my headphones back on and clicking shuffle on the playlist again.

I settle back in my seat and let the music surround me.

The soft, melodic intro of About You by The 1975 begins to play. This song always reminds me of winter. Although winter just ended two weeks ago, I still miss it.

Spending winter time in Vienna with my family has always been a highlight of my year. It never gets old, honestly.

But, who knows? Maybe it won't be a highlight anymore. Maybe my life will become better now that my dad's letting me step into the limelight, or maybe it'll become worse.

Either way, there's no going back now.

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i am SO EXCITED to write this!!!

lmk your opinions, pls don't be a silent reader!

if updates are slow it's because i'm SO BUSY with school and other commitments but i'll try my best to be as motivated as possible as i love this plot😭