Em's shorts!

[Em]

No... this has nothing to do with the contents of my wardrobe. Just a collection of some short stories that I will be writing when I should be doing something more constructive!

Anyway, hope you'll enjoy them and leave me your comments!



---------------
Eighteen Hours

Hour 1

“Final call for passengers on Cathay Pacific flight CX 881 to Paris and Hong Kong, please make your way to Gate number 32B with your passport and boarding card. Final call for CX881 to Paris and Hong Kong.”

Dragging his hand baggage behind him and panting as he waves his ticket and passport in the air, Michael is struggling with the three foot Snoopy he has tucked loosely in his armpit.
“Wait for me, I am here.” He calls out to the airport ground staff, who are watching him from the exit to the gate.

“You are the last to board, Sir! May I have your passport and boarding card please?” says one of the ladies politely. He passes them to her and she quickly ushers him through the door and down the ramp into the aircraft.

“Sorry… excuse me … sorry… sorry… “
Snoopy’s arms and legs bash into the unfortunate aisle passengers and a few pairs of glasses and a wig are knocked out of place by the soft plush toy.
“Ah, 34C – this is my seat.”

“Would you like some help with your luggage there, sir?”
An amused flight attendant offers her assistance in stuffing Snoopy into the baggage compartment head first, followed by Michael’s small case.

“Thank you!” says Michael as he turns to his seat.

“You’re welcome, please be seated as we are about to depart.”
The crewmember replies before returning to her pre-flight duties.

Michael sits down in his seat that is on the side of the aisle, after picking up the cushion and freshly cleaned blanket in a bag. As he collapses into his seat and fumbles around for his seatbelt, he glances across to his fellow passenger who is sitting on the far seat next to the window. She is a thin-looking girl in her twenties and she seems a little nervous about the flight as she leafs through the in-flight magazine, but grasps her hand into little fists from time to time. She doesn’t look up.

“Looks like we have a spare seat between us, that’s handy!” comments Michael, attempting to start a conversation with his new companion.

The girl looks up at him as if to enquire if he was talking to her and when it is apparent that he is, she replies:
“Maybe they’ll get on in Paris.”

Michael looks at the girl who has now turned to look at him and he can see from her puffy eyes that she has been crying.
“Are you okay?” he asks sensitively.

“Can I ask you a favour?” The girl asks hesitantly.

“Sure!” replies Michael, not knowing what to expect.

“Can you hold my hand when we take off? I don’t really like flying and I’m frightened I’ll have a panic attack.”

Michael is a little shocked at this request, but seeing her pale and agitated expression he agrees and reaches his arm across the empty seat, opening his palm to take hers. The plane begins to move and the cabin crew begin the safety demonstrations. With each little bump of the plane as it moves towards the runway, the girl becomes more and more nervous, and when it comes to a full stop to rev up the main engines, she quickly grasps Michael’s hand and squeezes her eyes closed. Her hand is soft and warm and the tight grip sends a tingling sensation up Michael’s arm and through his body. The plane accelerates and the force of the movement pushes the passengers deep into their seats until the nose of the plane turns upwards and the forces of gravity and inertia fight against the upward movement. Michael starts to panic himself as he continues to watch the expression of the girl move from fear to horror to hyperventilation.

“Take deep breaths, you’ll be okay!” he shouts across to her over the deafening whirr from the engines and the booming movement of air over the surface of the aircraft.

Either she can’t hear him or she is too busy remembering how to breathe. The girl seems to be in distress, so against the natural pull of the movement, Michael unlatches his seatbelt and eases himself over into the middle seat to get closer to the girl. Unable to free the grip on his left hand, he leans over to reach his right hand to the girl’s back to try and help her to breathe. Finding this all rather awkward, he reaches over to free her left hand that is clutching onto the armrest and he holds her other hand, all the time shouting to her:
“Just breathe! You’re okay!!”

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, the plane levels out and the girl settles down a bit. Totally shaken by her traumatic experience, she snaps out of her adrenaline fuelled trance and finally releasing her grip on Michael’s hands, she flings her arms around him and bursts into tears. The other passengers nearby try to look over to see what the commotion is and all Michael can do is to give her a hug and let her express her emotion. Slowly he pulls her away and pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket.
“It’s clean.” He says as he hands it to her.

“Thank you.” Sniffs the girl as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

“It’s okay.” Replies Michael. “Do you mind if I stay in this seat? My name is Michael by the way.”

