BeloveHOPE

Missing

1

'Ding dong ' the door bell rang, Chris opened his eyes, but shut it immediately, becausse of the blinding light coming through the open curtains on the window, he took his pillow, rolled over on his bed and covered his head with it, as if the door bell wasn't enough disturbance for one early Monday morning, his alarm clock exploded, and he hurriedly rolled over again to reach the blasted thing, and shut it the hell up, unfortunately for him, he went crashing to the floor, and he was forced to wake up, he got up, tossed the pillow back on the bed, shoved his blanket aside and out of the way, he proceeded towards the bathroom, picked up his toothbrush, lined the tooth paste on it, jabbed it into his mouth, and went for the door, as soon as the locks came off, the door swung open, he stared down at his visitor, and immediately revealed a gleeful smirk with the left side of his lip, his best friend Rowena was standing right in front of him, all dressed up, in a cooperate skirt and suit, "you got to be kidding me Chris, you can't still be in your pyjamas by this time, we 're totally gonna miss our, 11 o'clock flight, not to mention our 8 thirty interview" Rowena exploded "oh my God is that today?' he picked up his wristwatch, stared down at it, it was already 8 o'clock, Chris had totally forgotten about the interview, the only thing that had been on his mind for days now, was the flight to L.A "I'll be ready in a jiff, let me just do a few sit-ups and we'll be on our way in no time, "screw your sit-ups, get in and out of that bathroom, get yourself in a suit and tie, if you can manage that and let's get the hell out of here." Rowena ordered "whoa whoa, easy tiger, I'm on it, and besides, you are not gonna be sitting here in the room, while I change my bath robe, will you?" "whatever, I'll be in the living room, just try not to waste anymore time, or I'll come in here, drag your arse out this apartment and into the car, with or without clothes" "just get out of the room so I can change, and could you do me a favour, and help me feed snowball, his meal bowl, is behind the kitchen door, and his milk should be on the counter, right next to the blender, I forgot to put it in the fridge yesterday, I just hope it's not soured yet"
"okay, I'm done," Chris had already taken a quick shower, shaved clean and put on a blue shirt, black pants and suit, with a matching blue tie, "nice, lets hit the road then shall we?" "Wait, what about breakfast, I can't do without breakfast, tis the most important meal of the day." Chris complained, "quit being such a baby, we'll grab a hamburger at Freddy's on our way" Rowena clued-up, as she picked up her car keys and handbag and headed for the door "okay, but at least let me get the milk" "suit yourself, I'm outta here, meet me in the car and don't forget your luggage." Rowena reminded as she shut the door behind her.
"you know, I don't get why you keep hurrying me like it's my fault that I overslept, you wouldn't even let me have breakfast let alone do my morning sit up routine, you could have come over my place earlier or at least given me a ring on my cell" Chris reported as he entered the car and settled down "check your phone" Rowena ordered, Chris shoved his hand inside his suit inner pocket and dug out his phone, tapped the power button, and the phone unlocked, his mouth dropped as he stared into the screen of his phone, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, he had eighteen missed calls, seven whatsapp messages, and four voice mail, all from Rowena, "darn it!, I'm sorry, by the way I couldn't find snowball." "she is in the back sit" Rowena didn't even take her eyes off the road as she spoke, "where is your car, Chris, I didn't see it in the garage when I drove in" "I left it over at Drew's since we were travelling and would be gone for months" Chris explained as he ordered for two hamburgers when the car came to a halt at Freddy's snack shack, the place was popular for its burritos and hamburger. In a few seconds The car was back on the road and Chris kept staring out through the window, Rowena gave him the first look, moved her gaze back to the road, and then stared back at him, that was