City of Secrets

Chapter 1: The plane

My name is Natalie Parks. I'm just an average high schooler at Middle Bank High, actually, a graduate from Middle Bank High. I had the average teenage life, that was until I meet him. This is what happened to me over the summer. This is where my story begins.
    I took one last look at myself in the mirror. My dark brown, almost black, hair was thrown up in a ponytail. You couldn't see my green eyes under my sunglasses. I was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. I was getting ready to leave for the airport.
    My friends and I decided it would be fun to head to Paris for the summer. We had just graduated high school, and were leaving for college in a couple of months. We were all attending different colleges. Kari was going to Harvard. She was the perfectionist of our group. She made straight A's and did volunteer work at orphanages. Leslie was going to Portland State. She wanted to be an artist, she was the creative, go getter of the group. Trina wasn't going to college, she was going to stay with her parents until she got a job.
    I guess you want to know where I'm heading. I'm going to Stanford University in California. I don't know what I want to do. I never really thought about it. Even though we had multiple classes, and assembly's about future careers, and what we were going to do after we graduate, but I never thought that I would actually graduate. I never imagined myself out of school. I knew the day would come, but I didn't think it would be this soon.
    I walked down the spiral staircase, and into the front hallway. My parents were waiting for me. My mom had tears forming in her eyes.
"Are you all ready?" My dad asked.
"Yup. I got everything I need," I said joyfully.
"We're going to miss you," my mom said trying to hold back her tears.
"I'm going to miss you too," I said. Seeing her cry made my eyes water too.
I dropped my stuff and hugged her. She started to sob. My dad joined the hug. We sat there for a minute until I stepped back. I picked my stuff up.
"Call us when you land," my mom ordered.
"I will," I said smiling.
"We love you, and stay safe. Don't do anything stupid," my dad lectured.
"I won't. Love you guys too," I said. I gave them one last hug and walked out the front door. My friends were sitting in their car waiting. I took a deep breath and made my way to the car.
"Finally! What took you so long!?" Leslie yelled from the back seat.
"Had to say bye to my parents," I replied.
Kari hopped out of the drivers seat, and took my luggage. She threw it in the trunk and climbed back in the drivers seat.
"Get in!" Leslie yelled.
I obeyed and climbed into the seat behind the driver's.
Kari started the car and pulled out of my drive way. I watched as my parents walked back into our house. I was going to miss them. I wasn't going to see them for a month.
"Why do you look so sad?" Trina asked from the passenger seat.
"I'm just going to miss home," I replied.
"Quit thinking about home! We're going to Paris!" Kari said in a French accent.
I laughed.
"I know and I can't wait till we get there," I said.
"So, what are we going to do first?" Trina asked.
"Eiffel tower!" Kari shouted.
"The stores, duh!" Leslie said.
"I don't know about you guys but I'm going to find me a hot French guy," Trina joked.
I just laughed.
"What are you going to do?" Kari asked me.
"I don't know," I replied.
"She's going shopping with me," Leslie said.
She elbowed me, and I laughed again.
The rest of the ride was a blur. I started thinking about everything that happened this year. I still couldn't believe I wasn't a high schooler anymore. I was never going back.
"Nat! Come on!" Trina yelled from outside the car.
We had parked in a parking garage, and everyone was getting their bags from the trunk. I jumped out of the car and grabbed my suitcase from the trunk. Kari closed the trunk, and locked the car. We walked into the airport, and got in the line that seemed to go on forever. We finally weighed our bags and had them put on the conveyer belt. We walked through security, and walked to our gate. We sat down in crowded seats, checking the clocks on our phones every minute.
"Now boarding, all people who need assistance getting on the plane," a woman's voice said over the speakers. Before I knew it we were in our seats. I had the window seat. Leslie, Trina, and Kari sat in the seats behind me. When we were getting our tickets we knew we all wouldn't be able to sit together, so I volunteered to sit alone.
