SAT 2/7/2004 4:03am (Tyler)
"Tyler." a voice called.
He groaned, burying his face into whatever he was laying on. He didn't feel like waking up. Tyler didn't even remember where he was or what time it was. But he did know he was tired.
"Tyler, come on." the same voice called.
Tyler protested sleepily when an arm nudged his head. He refused to get up because it felt like way too early and he didn't get nearly enough sleep last night.
"TYLER!" the voice suddenly shouted.
"Huh?!" Tyler jolted awake. "What's going on?"
Josh smirked. "Had a nice nap on my shoulder, didn't you?"
"What?" Tyler looked down and realized he'd been sleeping on Josh's shoulder. "Ughhhhhhhhhhh." he groaned with more exhaustion.
"Relax, I don't have the black plague. We're in Cincinnati." the other boy informed him.
Tyler looked out the car window. Sure enough, they were driving through downtown Cincinnati. Skyscrapers rose up on either side of the road and traffic was pretty busy. It was only 3:47, meaning they only had about fifteen more minutes to get to the airport for headcount. Luckily, the airport should only be about ten minutes away if traffic cooperated enough. Laura continued down the road until she saw a traffic jam. She pulled off onto a side road and drove through the downtown areas.
Tyler had only been to Cincinnati a few times for basketball reasons. But it was fun finally seeing the downtown in person. Seeing the lit up skyscrapers and the walls of businesses along the narrow streets was very similar to Columbus, but at the same time, it was very different. For example, the Joseph Enterprises skyscraper was nowhere to be seen. The Ohio River also didn't run through Cincinnati like the Scioto River ran through Columbus.
Up ahead, they finally got to the airport. In the parking lot was the rest of the students going on the trip. Mrs. Tanaka, her husband Mr. Tanaka, and both World History teachers Ms. Cordeva and Miss Jackson were there as chaperones for the trip. To be fair, they were only going to be chaperoning for the tours and educational portions of the trip. All of the guys were with Mrs. Tanaka for the trip, which was quite lucky since there were so many of them.
Laura unlocked the car. "Have fun in Japan, you two. Take plenty pictures and tell us all about it when you get back to America. Be careful and bring back a few souvenirs, too." she said, looking at them both.
"You be safe, too." Tyler responded
"Tyler, you are like family to us and Kelly trusted me with you. If you get a single cut, I'm flying over there and driving you back myself. When you get back, you come on by anytime you want." she scolded him sternly.
"You bet. Thank you for the ride, Mrs. Laura." he said.
"Of course, hon. You've been such a good friend to Josh." she praised cheerfully.
I have? I'm pretty sure I despise him. "Have a safe drive back to Columbus!" Tyler said.
Josh got their luggage out of the trunk and handed Tyler's two duffel bags and his suitcase. They walked over to the group of students to check in with Mrs. Tanaka. On the way there, Tyler should have expected that Josh would start into his usually teasing. "Heard that, Ty? We're like family now." he answered.
"Means calling me baby boy is technically incest." he pointed out.
"Not really. We are LIKE family. We aren't blood-related." Josh retorted with a smirk. "You should take up that offer on coming over whenever. Y'know, since we're just the best of buddies."
Tyler raised an eyebrow. "You know what? I just might. I will come over every single day because I am totally that close to you." he stated with a highly sarcastic tone and face.
"Are you?" Josh asked.
"In fact, I am. We will spend all 24 hours and an extra one every day together. Con. Stant. Ly." Tyler said.
"Even at school?"
"Yep."
"After school?"
"You bet."
"While we're asleep?"
Tyler chuckled. "That's in the 24 hours of a day, isn't it?" he joked.
Josh thought for a moment. "In the shower?" he asked curiously.
"We are going to bathe side-by-side. Just to make it even more awkward, I will take up as much space as possible." Tyler declared very proudly.
Josh blushed a deep red. "Ah, I... uh- I..." he stammered nervously.
"How the tables have turned, Joshua." the boy triumphed.
