Chapter One: Learning to Fly
It was the holidays, and I was about to fly to my parents house for the holidays. It was the first time that I've had to fly, so as I walked nervously down the aisle of the plane, trying to find my seat number. I was terrified. Finally I reached an empty seat, checking the number again on my ticket, and then smiled nervously at an older, more mature woman. I squeezed pass her and sat in my seat.
"First time?" the woman next to me said.
"I guess that's pretty obvious, I'm not normally this uncoordinated," I said to her
"Don't worry about it, I've been flying for almost twenty five years now, it gets so I worry more about crossing midtown in a cab more than I do about flying to Los Angeles."
"Amanda Robson, But me friends call me Mandy," I said as she extended her hand.
"I'm Barbara Logan." Came the reply. "Nice to meet you Amanda. Don't worry, by the time we get to your destination you'll be a veteran."
"Don't be surprise if you find me holding your hand for support when this thing takes off." I said.
Barbara's smile dimmed just a little. "I usually take the train, from city to city, but I found this is more relaxing for the meetings" She said.
Ten minutes later, the flight attendants had finished their safety speech, one which I followed with a keen interest. The fasten seat belts light had come on and the 747-400 took its turn on the flight line.
Barbara could feel my hand tensing up when the cabin filled with the roar of the jet's engines as the pilot brought them up to full power. As the plane began to rush down the runway, Barbara reached over and took my hand in her own. I gripped her hand tightly as the wheels of the jet bumped once then took to the air. The night sky filled the small window, leaving the city lights quickly behind.
After about ten minutes of climbing to gain their cruising altitude, the seat belt light went off. People then began to move around the cabin and get as comfortable as they could. A casual look around her told Barbara that most of her fellow passengers intended to sleep their way cross-country.
"I guess you can let go now." Barbara said with a smile. "We made it once again."
"Would you mind terribly if I held on a little longer?" I asked her.
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt." Barbara responded. If that was the most attention she wanted, then maybe she could get some sleep after all.
With that Barbara, the 45 year old woman leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Ten minutes later she was lost in dreamland.
Roughly two hours later, Barbara woke up, feeling the call of nature. The cabin around her was dark, except for the maintenance lights. Brushing her hair out of her brown eyes, she could see that most of the people around her were sleeping, the few who were not sat quietly reading. Turning to her left, she saw that I was still wide awake. Still holding tightly onto her hand.
"
Couldn't get any sleep huh?" Barbara asked.
"No, I tried but I'm still too scared." I replied. "I hope you don't mind my still holding on, it really does make me feel better."