Chapter 15 - Alexia

After that episode with Vanessa, I made a lot of friends. Some came up to me and said that they agreed to what I'd said to Vanessa. Some talked to me, telling me how much they appreciated my gesture. One even asked for my autograph.

But the girl I most liked having around was Lisa. We only had English, Chemistry, and French together, but we sometimes hung out during the breaks. She was really nice. She had brown eyes and dark hair that reached her shoulders. She was a little taller than me and much smarter. Her last year of middle school, she was awarded as the best student of the year.

A few other things about her: she sometimes wears bright orange jeans or rainbow-colored shirts. It was cool, since, in a crowd, you would spot her immediately. She is a really social person. I mean, she would be able to make friends with anyone, in just a few minutes. She's the "everyone knows me" kind of girl. I'm the "I'm awkward and weird and shy" kind of person. But the worst thing about her is her puns. She's really funny, but some of her jokes are just… so stupid, but so funny at the same time, you don't know whether to laugh or kill yourself.

So, yeah… that's Lisa.

"Hey, Alexia," she greeted me one morning as I sat down in my seat and took out my stuff from my bag.

"Hey, Lisa. How are you doing?"

"Fine. You?"

"I'm okay."

I looked at her and found her staring at me with a weird smile. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking."

"About what?" I insisted.

"About a rumor I heard," she admitted.

I looked at her straight in the eyes. "Spill."

And she did. "Everyone thinks Luke and you are together."

I froze, but just for a moment. "What?"

"Are you and Luke a couple?" she asked.

I smirked. Then, I whispered to myself. "I wish."

"You wish?" Lisa exclaimed.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

She giggled. "C'mon. Give me all the dirt."

"Dirt? There's no dirt. We're just friends…" I said.

"…for now," Lisa finished.

I nodded. Lisa clapped her hands. "Oh, this is awesome! Can I help you win him over?"

I laughed. "Sure. But I don't think I'll need any help."

Before Lisa could ask me what that meant, Luke walked into the English classroom and sat as his usual place. "Hey, Wise Girl."

"Wise Girl?" I asked, surprised. "So I'm supposed to call you Seaweed Brain? No, we'll have to come up with our own nicknames." [A/N. Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl are the nicknames used in the book series "Percy Jackson". Just a note for the ones who haven't read the books. Yet.]

"Okay," he said. "I was just trying something."

I only then realized that Lisa hadn't met Luke yet. "Luke, this is Lisa. Lisa, this is Luke."

"Hi," Luke said.

Lisa just stared at him. I elbowed her gently. "Hello, sorry," she suddenly said.

"It's okay," he said.

"So," Lisa said. "Alexia has told me a lot about you."

I slowly turned my head, my eyes wide, towards her. Why would you tell him that? I mouthed to her. She just shrugged.

"Oh," Luke answered, giving me a look. "That's nice to know."

Mrs. Depree walked in, and the lesson began.

Finally, Friday arrived. We had a normal day at school, but after P.E, I had to say goodbye to everybody. Except for Luke, obviously. I had told Lisa about the trip, and she'd given me some tips.

"I looked it up, and Switzerland is actually very nice during the winter, so I may be your chance to kiss him," she had said to me.

"Okay," I answered simply.

"And, plus, they speak Italian in Lugano. So I got you this English-Italian dictionary," she said as she handed me the little book.

"Thank you so much, Lisa. I'll miss you," I said. And then we parted ways.

"I'll pick you up at 7.00 A.M. We'll go to LAX after that," Luke told me before dropping me off at my house.

"Okay. See you tomorrow," I told him. He smiled. "Bye."

I walked into my house. "Hi, mom!" I yelled.

"Hey, sweetie!" my mother yelled back from somewhere in the house. I heard her walking towards me, and a few seconds later, she popped up from behind a corner. "There's my big girl," she said, giving me a hug. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes," I answered. "And Luke is picking me up at 7.00."

"Oh. Isn't that a little early?"

"No, it's about right."

"That's too bad," my mom said, disappointed. "I was hoping to say goodbye to you when you would leave."

"You can," I said.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to wake up at 6.30 on a Saturday!" my mother complained.

I laughed. "Yeah, okay. Don't worry, it's fine. I guess we'll have to say goodbye this evening then." She clasped her hands together and put them on her mouth. Her eyes began to sparkle.

