Chapter 28
526 Words
In the Plane
The low hum of the plane settled into a steady rhythm as it climbed higher, the city lights below fading into scattered flickers before disappearing completely into the night.
Eleanor leaned her head back against the seat, fingers loosely wrapped around the armrest. “So… we’re actually in the air,” she said, almost to herself.
“Too late to run now,” Max replied from across the aisle, already flipping through the in-flight menu like it was a five-star restaurant.
“You say that like she didn’t consider jumping off at the gate,” Roxy teased, adjusting the blanket over her legs.
“I did not,” Eleanor protested, then paused. “Okay, maybe for like… two seconds.”
Brax chuckled from the seat beside Kelvin. “That’s progress. Last week it would’ve been ten minutes.”
Max glanced over at Eleanor, a small smile playing on his lips. “You’re doing fine. Just think—by the time we land, you’ll be a whole new person.”
“Or asleep the entire flight,” Hunter added from behind them. “Which, by the way, is my plan.”
“You’ve been asleep since takeoff,” one of the other boys, Cayden, said, nudging Hunter’s seat from behind. “You even snored during the safety demonstration.”
“I was not snoring,” Jide mumbled, pulling his hoodie over his face. “I was… meditating.”
“On what? Turbulence?” Max shot back, earning a quiet laugh from the group.
A flight attendant passed by, offering drinks, and the brief clinking of ice in plastic cups added to the soft atmosphere. Outside the window, the sky had deepened into a vast, endless black, dotted faintly with stars.
Eleanor turned slightly, peering past Garv toward the window. “It’s kind of crazy,” she said softly. “Everything down there just… disappears.”
Garv followed her gaze. “Yeah. It’s like pressing pause on everything we left behind.”
“Or fast forward,” Roxy added. “Because Bali? New energy, new stories… new drama, probably.”
“Definitely drama,” Brax said. “With this group? It’s guaranteed.”
“Excuse me,” Eleanor said, sitting up straighter. “I bring excitement, not drama.”
“Same thing,” Max replied instantly.
They all laughed again, softer this time, the sound blending into the quiet cabin filled with strangers, dim lights, and the occasional murmur of other passengers.
Hours began to stretch, marked by half-finished conversations, shared snacks, and moments of silence where each of them drifted into their own thoughts. At some point, Roxy rested her head on Eleanor’s shoulder, fast asleep. Hunter had given up pretending and was fully snoring now. Even Max had gone quiet.
Eleanor glanced around at all of them—her people—scattered in different states of rest and wakefulness.
Then she looked back out the window.
Somewhere ahead of them, beyond the darkness, was Bali. Something new. Something unknown.
And for the first time since the trip began, she didn’t feel nervous.
Just ready.
After a few hours, they landed in Bali, Indonesia.
- Writer