The girl suddenly seems to remember that he is a complete stranger.
“Oh… my name’s Lena.”

[Em]

The flight attendants pass through the aisles quickly and hand out trays laden with a few items for the quick breakfast that is served between taking off in Manchester and landing in Paris. Michael passes one across to his new friend before taking one for himself.
“Is there a choice?” asks Lena.

“I’m sorry miss, we have run out of the alternative now – there is just sausage and egg left.” Comes the reply from the apologetic attendant.

“Oh…” Lena seems very disappointed.

“What’s up?” asks Michael as he detects her downhearted expression. “You don’t like sausages?”

“I don’t eat red meat. I was hoping to have the cheese omelette instead.” Explains Lena.

“Tell you what, let me give you the cheese from my crackers and I’ll have your sausage.” Suggests Michael cheerily. “And I’ll throw in my yogurt as well, you girls like that kind of thing.”

Lena smiles for the first time on the flight.
“Okay, deal.”

Michael keeps up the conversation.
“So are you going all the way to Hong Kong?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she responds with a question again.

“Yeah, I guess if you were going to Paris you wouldn’t choose to fly.” Chuckles Michael.

Lena frowns again. “Are you laughing at me? It’s not funny…”

Realising she isn’t in the joking frame of mind, Michael retracts his statement.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Suddenly, her eyes light up. “Haha – gotchya!” she laughs.
“It’s mad isn’t it? You wouldn’t think that the daughter of an airline pilot is afraid of flying would you? I’m okay as long as you keep me distracted. How about you?”

“I’m going to Hong Kong too. I study in the UK, but my folks are back there so I have to fly back to see them a few times a year.”

“Tea or Coffee sir?”
The cabin attendant arrives with two flasks and interrupts their conversation.

“Coffee please.” Says Michael as he turns over the little plastic cup on his tray.

“And miss?”

“Coffee please. I need it!” Lena winks at Michael who finds this curiously alluring.

“Thank you.”

Michael looks at Lena who finds herself struggling with her little tub of UHT milk.
“I hate these little things, I am always paranoid about getting it all over me, they are so fiddly.”

“Here, let me help.” Offers Michael, always eager to lend a hand.
He takes the container from her and yanks at the foil covering. Forgetting that he is squeezing tightly onto the soft plastic bottom part, the foil breaks and the pressure of the liquid is released, forcing the milk through the opening and straight into Michael’s face.

Lena looks at his stunned expression with droplets of milk splattered all over it and forgetting about her anxiety, she bursts into fits of laughter. Michael feels stupid as he sits and wishes there was a hole or an open window he could jump through. What a fool! Pulling the napkin from underneath her tray, Lena reaches over to the embarrassed young man and starts dabbing away at the milk on his face. As she does so, she looks into his eyes and he into hers and they make a connection. Wiping away the last few droplets, Lena’s wrist is held by Michael’s as their stares are still locked and something is bursting to happen.

Ping!
“Your attention please, we are now beginning our descent into Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Please return to your seats, put your seat back upright and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you.”

A look of panic streaks across Lena’s face once more as she looks at Michael with fear in her eyes again.
“I hate landing just as much as take-off.” She shrieks.

[Danielle Lin]

Lena's character is so interesting... I like the part where she adds, "I hate landings as much as takeoffs." What a new ice breaker! Update soon!

[jeh]

Lena is so cute Update soon.

[MYF]

Nice writing em. I've been trying to do these sort of short stories for some time now, but I can't wait to see what you do with these short stories

[LydMystc]

OoOo How Cute!! Update sooOn. I want To Know wHAT hapPen NexT!

[Cece]

Yeah! , short stories, great thinking Em! The story is great so far! update soon

[Em]

After the trays and cups are quickly cleared away in preparation for the descent, Lena sits grasping at her seat once again as she prepares herself mentally for the ordeal ahead.

"You can use my hand again if you want." offers Michael.

Lena doesn't respond, her smile has left her face once more and she stares blankly into the back of the seat in front of her. Michael really wants to make her feel better, but as the pressure starts to drop in the cabin with the fall in altitude, his ears begin to pop and he thinks to reach into his pocket and pull out a packet of mints. He offers one to Lena, but she refuses as she remembers the time she panicked with a mint in her mouth and almost choked herself to death. She'd rather not hear for the next week, thank you.

