Wonderland, JJ Maybank

Chapter Nine. Cordelia Edwards' First Plane Crash! (RIP Flying Fish)

CHAPTER NINE . . .
CORDELIA EDWARDS' FIRST
PLANE CRASH! (RIP FLYING FISH).

     NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS DID CORDELIA EDWARDS THINK SHE'D BE KISSING THE CLOUDS. But here she was, soaring 15,000 feet in the air 180 years in the future— the impossibility of it all coursing like stardust through her veins.

     The girl sat excitedly on her knees between Kiara and Sarah, facing the opposite direction as everyone else as the plane glided bumpily along through the air; jolting them gently around every once in a while. Her hands and face were pressed into one of the tiny windows; nose, chin and palms squished flat against the glass her breath was fogging up; large, eager eyes darting from sight to sight as she absorbed the astonishing world below like a sponge. She looked like a tiny tot outside of a candy store, hankering for warm fudge in the winter and leaning their full weight into the glass display in sheer awe; resisting the heedless tug of their mother at their wrist.

She hadn't realized until they'd hit the sky just how blue the waters of the Caribbean truly were. The port back home was so much grimmer, grayer, albeit still beautiful in its own way. But here was a spectacular shade, patches of deeper, darker hues scattered about; lighter sections from foamy waves dancing daintily along the surface decorating it all the same. Everything just felt so enriched in this slice of the world— so much more colorful and vibrant than anything she'd set her sights on before.

My God, it was stunning. Perhaps Cordelia was always meant to be an island girl. She could hardly peel her eyes away from its glory.

"By Jove, that's exquisite." words of wonder tumbled from her lips every few minutes, barely perceived by any of the pogues; all of them too focused on their Captain.

     "So what were you doing all the way out here?" JJ asked. He wasn't innocently curious. This was a test.

Cordelia gasped suddenly, smacking her palm against the window when she noticed a particularly fluffy cloud; an open grin that had yet to fade since take off stealing up half her tanned face. "Cast your gaze upon that cloud!"

     "I got a little guide outfit in Saint Vincent. I was spottin' fish." Jimmy answered casually, either oblivious to JJ's suspicion or a remarkably good actor.

Cordelia forced her eyes away to seize a quick glance over her shoulder, her wide beam vanishing as she furrowed her brows and let out a loud scoff; as if offended. Not one of them was bothering to look out a window. Not one seemed even the least bit interested.

"How on earth are you not all sentenced to a state of utter astonishment by this?!" she shook her head at them, gaining their attention; her palms still pressed firmly against the glass. "Are you all witnessing this absolute marvel as I am?!"

"Good God Sweetheart, you act like you've never been on a plane before." Jimmy chuckled from up front.

"Well I—"

"Delia," Kiara abruptly cut in. "Your laces are loose."

     The Victorian girl knitted her brows and strained to see her own back, where the weathered and sandy laces of her corset were in fact hanging far lower than they should; now noticing how loose the normally tight frame felt against her figure.