"Oh, mom! Come on!" I leaned in for a hug. "I'm just going to be away for five days!"

"I know, I know," she said, wiping away her tears. "But you'll be so far away!"

"I'll Face Time with you every day, okay?" I promised. That seemed to calm her down. "Okay."

I patted her back. "I have to go take a shower."

She nodded, so I left and went upstairs. Halfway to the bathroom, I found Tom playing with his action figure.

"Hi, sis!" he exclaimed as he saw me.

"Hey, little bro," I said.

"Can you play with me?" he asked hopefully.

I shook my head. "Sorry, Tommy. But I have something to do."

"What about tomorrow?" he asked again.

"Tomorrow…?" I asked, confused. I realized that my mother hadn't told Tom that I would be leaving. Why wouldn't she tell him that?

"Hey, buddy. I need to tell you something," he looked up at me, curiosity in his eyes. "I'm going to leave for a little while. I'm going away with a friend, and I'll be back in about a week."

"But you will come back right?" he asked.

"Of course I'll come back. I would never leave you guys," I said to him.

"Okay. Bye then."

I wasn't really expecting that, but okay. I smiled and held up my hand. He gave me a high-five, then I went to take a shower. After relaxing under the water, I changed into my pajamas, then checked if all my thing were in the right place. Computer, check. Phone, check. Book, check. Clothes, check.

By the time I was done, it was time for dinner, but I didn't eat much. At 9.30, I was in bed, already thinking about the next day.

The airport was a mess. There were so many people, I probably couldn't have even found the bathroom. Fortunately, Luke and his mother, Julia, were able to guide me through all the customs and checks. Finally, after what felt like hours, we arrived at our gate, thirty minutes in advance.

"What now?" I asked.

"We wait," Luke told me, taking a seat. I sat next to him. I pulled out my phone and checked my emails. My mother had sent me one, saying that she missed me. In the end, she'd been able to see me off, but she was half asleep I doubt she'll remember it.

I then opened my book and started reading, until a thought occurred to me.

"Why Switzerland?" I asked aloud.

"What?" Luke asked, looking up from his phone.

"Why Switzerland? Why Lugano?" I repeated.

Luke sighed, "Well, my uncle Freddie used to live there."

"He moved?" I asked.

"No…" he hesitated. "He kinda… had a heart attack."

My eyes widened in shock: I really wasn't expecting that. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It was a long time ago," he said. "Anyways, my mother and he were really close, so when he died, my mom promised herself to visit once in a while. Plus, Lugano is a really nice city, so we enjoy going there."

"Oh."

I didn't know what else to say, so I just went back to reading.

Half an hour later, the intercom blared. "Attention, please. Flight number LH 732 to Munich, is now ready for boarding for first-class passengers."

"That's us," Luke said as he stood up.

"What?" I asked shocked. "We're in first class?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "Special treat."

We stood in line, and then we had to give our boarding pass and passport. We passed without any problems.

We got on the plane and looked for our seats. I was in 3A, Luke was in 3B, and Julia was in 4A. That meant that Luke and I would be sitting next to each other for almost eleven hours, all the way to Munich. I was excited and embarrassed at the same time.

I saw my seat and gasped. It was huge.

The seat was enormous: my mother and I could fit in it together, no problem. I suspected it could recline all the way down, but I didn't want to try it just yet. Three feet from the chair was a footrest, which opened into a compartment, like a drawer. Above it, was the TV. I've never been on a plane, but I'd watched enough movies to say that they're not usually as big as a computer screen. A small wall separated the two seats, but you could still easily speak with your neighbor, and in my case, with Luke.

I covered my mouth with my hand.

"What?" Luke asked.

"I just… wow."

He laughed. "C'mon."

We sat down in our seats. They were as comfortable as they looked.

"Are you sure you're okay? You're looking a little pale," Luke noted.

"I – yeah," I said. "It's just… I don't know how to act. I mean, I've never been on a plane, much less in first class."

"Don't worry about it. I'll guide you through it all."

I heard a snicker behind us. It sounded like Julia, but I couldn't be sure.

"Thanks," I said.

"Now we just have to wait," Luke told me.

And we did. I took out my book and started reading. Luke wasn't doing anything but I could see him stealing glances at me. The thought made me smile.

Shortly after boarding, a hostess presented us with our pajamas and a food and drink menu. She also brought socks, skincare products, a dental kit, a comb, an eyeshade, and some earplugs. They even gave us some noise-canceling headphones. I'll admit: I was a little shocked.