"Very funny, Tyler." the other boy replied warmheartedly. "I have to admit, you can be kind of bipolar sometimes, but I like being around you. You're a lot of fun to joke around with."
Tyler laughed with him and they locked eyes for a bit while they laughed. Tyler couldn't help, but notice how Josh's expression changed when he was genuinely laughing and having fun. His eyes sparkled with a small light and his face was a whole lot softer. His eyes had more of a happy tint around them rather than the usual mischievous look. His smile showed his teeth in a genuine smile rather than the typical smirk Josh always boasted when he was messing around with someone. Tyler sort of enjoyed it. He didn't know what it was, but perhaps it was how Josh looked kind of hopeful. Hopeful for what exactly was beyond him.
Once he was able to speak, Tyler sighed contentedly. "I wanna say the same, but you're kind of douche."
Josh punched his shoulder playfully. "Oh, very funny."
Tyler burst into laughter, causing a few people to look at them as they passed by. "You're welcome."
Josh simply gave a small smile, but his expression was definitely and suddenly weaker than before. The glint of hope, happiness, and humor had disappeared from his eyes. His face looked a lot more tense as if he wanted to say something, but was refraining. Or more depressed, as if he wanted to cry, but was deciding to just bury it. Tyler knew a lot about burying stuff under layers. He was rather prone to not expressing himself as usual. Tyler studied him for a moment.
Was it something I said? he wondered.
"I'm gonna look for Brendon and Pete. Check in for me?" Josh asked in a sort of emptily polite voice.
"Sure thing." Tyler responded. Guess I won't find out. Oh, well. Not my problem.
He walked over to the teacher. "Hey, Mrs. Tanaka, here to check in. Josh is also here, I got a ride from his mom." he explained.
She smiled and nodded. "Alright, thank you, Mr. Joseph. My group will be heading in first since our flight is first at 5:00." Mrs. Tanaka informed him.
"Alright, I can't wait." he said with a returned smile.
He began to walk away when he heard a familiar voice call his name. It was Jenna with Hayden walking up behind her. "Hey! Tyler, hey, when did you get here?" she asked, grabbing both of his hands with her own.
"Just a few minutes ago. Josh and I rode together with his parents." Tyler answered. "How long have you been here?"
"Since about 3:40. Hayden brought me since him and his friends are also going on the trip." Jenna explained with a sweet smile.
"Ah, gotcha. Been a while since we talked last." Tyler pointed out with a returned smile.
She chuckled. "I'm sorry, baby. It's been a hectic past few weeks for me. My parents have been driving me up the walls about finding a job and-" Jenna started.
"Hey, hey, I get it. Don't worry about it. This is our break from out busy ass lives, y'know?" he reassured her. Hayden looked a little tense behind her.
"Yeah, you're right. I love you, Tyler." she said. Hayden's jaw clenched when she said that and he looked around a little bit.
"Love you, too, Jenna." Tyler responded, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Jenna giggled. "I hope we get some good pictures together in Japan." she said.
"Me, too." Tyler laughed. "I'm sure we'll get plenty of pictures."
"I'm gonna go find the others." Hayden finally told Jenna. "See ya round."
"Alright, later, Hayden!" Jenna laughed mischievously.
Hayden grinned which made her blush more. "Later, Jenna."
Tyler raised his eyebrow, but returned his attention to Jenna. "Whose group are you in?" he asked hopefully.
"Mrs. Tanaka's." she answered. "Are you?"
"Yeah, babe, I thought I told you." he chuckled. "Must've forgotten, seeing as you've been very busy."
"Yeah, definitely. I'm sorry, babe." she apologized, hugging him.
Tyler chuckled. "Who are you rooming with at the hotel?" he asked curiously.
"Debby, Stephanie, and Hayden." she answered with a smile.
What is it with her and Hayden always hanging out? he wondered with confusion. "I'm gonna be with Josh, Brendon, and Ryan." he replied.
"Oh, looks like our group is about to head into the airport." Jenna suddenly pointed out.
