The Plane Ride

“Yes Mom.” Katie said annoyed. Katie was on her way to her plane. Her mom was sending her to Florida for three months with her cousin, Becky, for her 18th birthday. “Mom…Mom, I got to go, they called my seat. Love ya, bye.” Katie said quickly and hung up before her mother would hold her back for a half an hour good-bye. She walked up to the lady whom took the tickets. She tore it and then handed it back to Katie. Then she walked on the plane and then found her seat.

*~*~*

Nick had finally relaxed in his seat when he noticed a very pretty girl walking towards him. She had bright blue eyes, light brown hair which fell a few inches below her shoulders. “Hey.” Katie said smiling. “Hi.” Nick said. “Is this your seat?” He asked pointing to the seat next to him. “Yep.” She replied. Nick stood up and allowed her to get to her seat. “My name is Nick.” He said extending his hand to her. “Hi. I’m Katie.” She said smiling. “So why are you going to Florida?” He asked starting a conversation. “For my birthday. My mom is letting me spend the summer there, with my cousin.” She explained. “Oh cool. So when was your birthday?” He asked expecting it to be recent. “February 9th.” She said. “Wow that was a while ago.” He said. “Yeah, well this is all that I wanted. My cousin and I are really close and we never see each other.” “Yeah, I know that is like.” Nick said remember Aaron, and how he wasn’t going to be there when he got home. “So why are you?” she asked putting her bag under her seat. “To finally relax at home.” He said. “So how old are you.” Katie asked. Nick was shocked. He figured by now she would realize who he was. He decided to take advantage of the situation and see if she would fall for him as if he was a normal guy. “21.” He said taking off his sunglass. “Oh so you are officially legal.” She said with a smile on her face. “Yeah.” Nick said with a half smile, which made Katie instantly want to melt. “What about you?” He asked. “You never ask a women for her age.” She joked. “No, I am 18.” She said. “Cool.” Nick said taking off his ball cap and fixing his hair. “So are you going to Tampa?” Nick asked. “No, Naples.” She said. “Then why are you flying into Tampa? That is like a three hour drive.” Nick said. “Well…it is kind of embarrassing.” Katie said. “I won’t think any different of ya.” Nick said. “Well, two years my dad walked out on my mom and me, and left us with nothing, and we don’t have a lot of money and this was the cheapest flight.” Katie said sadly and embarrassed to tell a complete stranger this. “That’s why I am coming down now and not in February, we didn’t have the money then.” Katie added. “Why did he walk out?” Nick asked. “Umm…well…that is really personal.” Katie said. Right after she said that the plane started to move and Katie quickly tensed up. “Is everything ok?” Nick asked. “Yeah, I just really don’t like planes.” Katie said. “Why not?” Nick asked. “Well, when I was little, I loved them, my dad and I used to go flying all the time.” Katie said smiling at the memory. “But, not to long ago my best friend died in a plane crash, and I have been scared ever since.” She said shutting the flap so she couldn’t see out the window. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Nick said sympathetically. “It’s ok. As long as you keep the memories of someone, you can ever fully loose them.” Katie said. “That’s a good way to look at it.” He said. “So what are you going to do when you get to Florida?” Nick asked. “Go to the beach and get tan.” Katie said holding up her pale arm and laughing. “And working and spending time with my family.” She added putting her hand down. “Work?” Nick asked. “Yeah my grandfather owns a restaurant down there.” She said. “What’s it called?” He asked. “Cheeburger Cheeburger.” She said. “Oh I have heard of that.” “Have you been there before?” “Yeah, its pretty good.” Nick said. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have now reached 10,000 feet. You are now able to work electronic appliances.” The captain announced through the intercom. Katie bent down and pulled her bag out from under her seat. She pulled out her notebook, CD player, and a CD case. “Rhythm CD?” Nick asked reading the title off of the CD. “Yeah, my ex made it for me. I like to write songs.” She said. “Ex? So do you have a boyfriend?” He asked. “No, I just broke up with him not to long ago.” She said. “You know, that’s kind of ironic that you write songs.” Nick said. “Why is that?” Katie asked putting her CD in her CD player. “Because I sing.” Nick said smiling. “Really? That’s cool.” Katie said then she put her headphones on and made up some lines to the rhythm she was working with. A half an hour later she put her CD player down on the pullout table in front of her. “Song sounds good.” Nick said. “Thanks, but how do you know what it sounded like?” she asked curiously. “You were making the beat with you pen, and softly singing the words.” He explained. “Oh, so did you really like it or were you just saying that?” She asked. “Yeah, it was really good.” He said smiling. “Thanks.” She said. “How many have you written?” Nick asked. “Umm…I don’t know. I haven’t really kept track.” She said, “Do you want to hear my favorite one that I have written?” she asked. “Sure.” He said. Katie bent down and got out a CD. She put it in her CD player and handed it to Nick. “It’s call ‘Crossing Over.” She said handing him the CD player. “It is number 5.” She said. Nick took the CD player and turned it to five and then it play. He heard of sounds and drums, and then the vocals of a girl.

