Heel Breaker

Chapter 1: Trip of Doom

Sweat beaded on my forehead and I clutched the arms of my seat so hard my knuckles turned white. I was sure I was going to die at any moment, I could feel the seconds of my life counting down. I tried to take a deep breath but instantly felt the nausea rise again. Why did it have to end this way?

"Would you like any peanuts?" A woman asked me, spooking me so much I jumped up as much as the restraining seatbelt would allow.

"Sorry I didn't mean to frighten you." The women continued, looked apologetic, "do you need a bag to vomit or perhaps some headphones to get your mind off it?"

I nodded my head no and the woman looked over at my mother, who was sitting next to me, "what about you, ma'am? Would you like any peanuts? We also have pretzels and cookies."

"Some pretzels would be nice, I think my daughter could actually use that bag and a glass of water." My mom replied. The woman nodded, reached into her cart, and handed my mother a small bag filled with pretzels. After she rushed off, presumably to get the vomit bag and the water.

My breathing got deeper and I squished my eyes closed, "Any moment now my life will be flashing before my eyes. According to the movies, that's what happened when one's life is drawing to an end." I said, my voice a few octaves higher than usual.

"Oh Charlie, stop being so dramatic. The plane is going to land in about twenty minutes. You aren't going to die." My mother reasoned.

"But we're so high up!" Was all I managed to squeak out before the flight attendant came back with a bottle of water and a brown paper bag.

She gave me another sympathetic look and then continued to pass out snacks to the other passengers.

"Thousands of planes fly all around the world every day, the odds this one will crash are very slim. Drink some water." My mom instructed.

I groaned and unscrewed the cap, drinking a big gulp. I had to admit, it did make my stomach feel a little better. However it did nothing to calm my racing thoughts.

"Passengers please make sure you fasten your seat belts," the plane captan began on the speaker system. Jokes on you speaker dude, I haven't unbuckled my seat belt since take off. "The plane will be landing in New York in approximately ten minutes. Please turn off all electronic devices."

I nearly sighed in relief, I would be out of this big metal death trap in ten minutes.

My mother turned her iPad off and took out the sky mall magazine. She attempted to show me some of the cool yet completely useless items but I couldn't concentrate enough to read, the words seemed to be swimming across the page. It was like attempting to pull an all-nighter to study for an exam. Lucky for me, I was out of school for the summer. Unlucky for me, my mom was taking me to New York for my entire summer. Apparently, since she was the CFO of some fashion company, she had to be in New York for a fashion show. And she seemed to think it would be a good idea to take me away from my best friend, Grace, for the last summer before senior year. Honestly, none of this would be nearly as bad if I didn't have to sit on this plane for so long. Planes were hell for people who were deathly afraid of heights, such as myself.

I could feel the plane tipping as we started to descend. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was at home watching netflix with Grace.

The second the captain told us we could leave I threw my seat belt off and bolted to the front of the plane. I trusted my mom would grab my carry on but if she didn't, well, sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

I stood around in the plane waiting area until eventually my mother got off, her big leather purse on one arm and my light blue backpack on the other. Guess the only sacrifice I would have to make today is the plane trip of doom.