By Your Side

Chapter 13: Aboard

James entered the lonely room since he was the only soul in the vast space. Outside the window, the plane was just pulling up to the walkway, and James took one last look around the room before draping his head over the back of the seat and stared up at the ceiling. A few minutes passed as the set of double sliding doors opened, and everyone from the plane started to enter the space.

The silence that was echoing off the four walls had now been replaced with constant and frustrated chatter mixed with a bit of hysteria as people passed through. Closing his eyes, James escaped his reality unaware of how tired he still was, he managed to drift in between consciousness until eventually, he fell fast asleep. It only felt like a few minutes passed when suddenly a soft tap on his shoulder woke him up.

His eyes blinked open as a figure stood over him, and a soft ticklish curtain brushed along the side of his cheek. It took him a minute to phase back into existence as he was greeted by Clare's smile looking down at him while her hair had created a curtain around their faces.

"Hey, Sleepyhead."

"Clare, when did you-"

"I just got here, have you been here long?"

"No, I just," James sat up breaking through the veil of Clare's hair and looked back into the packed room. "Wait when did everyone get here?"

"They were all here when I showed up. When did you get here?"

"Six, why?"

"It's seven thirty."

"Oh man, I must have fallen asleep."

"Yea I'd put my money on that as well."

Clare giggled as she got up from the seat behind James and walked around to the other side of chairs taking the spot beside him. Something was different with her today as she kept her phone in her hands, checking it every thirty or so seconds as if she was anxiously waiting for something.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Hmm...yea."

"So where's Hannah and Nathan."

"Good question."

As if on cue the young couple walked through the double sliding doors, Nathan looked well put together with a run of the mill t-shirt and cargo shorts. Hannah on the other hand, her hair was a complete mess and covered the large framed sunglasses that hid her eyes, and accompanying all of that was a white tank top and sweatpants.

There was a definite tension in the air as they approached James and Clare. Too afraid to ask what was wrong, the two of them sat quietly as Hannah sat next to Clare, while Nathan took the spot beside James creating as much distance between the two of them as possible. The two in between them looked at their new companions and then at each other wide-eyed, unsure of what was going on.

"Good morning you two."

"Yea morning."

"Shut up Nathan."

Like a well-trained dog, Nathan immediately sealed his mouth at Hannah's command as a look of fear formed on his face. Seeing this sudden turn of events, James and Clare both turned to face the agitated Hannah.

"Everything okay cuz."

"Yea I'm fine. Oh, and by the way, Nathan will be sitting with you, James. Clare, you're with me."

"Why the-"

"Did I stutter Clare?"

"Woah calm down Hannah."

"Sorry, it was just a long night."

Feeling like the conversation had ended, Clare turned back to James with her eyebrows lifted higher than usual, as she casually leaned over to whisper in James' ear.

"This is going to be a fun flight."

"Tell me about it."

The words escaped through their clenched teeth in a muffled breath as the lady at the front desk pressed the intercom button.

"We will now be boarding for the departing flight to Australia."

Being courteous to the rest of the flight, the group remained seated until the first set of individuals made their way on. On the second call, the four of them rearranged the tickets accordingly, so that they were all in the right seats. When everyone was as happy as they could be with the separation they made their way up to the desk and presented the tickets to the attendant. She scanned each of them in, and they made their way out of the gate and onto the airplane.

The plane was bigger then James had expected as he stepped aboard. From the terminal, the aircraft appeared to be much smaller but know he clearly could see the actual size and it was the biggest plane he had ever been on. It took a second for him to realize that this was only a plane that money could get you on board of since it was mostly businessmen and women aboard it. Nathan being a rich brat of a kid, he walked confidently onto the plane and went straight to first class. James and the girls, on the other hand, all walked with hesitated amazement, admiring the plane's size before catching up to Nathan, who was displaying their home for the next nineteen hours.

The girls sat on the opposite side of the aisle, while Nathan didn't even hesitate to take the window seat, and Hannah did the same leaving Clare and James the aisle seats. The four of them sat awkwardly while Clare and James occasionally exchanged glances. Other then that though, all James could do was look around at the first class seats that still had him in awe.

The chairs all converted into a bed like form, and there were dividers in between the seats to separate passengers. Then a complimentary drink bar and a decent sized TV screen were built into the back of the seats in front of them. 

The final few passengers walked onto the plane and took their seats while the flight attendants dispersed down the aisle before the captain came over the intercom to address the cabin.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the fasten seatbelt sign has been turned on. If you haven't already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin. Please take your seat and fasten your seat belt and also make sure your seats back and folding trays are in the upright position.

If you are seated next to an emergency exit, please read carefully the special instructions card located by your seat. If you do not wish to perform the functions described in the event of an emergency, please ask a flight attendant to reseat you.

We remind you that this is a non-smoking flight. Smoking is prohibited on the entire aircraft, including the lavatories. Tampering with, disabling or destroying the lavatory smoke detectors is prohibited by law.

If you have any further questions about our flight today, please don't hesitate to ask one of our flight attendants. Thank you.

The intercom became silent once more, and the group stowed away all their bags and put their seat belts on and awaited the plane door to seal shut up at the front.