The plane takes a dive as it goes through some clouds and the shaking movement sets Lena's heart into action as she grabs Michael's hand sharply and begins to hammer it against the armrest and starts to mutter to herself: "Get me off, get me off..."

"Ow, stop it! That hurts!" complains Michael as he feels a bruise developing on the back of his hand and side of his wrist. It is no use though, because Lena is once again overcome by her terror and is no longer in control of her actions. Like an automaton, she continues to whack his hand into the side of the arm rest.
"I'll have no arm left by the time we reach Paris!" thinks Michael to himself until some delayed quick thinking prevails and he slips a cushion between his arm and the armrest, taking some of the pain out of the blows.

The plane dips violently again as it prepares for the final descent into the airport and Lena starts to hyperventilate again. In a moment of desperation, Michael turns her head to face him and plants a kiss on her lips. She stops stunned, like a rabbit in the headlights and regains her senses for a brief moment.
"Where am I?" she thinks for a moment before realising where she is and ignoring the large dark eyes of Michael gazing straight at her face, she starts to shake again.
Without a second thought, Michael re-uses his idea and kisses her again. This time she responds to him and it seems only natural to kiss him back. Like a vampire sucking life from his hapless victim, Michael sucks the fear from his nervous patient as she abolishes the panic and enjoys the warm touch of his lips on hers. After some moments, Michael pulls away to catch a breath just as the landing gear touches the tarmac of the runway with a gentle bump and friction takes over to grind the plane to a halt with a rigorous motion. Lena doesn't seem to notice this as she can only relive the memory of that kiss over and over in her mind.

The plane taxies across to the terminal building and the chief stewardess announces their arrival into France.
"... please will all transit passengers remain on the aircraft and remove all your personal baggage from the overhead compartments whilst staff complete security checks. Thank you for travelling and we hope to see you again."

Michael peers over at Lena who is taking a breather. She peers back at him and smiles again.
"Thanks... you certainly know how to do the kiss of life!" she jokes, halfway back to her cheery self. Michael looks embarrassed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Don't be silly, if I didn't want you to, then I would have slapped you straight away." Lena laughs.

The people departing at Paris leave the plane and all the transit passengers are left on. Some are stretching their legs, others start to unload their handbaggage from the compartments and a toddler growing impatient from the uncomfortable conditions on the plane begins to yell uncontrollably.

"Well, we may as well take in the sights and sounds of Paris whilst we are here!" says Michael.

"We've only got 45 minutes and anyway, we aren't allowed off the plane.." Lena doesn't understand his humour.

"We're in Paris, aren't we?" explains Michael.
"So experience this..."

"Waaaaaaaah! I want to go home!" screams the kid as her mother tries to calm her down.

A cleaner passes through the cabin picking up some pieces of litter and there is a clinking of a food trolley as the caterers load up the supplies for the onward flight. The bright midday sun streams through the cabin windows and sheds a pretty tinge onto Lena's washed-out face.

"Excuse me, sir. Can you remove your items from the rack for a security check please?"
Michael is interrupted from his bout of admiration by the cabin attendant who taps him gently on the shoulder.
"And you too, Miss, if you please?"

Michael pulls down his case and frees Snoopy from his cramped cell, plumping him out and setting him down carefully onto the end seat. Then he passes over a small blue flight case from the back of the section and hands it to Lena.

"Is this yours?" he asks.

She nods.
"Who is the Snoopy for?"

Michael's slightly embarrassed expression surfaces again.
"It's for my sister, it's her birthday tomorrow so I promised I'd buy it for her."

"It's so cute!" laughs Lena as she gives the overgrown toy a big hug.

"I really don't understand what you girls see in stuffed toys." admits Michael.

"Hey, maybe if no-one takes that middle seat, then Snoopy can sit with us for the rest of the flight." Suggests Lena.

"Umm... okay?!" responds Michael.
"Why don't we take a photo together? A souvenir of our 'trip' to Paris, with Snoopy..."

"NO!" says Lena firmly.

"Come on, there's no harm in that." enthuses Michael, thinking she is playing again.
"We'll get someone to take a picture for us... I have my camera here."

"NO!" Lena shouts, seeming quite flustered before composing herself again. "I just don't want to take a photograph."

Michael is brought down to the ground with a bump.
"Oh? Okay then." he says sheepishly.

[jeh]

Wow, a kiss. How sweet I wonder why Lena doesn't want to take a picture. Update soon.