"I talked to the captain," Luke said. I hadn't even noticed he had left my side. "He said that we'll be leaving in a bit."

"You know the captain?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's a friend of ours," he explained. "That's how we got these seats."

"Oh." I was kind of relieved because that meant that Luke and his mom hadn't spent anything on me. I wanted to be a friend, not someone you buy everything for. I decided that I was going to pay for myself for the rest of the week.

Fifteen minutes later, the intercom blared, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. 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 seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position. If you are seated next to an emergency exit, please read carefully the special instructions card located by your seat. 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 questions about our flight today, please don't hesitate to ask one of our flight attendants. Thank you."

Shortly after, another announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mark and I'm your chief flight attendant. On behalf of Captain Walters and the entire crew, welcome aboard the Airbus A380-800, flight LH 732, non-stop service from Los Angeles to Munich, then continuing to Milan. Our flight time will be of eleven hours and twenty minutes. We will be flying at an altitude of twelve thousand meters at a ground speed of eight hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. At this time, make sure your portable electronic devices must be set to airplane mode until an announcement is made upon arrival. Thank you." then he added, "Now please direct your attention to the television monitors. We will be showing our safety demonstration and would like the next few minutes of your complete attention."

Meanwhile, the plane had started to move, slowly. I couldn't really see out of the window since we were in the middle, but I figured we were heading to the track where we would take off.

Only by thinking about it, anxiety flooded over me. My breathing fastened, my heartbeat quickened. I closed my eyes and tried to think of a happy memory.

"Alexia?" Luke asked me.

"Yeah?"

"You're shaking."

"Oh?" I said, still keeping my eyes shut.

"Alexia, look at me," he said gently.

I opened my eyes and stared Luke directly in his sea-green eyes. For some reason, they seemed to calm me down a bit. Luke reached over and took my hand. "Everything is going to be alright."

When he said it, it seemed like the obvious solution. "Yeah. Okay," I said.

His contagious smile made me grin. Just then the video finished.

I peeked out of a window. I had to stretch my neck a bit, but I managed to see that we were already on the right slope for take-off. The aircraft stopped, the engines humming wildly.

Suddenly, I lurched backward as the plane sprinted forwards. Again, I was shaking, but not for fear. The whole vehicle was vibrating because of the asphalt on the road. Then, just as fast as it had started, the plane went airborne. I hadn't expected it to be so smooth. In the air, I couldn't even hear the engines anymore.

"That wasn't so bad," I admitted.

"Told you," Luke said, grinning in my direction.

Soon, the seat belt sign went off. I kept mine on, just in case, but I noticed many other passengers just taking it off and walking around.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Now, the hostesses will bring us lunch," he said calmly, "When they come over, you tell them what you want based on the menu they gave you."

I took the menu and opened it. I observed the dishes: all of them looked like very expensive meals. When the hostess finally came, I ordered a Seasonal Salad, a BBQ Wagyu Beef Brisket, and a slice of cheesecake for dessert. It was all fantastic.

After lunch, I was getting pretty tired, so I decided to watch a movie. I scrolled through the films the airline proposed and, to my luck, found Avengers: Infinity War. It's easily one of my favorite movies. I pressed play and put my headphones on.

By the time the movie ended, I was in tears. The film was great, but the ending is awful: (SPOILER ALERT!) everybody dies. I don't know why, but Spiderman's death always makes me weep like a little baby.

"Alexia, is everything okay?" Luke asked me.

I smiled, wiping my tears away. "Yeah, sorry. This movie is amazing."

He frowned. "Are you crying?"

"No. Maybe. Yes."

"What movie were you watching?"

"Avengers: Infinity War," I said.

"Oh," he said simply. "I've watched that already. It's terrible."

"No, I think the movie is awesome, but the ending is terrible."

"Yeah."

I sighed. "I think I'll sleep a bit. I'll get ahead of jetlag a bit."

"Okay," he said. "You have to ask one of the crew to make your bed."

"Oh," I said. Fortunately, the hostess that had smiled at me before was walking in my direction. I asked her if she could turn my seat into a bed, and in about two seconds, it was done. I thanked her and then changed into the pajamas the crew had given us. They were surprisingly very comfortable.

I tucked myself under the blankets and fell asleep.