their seats.
Alexa looked around once more before levelling her breathing. Business class couldn’t be a bad way to fly. “I won’t.”
7
“S O . . .” He nudged her shoulder in mid-flight.
“So what?” her voice was low. Nervous was not close to describing what she felt. She’d been in a correctional centre, so her life had obviously not been easy. She’d gotten into so many physical fights and won most of them—proudly if she could add. Before the correctional centre, she had hopped from foster home to foster home, each one worse than the last. So, it was odd to her that the one thing that almost made her heart lift off of her chest was a simple airplane ride. She exhaled slowly, trying to push down the thing she felt rising in her throat.
“So, it’s nothing life threatening.”
“I know that, it’s just . . . nerves, I guess.”
He winked at her and nudged her shoulder before putting on his headphones. “You’ll be just fine. I promise.”
Just like that, she let go of the nervousness that surrounded her. He tended to do that to her—make her feel comfortable. He was, after all, the only person she considered a friend. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, Alexa.
— — —
“W HAT are you doing?” she asked Matt when her eyes fluttered open again. They had been on the air for a few hours now, and she was still a little uneasy about it. While she had dozed off, Matt had taken to a different activity.
He pulled his eyes from his tablet and looked at her with an arched eyebrow.
“What are you doing?” she repeated in a stern hushed tone.
“Taking a good look at the artefact,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I can see that, but you really think it’s a good idea to do that here, where any passer-by can see it?”
“Then it’s a good thing there are no passers-by. Don’t worry about it, I was careful.”
She was about to retort with something heavily sarcastic when a certain tingling in her throat rushed her to the washroom. After unloading the contents of her stomach, she felt a tad better.
As she caught her reflection in the mirror, she shook her head. She had only been on this plane for a couple of hours and she looked like a mess. After rinsing her mouth and attempting to make her hair look less like a wild forest, and more like... hair, she felt a little less sick and made her way back to her seat.
“I look terrible. Why didn’t you say anything?” she whispered as she grabbed a random magazine.
“You look fine to me.” He turned to face her. “Well, now you look terrible. Are you okay?”
“I’m better now.” She slumped on her seat, suddenly glad that there was a lack of crying babies in Business class.
After trying and failing to find an interesting movie, her mind kept thinking about the upcoming task, and her attention kept sliding on to Matt’s tablet. “Fine, what’s so interesting about it?”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. “I was waiting for you to ask.” He magnified the picture of the necklace’s pendant. “These designs. Do they look familiar to you?”
“Can’t be sure, but they look sort of Egyptian.”
“Ding, ding, ding. It is Egyptian.” He spoke in a whisper. “Well, mostly Egyptian. This mark right here,” he pointed at a smaller indentation at the corner right of the pendant. “It took several hours of Googling, but it is, or was, a sign of love in ancient Chinese tradition.”
Alexa was filled with a little bit of hope which slowly dwindled after she realized something. “That’s great.”
“That sounded not great .”
“It’s not that, it’s just . . . you know more than I do about the artefact, and I’m The Keeper.” She shrugged. “It’s stupid, I know.”
“No, it’s not. Just remember, you’ll spend most of the time saving my ass, because only one of us can throw a punch and it isn’t me.”
That made her smile. Whereas Matt had had a chance of
Alexa looked around once more before levelling her breathing. Business class couldn’t be a bad way to fly. “I won’t.”
7
“S O . . .” He nudged her shoulder in mid-flight.
“So what?” her voice was low. Nervous was not close to describing what she felt. She’d been in a correctional centre, so her life had obviously not been easy. She’d gotten into so many physical fights and won most of them—proudly if she could add. Before the correctional centre, she had hopped from foster home to foster home, each one worse than the last. So, it was odd to her that the one thing that almost made her heart lift off of her chest was a simple airplane ride. She exhaled slowly, trying to push down the thing she felt rising in her throat.
“So, it’s nothing life threatening.”
“I know that, it’s just . . . nerves, I guess.”
He winked at her and nudged her shoulder before putting on his headphones. “You’ll be just fine. I promise.”
Just like that, she let go of the nervousness that surrounded her. He tended to do that to her—make her feel comfortable. He was, after all, the only person she considered a friend. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, Alexa.
— — —
“W HAT are you doing?” she asked Matt when her eyes fluttered open again. They had been on the air for a few hours now, and she was still a little uneasy about it. While she had dozed off, Matt had taken to a different activity.
He pulled his eyes from his tablet and looked at her with an arched eyebrow.
“What are you doing?” she repeated in a stern hushed tone.
“Taking a good look at the artefact,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I can see that, but you really think it’s a good idea to do that here, where any passer-by can see it?”
“Then it’s a good thing there are no passers-by. Don’t worry about it, I was careful.”
She was about to retort with something heavily sarcastic when a certain tingling in her throat rushed her to the washroom. After unloading the contents of her stomach, she felt a tad better.
As she caught her reflection in the mirror, she shook her head. She had only been on this plane for a couple of hours and she looked like a mess. After rinsing her mouth and attempting to make her hair look less like a wild forest, and more like... hair, she felt a little less sick and made her way back to her seat.
“I look terrible. Why didn’t you say anything?” she whispered as she grabbed a random magazine.
“You look fine to me.” He turned to face her. “Well, now you look terrible. Are you okay?”
“I’m better now.” She slumped on her seat, suddenly glad that there was a lack of crying babies in Business class.
After trying and failing to find an interesting movie, her mind kept thinking about the upcoming task, and her attention kept sliding on to Matt’s tablet. “Fine, what’s so interesting about it?”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. “I was waiting for you to ask.” He magnified the picture of the necklace’s pendant. “These designs. Do they look familiar to you?”
“Can’t be sure, but they look sort of Egyptian.”
“Ding, ding, ding. It is Egyptian.” He spoke in a whisper. “Well, mostly Egyptian. This mark right here,” he pointed at a smaller indentation at the corner right of the pendant. “It took several hours of Googling, but it is, or was, a sign of love in ancient Chinese tradition.”
Alexa was filled with a little bit of hope which slowly dwindled after she realized something. “That’s great.”
“That sounded not great .”
“It’s not that, it’s just . . . you know more than I do about the artefact, and I’m The Keeper.” She shrugged. “It’s stupid, I know.”
“No, it’s not. Just remember, you’ll spend most of the time saving my ass, because only one of us can throw a punch and it isn’t me.”
That made her smile. Whereas Matt had had a chance of
Similar Books
