The Flight

     I open the envelope wondering if Dad had written me a letter.  There is a note inside, and another envelope.  First, I read the note.  All that is written is “Just in case.”  “Just in case,” what does that mean?  I open the envelope, my only clue to the mystery.  I gasp as I pull out the $1,000 dollar bill.  I turn the crisp bill over and over in my hand, hoping that this is not a dream.  After I get over the shock, I take out the other things.  I realize that Dad had packed another surprise… the latest picture of my family and a picture of my mom that was in a picture frame in my room.

     Then I sort through the rest of my things, putting the matches in the side pocket with the first aid kit.  I place the dried food in the front pocket.  The rope, water, flashlight, journal, and blanket are put into the two middle pockets.  The money, I put into the backpack, safely tucking it into the blanket.

     The hours pass slowly, and finally the flight attendant walks around the plane, asking us what we would like to eat.

     My first question is, ”How much does it cost?”  I only have $1400 for this trip, and plan to use it wisely.

     “Oh, dear, it`s free!  It came with your ticket,” she says kindly.  I decide that I like this woman.

     “Then what are my choices?”  I ask.

     “Roast beef with mashed potatoes, or chicken tenders with fries,” she replies.

     “Oh, chicken tenders, please,” I say almost tasting them.  I love chicken tenders, and never get them, so I grab this opportunity.  In an hour, the large plate is set before me.  The three tenders take up over half of my plate, and the fries are heaping over the tenders.  The chicken is a light brown, and the fries are different from the ones we have at home.  The woman calls them “oven baked fries.”  Oh, and when I bite into one, the parmesan cheese is stringy.  It melts in my mouth, and burns my tongue.

     After supper, I fall into a deep sleep.  I picture myself in the happiest place on earth, at Sunset Beach, with my two best friends, Riley Vomen and Mariah Iowu.

    ”Let`s go surfing,” Mariah suggests.

     “What we don`t know how to- and by the way, where are we getting the boards?”  I ask confused.

     “Dude, what are you talking about?  You`ve been surfing all your life; and last year you shredded a ten footer on your new Brisha board!”  Riley replies.  Then he pulls three boards out of his truck.

     “You can drive, Riley?”  I ask, wondering if I had allowed that dangerous, twenty year old boy to drive me here!  I do not care how old he is.  He acts as if he were sixteen!  It is a wonder Dad permitted me to go!  Did I sneak out again?  Everything is so muddled.  Why am I here?

8

     “Of course I can drive!  Who do you think drove you here?”  Riley asks, looking at me like I`ve lost it.

     “Never mind.  I must have had a…mental breakdown.”  Of course, I had a mental breakdown, that is if I let Riley drive me here.  I figure, as long as he has the boards, I might-as-well try surfing.  I can`t embarrass myself trying because I know that my friends have never surfed before.

     My board is red with white flames.  Mariah has a light pink board, with sparkles.  That totally fits her style, seeing as she is the girly one in the group.  Riley`s board is an ocean blue with a white wave painted across the belly.  Did he custom design that, to fit his personality?

     Mariah grabs her board, and starts running toward the waves.  What`s perfectly strange is that she`s terrified of the ocean.  A wave rises in front of her.  It`s at least eleven feet high, and it`s already breaking!

     “Mariah!”  I shout, trying to snap her to her senses.

     She shouts something behind her back, that sounds like “It`s alright.  I got it.”  The next thing that I know she`s standing on her board, and then she vanishes.  The wave has formed a barrel, and I keep waiting for her to come out of the wave, but…she doesn`t!  The wave falls on top of her.  Riley runs towards her, but the wave knocks him backwards.  I run only a second after Riley, and jump over the killer wave.

     I must get to Mariah!  I need to save her!  I keep screaming at myself.

     The killer wave`s brother rises up behind the first wave, and I am forced to duck under it.  The wave crashes on me, pushing me back three feet.  The water holds me back, as I frantically search the ocean floor, walking horizontally back and forth. 

     “Mariah!  Mariah!”  I yell out between tears.  By now, Riley has caught up with me, and together we dive under a third wave.  The waves jostle me around, twisting and throwing me into the sand.  When I come up, I am facing the beach, and Mariah is staring at us from- the shore!

     “Amanda Spark,” she cries out.

     “What?”  I ask confused.  She never calls me “Amanda.”

     She vanishes just as quickly as we found her.  “Mariah!  Mariah!”  I yell as the colors mix together before everything turns black.  “Mariah, no!”

     “Are you okay?”  Someone asks me, and then starts shaking me lightly.

     “What?”  I ask opening my eyes.  Tons of people are staring at me, and I know that my face is changing color quickly.  “Sorry,”  I apologize, knowing that these people heard me yelling about Mariah.

I look down at my backpack and suddenly remember the package that Dad gave me.  Breaking into my backpack, I pull the package out of my bag.  I tear off the seal, and pull out two letters.  The first one is       9

from my Dad.  It says:

      My dearest Blade,

           Have a wonderful time following your dreams.

I am in total support of this journey.  Come home

to us soon.

                           Your biggest fans,

                             Dad and Tieson

P.S. Your other fans wanted to send a letter too.                                    

    

     My other fans?   That must be Riley and Mariah, I reason, so I open the second letter.  This one had forty dollars in it!  I read Mariah`s part first:

Dear Blade,

We scrounged together this money, so that you could 

buy a hunting knife.  I can`t wait until you come home,

and you share your adventures with me.  Have a great

time, and stay safe.

      Your friend,

          Mariah

     Riley had also written something for me:

                           Hey Dude,

                           I know that I`m the knife buyer, but you`ve

bought some with me before.  Use good

discernment before you buy just any knife.

Remember: A double sided blade.  You are

not going to be eating a steak dinner. J

Before you buy a knife, test the throwing feel

of it.  You can probably do this easily, seeing

as you will most likely buy it at a street market.

Make sure that you can hunt, and skin

animals with the knife.  There will be other uses for

your knife, but I am running out of room to

write.

                                    Riley

P.S. You rock, dude.

    

     Riley, Riley, Riley.  He never calls me Blade, or writes it for a matter of fact, because “Dude, is a much cooler way to address people,”  I say in a deep voice imitating him.  I do a pretty good job at it, if I may say so myself.