Sure enough, Mrs. Tanaka called out. "Everyone in my group for the trip! We are headed out!" she shouted.
They all began making their way over to the entrance of the airport. Tyler felt a chill down his spine, as this was his last few moments being on the ground in Ohio. Once they landed, they would be in Los Angeles. Then, they would land again in Honolulu. And finally, they would stop at an airport about twenty minutes outside of Hiroshima. It was kind of weird, but again, he was ready to finally get out of Ohio for a bit. They walked up to the front desk and he watched as one lady sighed, rolled her eyes, and mumbled something. He couldn't relate more, to be honest.
Mrs. Tanaka stood at the front of the group. "Give your ticket and passport to the people at the front desk. They will give you your boarding pass. We will go through security and baggage check afterwards. Then, we will wait for them to announce boarding time and we will board the plane." she explained.
With that, the process began for boarding the flight. Ever since 9/11 happened about two and half years ago, security had become a whole lot more stricter. If you had a bag with you before 2001, they didn't really care. Now, they questioned every single thing that could be remotely used in any way other than intended use. If you had a drink, what was it? If you had clothes, what was in the clothes? If you had a a smaller bag, what was in the bag? If you had anything sharp, it got taken out and put elsewhere. Nowadays, they wouldn't even let you board the plane if you had a pocket knife in your pocket.
It was understandable. The country couldn't take another terrorist strike like 9/11. Tyler gave his ticket and his passport to the lady. She gave him his boarding pass for Flight 210 to Hiroshima, Japan. He waited for Brendon and Ryan and they all sat in the waiting room together. They looked at their boarding passes for a moment.
"Hey, do either of you have 21H or 21J? I've got 21K." Tyler asked curiously.
Brendon and Ryan looked at their tickets. "I've got 21H. I'm by the aisle." Brendon answered finally.
"I'm in 14F. Middle row, but further up." Ryan replied with a shrug.
Tyler, Brendon, and Ryan went over to the rest of the guys. "Do any of you have 21J? I'm by the window, Brendon's by the aisle. So someone is gonna be between us." Tyler asked.
They all checked their boarding passes. All of them shook their heads. Except for Josh. "I've got 21J." he said.
Brendon smiled. "Hell, yeah." he said.
"Guess I'll be sitting with you." Josh said, high fiving Brendon and completely ignoring Tyler.
Damn, guess I'm just chopped liver. Tyler thought to himself.
Tyler walked over to Jenna, who was talking to Hayden and some dude on the baseball team he didn't know. "Hey, babe, who are you sitting with on the plane?" he asked curiously, hugging her from behind.
"Hayden and Stephanie." she said casually. "What about you?"
"Oh, uh..." Hayden AGAIN. he thought suspiciously, but he still thought nothing of it. "Josh and Brendon."
He turned to walk back to the guys, but Jenna pulled him back by the back of his shirt. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked sweetly.
They were huddled together with their faces so close they looked like they were about to kiss. It was mildly awkward with the mild doubts circling in his mind. A strand of Jenna's layered bangs fell in front of her face. Tyler reached over to brush it out of her face behind her ears, just as they had done many times during romantic moments between them. Tyler stared into her eyes. They were blue, but usually lively and warm, like the waters on a white, sandy beach in the Bahamas with a tint of curiosity and mischief in them. But now they were coated in an icy, rock-hard cast, and molded from the muted gray and blue of an overcast sky. The usual curious light in her eye was now a searching flashlight, blinding Tyler slightly.
"Tyler, baby," she said, raising her eyebrows. "You look scared."
"I'm fine." he said shakily.
"Tyler." she said again, more sternly.
He shrugged, steeling his nerves. "I'm alright. Promise. I'll see ya when we land in Los Angeles, alright?"
She nodded. "Alright, Ty. Love you."
"Love you, too."
The speaker suddenly sounded. "Flight 210 to Hiroshima, Japan, you may now make your way to terminal three and board the plane." it announced.
Well. Here's to a long flight across an entire country and an entire ocean. Tyler thought to himself.