when she finally noticed, his eyelids were swollen, either from a punch or due to lack of rest, "you seem kinda tired Chris, what's up with you?" Rowena questioned as she moved her gaze back on the road, "yea, I kinda had a hangover, went out with my crew yesterday, and we kinda stayed up till mid night." "you went out with your friends on a Sunday?, Chris you're taking all this too far, first you walk out on your parents, and now you're giving up on the religion you grew up in, you're beginning to be all messed up, please do something about it," Rowena rebuked "yea, yea, look who's talking, just keep your, attention on the road and quit, telling me how to live my life." " I'm just saying, try and get some sleep, before we get there, our interview is still twenty five minutes away, at least a fifteen minutes shut eye would do you some good, oh and Marissa called me, said she had been trying your line but tis switched off, she wanted to tell you to tell your secretary to go over to your office cause you left your stereo on." "if she calls you again, tell her to look under the door mat, the spare key is there, my secretary won't be around till next week, she is meeting with our fabric producer in san Francisco about that color lining thingy that you pointed out earlier." Chris and Rowena had earlier moved to new York from queens ferry, Britain, to study in the new York university, Chris graduated from the computer science department and Rowena from fashion designing, and they both opened a clothing and fashion line together, their company had been progressing ever since, and now they have an interview appointment with the new York times about their company and products
"I'm very sorry, please pardon our lateness, we got into a bit of traffic on our way." Rowena apologised as they staggered into the studio where the reporter was already seated, "nah, it's nothing, by the way the engineers 're still getting the cameras and stuff fixed up, but we'll be rolling in a few secs, right Steve?" the reporter assured as he waved his hand to the IT guy who was testing the sound system at the other end of the room "right boss." Steve called back, with his eyes and attention still fixed on the, amplifier thingy.
The interview was finally over and they headed straight for the car, Rowena stared down at her watch it was now 9 o'clock, satisfied at what the time told, she continued towards the car, dug her hands insides her handbag brought out the car keys and unlocked the car, " a hundred bucks says you didn't hear a word that reporter said throughout the Interview session." Rowena dared as she stuck the keys in the ignition, and started the car, " A hundred bucks says, I don't really care." Chris replied nonchalantly as he sat down and shut the door of the car, " you know, if you keep behaving this way, you're definitely gonna end up hating yourself throughout this trip, if not your entire life, all I'm saying is that you get your shit together and lets enjoy this journey." "speaking of getting ones shit together, I think I left my luggage on my porch, we need to go back to my place." " we're not going back to anywhere, we still have an hour trip to the airport and we're already 5minuites late, I warned you earlier by the way, so just forget about it, when we get to L.A you shop for some new clothes." "are you kidding me, have you ever been to L.A, the price of things there are definitely something else." "whatever, I'll give you my credit card to use instead." "cool." Chris remarked as he bent over to tune the stereo, he nodded and smiled at the song that started playing "you know that song?" Rowena inquired when she saw the expression on his face, "are you kidding me, I love that crew, their songs are to die for, especially the number that the piano guy did on the beat right before busterlicious came in with his rap, on this song. I was in their live show last week." put your dreams high by the C.O.D crew was playing on the stereo "yea, I got their whole album including their latest, I woulda brought it with me if I knew you enjoyed it." Rowena implied, Chris couldn't contain his joy as he threw his hands in the air as Rowena disabled the roof of the convertible....
