“Flight 362 to Albany will begin to board in a few minutes.” A flight attendant walks to the gate and makes final preparations before we board the plane. It’s almost noon and we’ve been at the airport for over an hour. Gran wanted to get here early so we wouldn’t miss our flight. To be honest, this is my first real interaction with people in public after the accident. I mostly stayed inside and locked myself in my room.
Gran hasn’t said much and I begin to worry. She’s usually not this quiet. She’s barely said a word to me since we got out of the taxi when we pulled up to the airport. I begin to wonder if I somehow made her mad which is kind of hard with me not talking. Then I start thinking that maybe she decided to go mute with me. But no, she’s too social for that.
“We will now begin boarding flight 362 to Albany. Please stand and make your way to the gate. Please have your ticket ready to hand to the attendant. Thank you and enjoy your flight.” As soon as the message finishes, people rush the door, trying to be the first one on the plane. Gran takes her time and I wait for her to get up first. She walks to the flight attendant waiting for us and hands her both our tickets. The lady smiles and we make our way down the long hallway to the plane.
***
Twenty minutes into the flight, attendants start making their rounds and ask people what they want to drink. My heart begins to race at the thought of having to somehow communicate with the unfortunate lady that has to deal with me. Thankfully, when it’s our turn, Gran orders us both water and peanuts. She hands me my drink and food and I give her a grateful smile. I take a few deep breaths to calm my nerves and ease my mind. I check my phone and see that I will be on this plane for four hours. This realization sends my thoughts racing and breathing becomes difficult. I begin to feel trapped and anxious, wanting badly to get off. Considering I’m in the air, that’s not possible. I look over to Gran for comfort and find that she has dozed off. Deciding to follow her lead, I shut my eyes in attempt to forget where I am and to make the flight go by quicker.
***
“Jess, honey, time to wake up,” a soft voice coos and a gentle hand shakes my arm slightly. My eyes slowly begin to open and I see Gran looking at me expectantly. Sitting up in my chair, I take in my surroundings; I forgot I was on a plane on my way to a new place. I turn to the window beside me and I’m shocked to see that the plane is on the ground, at an airport. I shift my focus back on Gran. I then notice people moving around, gathering their various bags and belongings. Gran gives me a reassuring smile then stands up, waiting for me do to the same.
We follow the other people as we make our way out of the plane and into the airport. I’m welcomed by the sounds of various people moving about, some leisurely making their way to their gate while others practically run, occasionally pushing the slower ones out of their path. Several smells mix together from different food stands and my mouth instantly waters at the thought of eating.
Gran takes in the sights before us in a few seconds then continues on. I quickly jog to catch up to her. We eventually find our way to the luggage claim and wait for our bags. As they move across the conveyor belt, I run to catch ours before they disappear. When I bring them back Gran takes hers and continues on outside. I follow and we wait on the curb for Pop to come.
After a few minutes, his old red Ford pulls up and he gets out to help us with our luggage. I climb in the backseat and buckle up, ready to start this new life I’m being dragged in to.
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Broken (L.H.)
FanfictionJess loses everything: her family, her home, her life. She's dragged away from all that she's ever known. Then she meets her new neighbor; Luke. Fixing Jess becomes his goal. But maybe she's not the only one broken. "We're broken people." (Luke Hem...