[Em]

They say that Paris is the most romantic city in the world, and even stuck in the cabin of a Boeing 747, there seems to be romance in the air. After getting over the slight awkwardness of the photograph incident, Michael and Lena share a light hearted forty-five minutes getting to know each other a little more. Then as the remaining passengers start to board and with Snoopy still resting happily in the spare seat, they amuse themselves by guessing whether the next person walking down the aisle will ask them to move the overgrown stuffed beagle.

“No, please not this guy!” prays Michael as a man weighing at least two hundred pounds makes his way through the cabin towards them and clumps past them.
“Phew!” comes the sigh of relief, “Thirteen hours sitting next to him would not have been fun.”

Lena has moved onto the next person: “How about this lady? …oh, no she’s looking in the middle section.

Suddenly a tall Frenchman stops beside Michael and makes a little hesitant coughing noise.
“Excusez-moi…” he says.

Michael jumps up with a little disappointment and responds to the man.
“Sorry, did you want to sit here?” he asks.

“Eez zis 34J?” the man asks in a strong French accent.

Michael looks up at the seat numbers and notices the man is at the wrong side.
“No, the seat you want is over there.” He says, pointing to the opposite side of the plane.

“Ah… pardon! Merci beaucoup!” he thanks Michael as he moves away.

“That was close…” breathes Michael. “I hope no one sits here, then I can be next to you.”
He turns to Lena, who is blushing a little from hearing his words.
“Here, take this. It will help you with the next take off.”

Michael pulls a small plastic bag from his shirt pocket and pulls out a tablet from it. He hands it to Lena with a glass of water that he had previously asked the stewardess for.

“What is it?” asks Lena with a worried look on her face.
“Are you trying to poison me?”

“Don’t worry,” says Michael reassuringly. “It’s just a sleeping pill, it will help you to relax or just fall asleep during take off, then that way you won’t be so scared.”

Lena seems sceptical, she knows that it is unwise to take unidentified drugs off a stranger, yet part of her tells her that she can trust Michael.
“Okay, you take one and I’ll take one.” She suggests.
“If it’s going to help me with my ordeal then it will be worth it.”

They take the tablets and carry on watching the people loading up the aircraft. It doesn’t seem that the middle seat is taken after all as the number of people moving around drop to just the cabin crew and Snoopy is left strapped contentedly to the seat next to the aisle.

Maybe it is the effect of the sleeping pill, or maybe it is that the sleeping pill is more than it seems, but Lena starts to lose consciousness and drifts in and out of her dreams. One minute she is sitting on the plane, the next she is drifting in the clouds that are pink and fluffy, she has wings of her own and can fly freely in the air. She tries hard to stay awake, but her drowsiness is too much and she finds herself falling into a deep deep sleep filled with vivid and fantastical dreams and nightmares. The plane takes off, but Lena isn’t aware of it and Michael is spared from history repeating itself.

[jeh]

Glad no one sat in the spare seat between them. PLease update soon

[Windi Kay]

Nice story....very uhhhhhh funny...update soon

[Someone5]

hope u update soon, this couple is very funny.

[Cece]

Originally posted by jeh
Glad no one sat in the spare seat between them. PLease update soon

Ya, I agree with you jeh. Please update soon.

[Em]

Lena is woken by the sound of a drinks trolley being pushed past them and the clinking of the bottles banging against each other. She looks up and sees a cabin attendant looking over at her.
“Will you be eating that meal, miss?” she asks.

Looking up at her in a rather confused state, then down at the table opened out in the middle seat section, she sees a meal that has not been touched.
“Yeah, I will.” Replies Lena, not really thinking about what she is saying.

“Okay, I will come back for it later.” Replies the attendant before pushing her trolley away.

Lena opens her eyes wider and finds that she is leaning against Snoopy who has been moved to the middle seat for her to use as a pillow. Gathering her thoughts for a moment, she wonders what has happened whilst she has been asleep, then she remembers she is on a plane and… where’s that guy… Michael? That pill she had has really knocked her out.
She looks over to the seat on the aisle, but he isn’t there.

Pushing herself upright from her slumped position on the seat, Lena peers over at the screen in the centre of the cabin and sees that the in-flight movie has just started. Then she takes up the tray of aeroplane food and sees a note written on the napkin, placed on top of the main meal box.