They were finally at the airport, people stared at them as ran through the crowd towards the counter to submit their flight documents, Rowena was first and Chris followed, he passed his passport to the lady behind the counter and she ran it through her computer for a good five times until she finally gave up and gave Chris the face, "I'm sorry sir but your name is on the no fly list." "could my day get any better, first I lose my bags now this, what do you mean I'm on the no fly list, do I look like some kinda terrorist, run the damn thing again, will you." Chris attacked, "I've already done it like five times, if the computer says it's there, then it is there, and watch your language, there're children on the cue." the attendant addressed "screw your computer, just do as I say and run it again." Chris exploded "pull yourself together Chris, that woman is old enough to be your mother, I'm sorry miss, he's had a really rough morning, forgive his incompetence." Rowena came to the rescue as Chris moved out of the line to pick his cell phone, " hello, where the hell are you guys, Chris, you are already one day late and the set crew are getting restless, you need to get your arse in L.A, ASAP!." the woman on the other end yelled "I'm sorry aunt, we're at the airport, there's a little complication, technically my name's is on the no fly list, but we're sorting it out." "are you kidding me, that stuff takes days to sort out, here's what you need to do, forget about that plane, go to the hanger in the east side of the airport, a friend of mine's got a private jet there and he's bound for L.A today, I'll call him and ask him to let you guys join him, he owes me a favor, just get there and ask for a Travis Leroy, he's your guy." "but I already bought the tickets, and they cost a lot." "screw your tickets son, get on that jet." 'beep' the call ended and Chris turned to Rowena, and from the looks of things she was obviously getting nowhere with the problem at hand, so he signalled her to come over "who was that on the phone?" "It was my aunt Jenna." "Oh, she must be worried sick, did you brief her on the situation at hand?" "Yea, and she kinda came up with a solution, she wants us to join one Travis Leroy, a friend of hers on his priv jet." "Wait a min, do you mean Travis Leroy as in the Travis Leroy?" "Yup, I guess so, probably, what about him." "O.M.G! Are u trynna tell me you don't know who the dude is?" "Obviously I don't, now could you fill me in and stop salivating like a two year old that just saw a bucket full of chocolate." "He's the guy that starred as the main character in that TV series I told you about." "oh really?, haven't had the chance to see that movie you've always been on about in the office, wait here let me get my passport from that lady and let's get on that jet" Chris instructed as he moved to the counter took his passport and documents from the lady, and began to walk away, he was only a few steps away from the counter when his left arm began to shake, he stopped, buried his right hand inside the pocket of his over coat, brought out a case, opened it, took out a needled syringe, jabbed it into the veins on his left hand, and then emptied the content in , everybody was now staring, "how often do you do that, young man?" Another elderly lady called out from behind the counter "I'll have to get that substance checked before I can allow you to leave here." The woman added. "Mind your own business grandma!" Chris shot back at her, "it's just his insulin ma'am, nothing to be tensed up about." Rowena came to his rescue again, Chris had been diagnosed of type one diabetes since he was two years old, but it became worse as he grew older, "I'll be the judge of that young lady, now hand that over Young man, or I'll have to ask security to collect it from you by force." The woman insisted "whatever old lady, just do your thing and fast, before we miss our free joy ride." Chris murmured as he handed the case over to the elderly woman, she took a few drops from the remaining three syringes, ran it through some kinda lab computer and then nodded as if she was satisfied at what she got, then she handed him the case "you might wanna get a refill soon Young man, cos you are almost out" the woman suggested, "I'll be the judge of that, thank you, now hand that over" Chris ridiculed, as he snatched the case from the woman in a disrespectful manner, and headed for the exit, Rowena followed.
Chris tried to hide his face as they battled their way through the swarms of reporters at the hanger, all trying to get a picture, comment and answers from the celebrity who was already at the top of the gangway,who seemed to have noticed what he was doing because he ignored the press and called out to him from way up there, "not in the mood for a little publicity, aye boy?" "Nah, I'm just not the photogenic type." Chris replied "nice, love your humour boy, looks like this trip aint gonna be that boring after all, don't just stand there, come on up, Jenna said you'll be joining me, I gather she is your aunt, great woman she is , great woman."
