Flight

Chapter 20

It was the next morning. The van rolled about a hundred feet under her as Kallisto flew high above the road. She was so excited. The place her mom crashed was only a few minutes away. Now, after five months, she would see her mom. They were going to stop for breakfast first, however. They stopped at a cute little cozy diner nestled in a small cluster of pine trees.

The van parked right outside of the diner. Kallisto gently glided down until her feet touched solid ground. She walked in with her friends.

Blake and Allison went to sit somewhere else. This left Kallisto and Marcus alone at their table. Kallisto could barely contain her excitement. She looked over the menu with a stupid grin on her face.

"What's that face for?" Marcus said, stifling a laugh at Kallisto's inability to frown.

"My mom is about thirty minutes from here." Kallisto said, still unable to change her facial expression. "I'm finally going to see her. I've already played it out in my head. My mom is exhausted and starving in the crashed plane. I swoop in and she's overjoyed to see me."

"How much money are willing to bet that the plane is actually there still?" Marcus asked skeptically.

Kallisto was finally able to frown. "Three cense."

"Well, you never know." Marcus said, trying to save Kallisto's deflated confidence. "I'm just saying that a lot could have happened in five months."

Kallisto was about to say something when the waitress came. While the two were ordering, the waitress couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Kallisto's wings. When she turned put the orders in, she showed the cook and pointed in Kallisto's direction. Kallisto stuck her face in her sweatshirt. When the waitress came back and gave them their drinks, she proceeded to stare at the wings.

"Um, miss? Having these things wasn't really my choice, so please don't stare at my abnormalities."

"Uh, right." The waitress said. "Sorry."

She briskly walked off. Kallisto put up the hood of her sweatshirt and sipped her drink. She could hear over the roar of the restaurant chatter that the waitress was curious about Kallisto's wings.

"Hey, Marcus," Kallisto said, poking him, "do you think I should ask that lady if she has any questions?"

"About what?" Marcus asked, at a loss.

"About these." Kallisto said, spreading her wings. The space she was in was smaller than her wingspan. She ended up knocking a picture frame off of the wall. The waitress rushed over and reached to pick up the picture. Kallisto reached over the booth to grab the picture.

"I'm so sorry about that," Kallisto apologized, "I don't know my own strength."

"Its okay. Honestly." The waitress said. Kallisto grabbed the picture frame and was about to give it back. She then saw someone she thought she knew.

"Um, who is this?" Kallisto asked the waitress, showing her the picture.

"Well, from left to right, its me, our cook--"

"Um, no, I mean her." Kallisto said, pointing to the blond lady in the middle.

"She's Evangeline. We let her stay here in exchange for her service." The waitress said.

"Where is she now?" Kallisto asked, her heart racing. "Do you know?"

"Yes, she said she was going back to her home in Los Angeles, California. But that was four months ago. Do you know her?"

Kallisto stared at the picture. Her mother had worked here and had gone home. But she wasn't home. She wasn't in the house. She couldn't have left. Kallisto couldn't believe the waitress.

"Where is she?" Kallisto asked, beginning to tear up. "Where did she go?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just know what she told me. Nothing more."

"So, she just--" the last thing that Kallisto remembered was her mother's face smiling at her through the of the frame. Then her world went black.

***~~***

Marcus stared at her phone. Her dad had found out. He had sent her enough money for she and Marcus to buy plane tickets to go back. Allison's mom and Blake's parents had found out as well. They sent actual tickets to their phones.

They were on their way to the airport. Kallisto still lay limp on his lap. Marcus had no idea what had happened. One minute, Kallisto was asking about the picture. The next, she falls to the ground as an inert pile. Allison suggested that what she heard was too much for her to handle. Marcus assumed that was it.

They were close to the airport. Marcus could hear the jets and planes taking off and landing. Kallisto began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You sorta kinda fainted." Marcus said.

"Where am I?" She asked, sitting up.

"In a cab." Marcus said. "The van is getting towed."

"What happened to it? Did it crash?"

"No, we are too young to drive."

"I don't get it."

"We got caught, Kallisto." Marcus said. "We are flying back to L.A."

"Oh." Kallisto said. "Where are Allison and Blake?"

"In another cab." Marcus said. He then realized that he was still holding her phone. "Do you want this back?"

"GIMME THE PHONE!" She playfully squealed as she reached for her phone. It was just out of reach. Especially since Marcus was holding it over his head.

"Come and get it!" Marcus said. Kallisto clawed at her phone, still unable to get ahold of it. She then felt an arm around her shoulders. "How about we make a trade? One of your kisses in exchange for the phone."

Kallisto grunted. "No phone, no love."

The taxi driver snorted. "Ah, she got you good, ay kid?"

Marcus's sly demeanor deflated. Kallisto seized the opportunity and snatched her phone from him. She then kissed him on the lips. When she pulled away, she shook his hand.

"Nice doing business with you."