“Lena, I got you dinner – no red meat right? Enjoy, I’ve gone to find a better seat to watch the movie from. Mickey.” She reads the scrawly handwriting on the paper.
Opening up the little foil package, she sees a portion of standard chicken chausseur with rice and mushrooms and suddenly feels quite hungry, although she can’t help wondering if he might have drugged it.
“Oh well,” she decides, as she begins to pick at the food. “Sleeping the rest of the flight away isn’t such a bad thing anyway.”

It doesn’t take very long before Lena has polished off the food and the particularly delicate lemon cheesecake portion and as the blood starts to rush to her gut, she starts to feel drowsy again. Leaning against Snoopy to get comfortable again, she notices that some of the stitching has come away at the side of his neck and the hole is getting bigger with each moment, with a danger of the stuffing coming out of the dog. There is a slight glint in Lena’s eye, with it widening as if to show that she has had an idea or noticed something strange. Then she examines the tear and decides that she ought to fix it for Michael if the toy is a present for his sister. Easing herself into the aisle, she reaches up into the luggage compartment and from her case, she finds a small sewing kit. As she closes the door to the luggage hold, she looks around the cabin to see if she can see Michael. In the dimmed light of the cabin, she finds it hard to see very much and doesn’t notice that he is sitting in another spare seat about three rows behind, enjoying the film with a much better view.

“Strange… I thought he took a sleeping pill too. I wonder how he managed to stay awake.” She wonders to herself. Beginning to have doubts once again about the honesty of this man, she feels around her neck to make sure her chain is still there and checks on the floor beside her seat that her handbag is still there,
“But he wouldn’t be daft enough to rob me whilst we are still flying, surely.”

Shrugging her shoulders and telling herself not to be so doubtful, Lena settles back down into the seat and sets to work on repairing Snoopy with her needle and thread, making him look as good as new.

[jeh]

Aaw, Lena is suspicious of Michael Can't blame her though. The guy is, after all, a total stranger. Update soon.

[Em]

Hour 6

Shards of crashed metal burns on the side of the icy cold mountain as a few survivors crawl from the scattered wreckage and gather together so as not to lose too much body heat. In the snowy blizzards, a man struggles to heave the laden body of his lover from under a piece of metal and lays her down in a clearing to see if she is still alive.

“Lee, talk to me… Lee… after all we have been through, you can’t leave me now!” cries the man desperately as he tries to blow life back into the stone cold body of the girl. Cuts and wounds litter her slimly built body that is starting to turn blue from the cold and the lack of oxygen to her blood.

The man weeps hard over the body and with the last ounces of breath left within him, he picks up the frozen corpse before him and walks to the side of the ravine.

“No! Don’t go there, what are you doing?”
“You will fall to your death!”
The calls of his fellow survivors fall onto deaf ears as the man takes a walk to the edge of the ravine and declares:
“Lee, we haven’t been together for very long and the heavens decide to split us up, but I will go against the heavens and our destiny and be with you forever.”
With that he takes the final fatal step and images of his memories with Lee flash by as the man falls to his death down towards the bottom of the deep valley.

The camera angle moves outwards to show the full expanse of the mountain range and the burning shell of the bus that has dropped from the mountain road above as the credits begin to roll for the end of this sad, sad movie. The seat where Michael was sat is empty, but the headset is still plugged into the armrest and is still warm from his body heat.

Three rows down, Lena has just put away her sewing kit and is about to sit down again when she is grabbed from behind. Letting out a little scream of surprise, she looks around to find that Michael is hugging her hard with a tear-stained face. She spins her body around to look at him and his weak, sentimental expression touches a nerve in her heart and she hugs him tightly.
“What’s the matter?” she asks softly.

Michael sniffs and looks back at her whimpering like a little puppy.
“I just wanted to show you how much I want to care for you, before it's too late.”

Lena is a little taken aback as she protests: “But you’ve only known me for a few hours... and what do you mean by 'too late'?”

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” he asks.

This man gives Lena a very strange feeling, she is attracted, but there is something strangely suspicious about him, there is an obstacle that makes her fight her natural feelings towards him. She hugs him again, then aware that they are being stared at by many a pair of sleepless eyes, she says:
“I think we’d better sit down, we’re getting in the way.”

[jeh]

Woah, for a moment there, I thought the plane have crashed Luckily, it was only a movie. Hmm, I'm beginning to suspect Michael as well Update soon.

[Someone5]

wowowo, michael moving kinda fast there. hhee, update soon!!!

[Cece]

ya. Micheal is beginning to sound suspicious. Update soon.