Feather: A short story collection

Air Sick

Termijn boarded the plane, he could already feel his stomach twisting and turning, grumbling in anger and frustration. Planes had always made him air sick. He despised planes. But his mother was ailing, so he had to take a plane from his new home in Singapore where he taught 3rd graders, back to his hometown in Amsterdam.

He monotonously put his suitcase in the overhead compartment and slid down to the window seat and put his backpack at his feet. Termijn popped AirPods in his ears and turned on the current hits playlist. He liked to stay with the times.

Closing his eyes, he relaxed and tryed to tune out the world. He hoped his girlfriend Joanne was doing okay, she had been worried about his mother and sent him with a pack of expensive green tea, he would text her right after he landed.

Suddenly something tapped him on the arm. He grudgingly opened his eyes and saw an old lady with bright pink bows all over her short curly hair, in her hand she held a small girl about the age of four. "Excuse me young man, could my granddaughter sit there?"

Termijn internally grimaced. "I'm sorry miss, but I need the window seat, looking outside helps keep me from being sick."

"Oh dearie, it's her first time flying and you can't get that sick, grown men just don't do that." The grandmother looked intently at him.

"Excuse me lady, grown men, women and children are all capable of being air sick, me being one of them." He forced a smile.

The four year old burst out crying. "Granny, I need to sit at the window seat. Pleaseeeee."

"My granddaughter even said please, you should man up and be the better person." The lady pointed out, as if it gave her the right to have the seat.

"Lady, you don't want to be here when I puke all over you, because that's what's gonna happen when you take my seat." Then he popped his air pod back in and ignored the cry's and pleads from his seat neighbors.

Eventually they settled down and he heard the old lady talk to her granddaughter. "Don't worry Jennie, that guy is just a jerk."

Honestly Termijn could give a rats tail about the opinion of a rotten old lady and her spoiled granddaughter named Jennie.

He simply turned over and settled in for the 10 hour flight.

Around halfway through, after watching two men in black movies on the seat tv and listening to three podcasts, he got up to use the bathroom.

Thankfully the flight so far hadn't been too turbulent but he felt queasy and was glad when he was finished washing his hands so he could go back to his seat.

But when Termijn arrived at his seat, little Jennie was sitting there looking gleeful. The old lady sat in the middle seat and smiled widely.

"Please get out of my seat." He asked nicely. "And please don't touch my stuff." He watched Jennie unpack his bag and strew his stuff all about the nasty plane floor.

"Nope, this is what you get for not letting my darling granddaughter sit at the window." She grinned manically.

"Lady, I payed for this seat, so if you don't remove your granddaughter right now, I will remove you myself." Termijn raised his voice.

At that moment, the seat belt sign rang, signaling he had to sit down and buckle himself up now. He sighed, seatbelt signs almost always meant turbulance.

Then the pilot's voice came over the speaker. "Attention all passengers, we are entering an extremely difficult part in our journey and require everyone to be buckled in for your own safety."

A flight attendant rushed through the aisle. "Sit down everyone, it is very important, sudden turbulence is nothing to mess with."

"Excuse me Mr." He said to the flight attendant. "My seat was stolen by these people, and I'd really appreciate it back, see I have really bad air sicknes-"

He was interrupted by the flight attendant. "I'm sorry sir, but I cannot help you right now, I have to make sure everyone is buckled in and then I have to buckle myself in. Please sit down." The flight attendant rushed away and left Termijn with the rude passengers.

Termijn slipped the buckle and snapped it together. There, now he was protected. A hard bump moved the plane in the air and he felt himself heave.

"Don't be so dramatic dearie. Be a man and stop exaggerating." The lady scowled at him.

He turned towards her on a particularly bad shake, and didn't even bother grabbing the brown paper bag out of the seat.

After the flight was over, he saw the old lady and Jennie, her bows now stained brown, intercepted by the police.

"Excuse me Candy Marshalls, we are placing you under arrest for the kidnapping of your granddaughter Jennie Marshalls from your daughter Ally Marshalls, anything you say and do, can and will be used against you in a court of law." The police woman grabbed her handcuffs from her belt and slung them over the old lady's hands.

"This is an outrage, my daughter is an absolute disgrace and doesn't deserve Jennie!" Candy screamed.

"Ally Marshalls placed a restraining order on you last year, protecting Jennie Marshalls and herself from your harassment." The police woman calmly led her away, while a police man crouched down and took Jennie's hand.

"Come on sweetie, let's get you to your mom." He handed her a lollipop and took her away.

Termijn couldn't believe what had just happened. Candy was not sweet, unlike her name suggested and was also a kidnapper on top of that.

He couldn't wait to text Joanne about everything, and he knew his mom would get a real kick out of it.