They were finally on board the plane, but his efforts to hide his face from the camera seemed to have been in vain, as he dug out his complaining cell phone from his pocket and stared at the screen, his dad was the caller, "I really need to take this, I'll be in the back there." Chris quickly excused himself, he was now alone in the back, so he picked the call and placed the phone on his ear, "hello, son, just saw you on the TV, don't tell me you're getting on that plane son, your drifting away, piece by piece, first you leave your family for that blasted school, where you think you get to do anything you like, you've abandoned your training, not to mention your religious ethics, everything I stood for, you've thrown it to the dogs, your mom's worried sick about you, and so're your siblings, the whole church is worried about you, come home boy, and let's sort this mess out, together, as a family." The voice over the phone sniveled "dad, I'm a man now, actually I became a man the minute I walked out your door and boarded the plane for college, and now I got my own company, my own lot, I don't answer to you anymore , you gotta stop treating me like a child, and quit telling me how to live me life, and what you call a mess, is my life, and please, quit shoving that God and religion card in my face, I've had enough for one day." "well, you might be a man now, and you might have your own cash, house and cars and God knows I can't interfere, but I just want you to know, I'm still your dad and I'm concerned about you, but if you get on that plane I promise you, I can't be of much help to you, all I can do is pray and believe you'd come back to us." "well, you're already too late dad, I'm already on that plane, and we're about taking off, so I gotta hang up now, say hi to the lot of you for me, bye." Chris hung up, switched the phone to air plane mode, returned it back into his pocket and made his way down the aisle and back to his seat where the others were already seated, filled glass in hand along with some other refreshments, "what's the matter boy, fire on the mountain?, you were gone long, decided to make your girlfriend feel at home, hope you don't mind?" "nah, tis nothing , just some lil family issues, but ts all settled though, no biggie, and she's not my girlfriend, she's just a real good friend, and a business partner too." Chris defended "yea that's what they all always say, yet it all turns out to be a whole different story, you'd wanna get your arse down on a seat and get buckled up, if you wanna survive take off" Travis advised, a lot of seats were empty cause there were few of them on the plane, just the pilot, Travis's P.A who was the planes air hostess, three bouncers, him and Rowena, the plane had finally settled in the air, and Chris decided to order for something to eat, the hostess, didn't hear him so he decided to walk all the way to the back, his body still ached from last night, and he had lied to Rowena about dropping his car off at Drew's, truth is, he had lost it in a bet the previous night, his life was really falling apart and he knew it, and like she said, he was sure he was really gonna hate himself, if he didn't get his shit together real quick, and besides he needed to be himself if he's gotta make his aunt proud in the movie she had requested that he and Rowena starred in, otherwise this whole trip woulda been for naught, he couldn't find the hostess in the back, so he decided to go back to his seat, she'd turn up any time soon, he thought to himself, finally his jet lag was setting in, he needed a puke bag, it was as if Rowena had read his mind cause she immediately handed him one, "here I thought you needed this, you were never really a fan of flying." she added "thanks, ummm.... What do you think your parents feel about where you are and how far you've gone," "I don't know, I think they aint got a problem with it, besides, I'm not doing anything out of place, by the way, when were you going to tell me you lost your car In a bet?" Rowena interrogated "how the hell did you know about that." " because you lost it to me, the moment you started behaving strange in the previous week, I had you watched, to avoid you getting into any problems like this one, so when my contact told me you had bet your car, I had him bet against you immediately, so that no one else would." "wait a minute you had me followed, what kind of friend has her bestie followed?" " one who cares, and don't you dare turn the table around here, I just don't get why you'd go around gambling, you've had everything you've always wanted," before she could finish her statement, the hostess announced "we've arrived at los Angeles, but we seem to be having a lil problem getting this bird on the ground, so I advice you get back to your seats, and fasten your seatbelts, thank you." She had been in the cockpit the while he was searching for her, chris thought to himself, before he could signal to get him a drink and something to eat, she disappeared back into the cockpit and shut the door behind her, "this conversation is not over chris, we'll finish this later." Rowena added as she retreated back to her seat, Travis was nowhere in sight, so they figured he must be in the upper level taking a nap,
Back in the cockpit the pilot's conversation with the watchtower wasn't going well, "this is ladybird 3216 requesting permission to land this bird, over?" "lady bird 3216, this is mother nest 4818, permission denied, the snow storm down here is too heavy, we advise you hover around till it pa......." the watchtower couldn't finish its transmission cause there was a sudden loud thunder clap, it must have fried the radio transmitter because the pilot tried several times to restore transmission but it was all in vain, he was now struggling with the plane controls, everybody in the plane heard the noise and they began to panic, the only thing that began flashing through Chris's mind was, Rowena, family back home, his lifestyle, until he finally blacked out.