“Everyday seems I turn another page/And it feels like the heartache fades a little more away/I look in the mirror and I like what I see/ Hey you didn’t take that much baby out of me/Something proud and something strong/Fills the absence of a memory that’s dead and gone/I do believe I’m crossing over/ I feel that weight come off my shoulder/ I close my eyes/And I drift closer to the other side/And Lord I swear I’m crossing over/Found the strength to let you go and/The though of you is getting colder/ And further from my mind/ And I think I crossed that line/ To the other side/Lately I find when I’m walking though town/ I don’t have to turn away/ I don’t have to look down/ If I should see you with somebody new/ well I might get sentimental/ But I’ll make it through/Something real and something right/ Puts the doubt of a memory in a different light/ I do believe I’m crossing over/ I feel that weight come off my shoulder/ I close my eyes/And I drift closer to the other side/And Lord I swear I’m crossing over/Found the strength to let you go and/The though of you is getting colder/ And further from my mind/ And I think I crossed that line/ To the other side/Something real and something right/ puts the shadow of a doubt/ in a different light/I do believe I’m crossing over/ I feel that weight come off my shoulder/ I close my eyes/And I drift closer to the other side/And Lord I swear I’m crossing over/Found the strength to let you go and/The though of you is getting colder/ And further from my mind/ And I think I crossed that line/ To the other side/ I do believe I’m crossing over/ I feel that weight come off my shoulder/ I close my eyes/And I drift closer to the other side/And Lord I swear I’m crossing over/Found the strength to let you go and/The though of you is getting colder/ And further from my mind.”

The song faded out and ended. Nick was surprise at how good the song was, and the girl who sang that song, sang it with so much emotion that you could feel how strong she was. “That was really good. Who sang it?” Nick asked. “I did.” Katie said. “You have a great voice.” “Thanks.” Katie replied. “Where did you record it?” Nick asked. “My ex, Jay, the one that gave me the CD, and his band record at ‘Indy 500 Records.’ So he let me record when they would get done early.” She said. “What happened to you two?” Nick asked. “It’s a long story.” Katie said. “Well we have another hour on the plane. So tell.” Nick said giving her his full attention. “Ok well, Jay is in a band called, ‘Unreel.’ They are a state based band, and travel around Indiana playing at parties, and I wrote the songs and usually I went with them and sang with Jay, and the other guys, but mostly Jay. Our voices mixed perfect and everything. But I couldn’t go to one party. I had something to do. My best friend, Ryan, was at the party and he called me from there and he was like, ‘Katie, are you still dating Jay?’ and I was like ‘yeah.’ And he was like, ‘well then why is he dancing with this other girl?’ and I was like ‘Jay is a hot guy, I am sure that the girl probably asked him and he wanted to be nice so he is dancing with her.’ And I didn’t think much about it. Then Ryan was like ‘Then why is he making out with her and they are making their way upstairs?’ Right then I dropped what I was doing and ran to my car, drove to the party and Ryan showed me where he went. I ran into the room and saw him making love to the girl. So I ended it right there.” Katie recalled remembering that night. “Oh, I am sorry to hear that.” Nick said. “He was a jerk for doing that to you.” He said. “Yeah, he was.” She said. “I think that he is engaged to that girl.” Katie said. “How long did you two break up?” He asked. “About a month ago.” She said. “Wow, he moves fast.” Nick said. “Yeah, well it had been going along for a long time.” She said. “Well, the song really shows how you are over him. But how did you record it if you and Jay broke up?” Nick asked. “I was close friends with their managers and she arranged it where I could go in when Jay wasn’t there.” She explained. “That’s cool. So are you friends with the other band members?” He asked. “No, they all hate me.” She said shrugging. “Why?” Nick asked. “Well, when me and Jay started dating, me and the others were fine. But when I started writing and singing, they thought that I was stealing the light from them. So they just hated me. I didn’t really do anything either.” Katie said. “It doesn’t seem to bother you very much.” Nick said. “Nope. Jay was the most popular guy in the group, so I had all of the fans that loved him hating me, and so I was used to it, and I wasn’t really fond of Luke, Ben, and Matt that much anyway.” Katie said. “So, anyway, do you have a girlfriend?” she asked getting off the subject of Jay. “Nope.” “Any crazy relationships like mine?” She asked. “No, sorry.” He said laughing. “I guess I’m the only one with a crazy life like that.” She said. “Nah, my friend AJ does.” Nick said, knowing that she would know who he was now. “Oh.” She said. “You know him?” Nick asked. “Nope, don’t know any AJ’s.” She said. Nick was surprised. “Ladies and Gentlemen. We will be landing in Tampa, Florida, in five minutes. Please turn off all electronic devices at this time, and fasten your seat belts. The time is 4:38, and the temperature is 96*. Thank you for choosing ATA.” The captain said. The seat belt light came on and they were soon on the ground. “Who is picking you up?” Nick asked. “I am renting a car.” She said. “Cool, I’ll walk you down there.” Nick said. “Thanks.” Katie said smiling. They went down to baggage claim, gathered their bags, and then headed to Hertz, rent-a-car. After they got Katie’s car she drove him to where he parked it, in Long-Term parking. “That black truck right there.” Nick pointed out. Katie pulled up next to it in an empty parking spot. “Thanks for the ride.” He said smiling. “Anytime.” She said. “It was nice meeting you, Katie.” Nick said. “It was nice meeting you, too.” Katie said. “Umm…can I have your number? So we can keep in touch?” Nick asked shyly. “Sure do you have a piece of paper?” she asked. “No.” Nick said. “Ok, give me your hand.” Katie said, he did, and she wrote her aunts number in the palm of his hand. “I won’t be there at all today, so call me tomorrow.” She said. “Why not today?” he asked. “Because I am spending the rest of the day with my grandparents.” She explained. “Oh ok. So I will ask you tomorrow?” He asked making sure. “Yep.” She said smiling widely. “Ok bye.” He said. Then she drove off.