    I was watching the guys outside the plane. They were loading luggage. I heard someone sit down in the seat beside me. I looked over to find a guy that looked about my age. He had light brown hair that looked uncombed but at the same time well kept.
    He pulled out his phone and started tapping the screen. He lifted his head up and looked at me. I could've sworn he was checking me out.
"Hey," he said.
His voice was low and soothing. I couldn't say anything for a while. He was hot. I don't do well talking to hot guys.
"Hey!" I said too loud. My face turned red in embarrassment, and I turned away.
I heard him laughing which made my face turn even redder. I tried to hide my face with a magazine I had.
"Are you trying to hide?" He asked laughing.
"Uhh," I didn't know how to reply.
He laughed even more. When he finally quit he reached his hand out.
"I'm Mark," he said smiling.
"Natalie,"I said shaking his hand.
"Cool name," he said.
"Thanks. You too," I said shyly.
We sat in silence for a while.
"So where in Paris are you going?" He asked.
How did he know I was going to Paris! My face turned pale.
"H-how did you know I was going to Paris?" I asked.
"We are on the plane to Paris," he said with a 'duh' tone.
"Oh, yeah," I said.
Really Natalie! Make yourself look even dumber why don't you!
He was laughing again.
     I gave up trying to talk to this guy. I was just going to make myself look dumber and dumber as time goes on. I put my headphones on. I played the first song on my phone. It was '50 ways to say goodbye' by Train. I looked out my window. The plane started to pull out of the gate. I watched as the rolled the bridge away from the door.
    I forgot to mention, I'm terrified of planes. The engine started. My breathing grew faster, and faster. I was going to hyperventilate at this point. As the plane slowly made its way to the runway my heart was beating out of my chest. I tried to relax and think of my parents, and friends, and Paris. The engines purr slowly changed into a roar. We took off down the runway. The plane picked up off the ground, and before I knew it I was staring down on the city. I started taking deep breathes to try an calm me down, but it didn't work. I slammed the window shade down.
"Are you ok?" Mark asked. I could barely hear him over my music.
I took off my headphones and look at him.
"Your really pale," Mark said worried.
"Yeah! I'm fine! I'm just not used to flying," I replied.
"Oh. Well don't worry about it. It gets fun after a while," he reassured.
Yeah right. I put my earphones back on and laid back in my seat. I closed my eyes and before I knew it I was asleep.
    I woke up to a flashing red light, and screaming.
"It's going down!" Someone yelled.
"We're going to die!" Another yelled.
I panicked I tried to stand up, but my seatbelt was holding me down. I tried to unhook it but it wouldn't budge. It was struck.
"Someone help me!" I yelled.
No one listened. I looked for Trina, Leslie, and Kari. They were no where to be found. I opened the window and looked at the ground. It was getting closer and closer. There was a big flash.
    I jumped out of my seat.
"Natalie!" Trina yelled.
I looked around. The plane was still in the air. Everyone was sitting calmly doing their own thing.
"What are you doing?" Trina asked.
I took a while to respond. That dream was so, vivid.
"I-I," I stuttered.
"Well? Spit it out!" She said loudly which drew the attention of some passengers.
I was about to have a panic attack.
"Uh, I," I tried again.
I felt like everyone's eyes were scorching me. Why was she doing this? She knows I have social anxiety. I needed to get away from these people. They were going to melt me with their eyes.
    I took off for the bathroom. Yes! It was unoccupied. I squeezed through the door and locked it. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked insane. My face was whiter than paper, and I was sweating like crazy. My hair was frizzy because of the seat, and my eyes looked like they had grown in size.
    I splashed my face with water to try an calm myself down. I took deep breathes and counted to 10. I know counting was for anger but I thought I might as well try. It actually helped. After I felt like I could walk out without freaking out I opened the door and slowly made my way back to my seat. I sat down ignoring the wandering eyes. Mark wasn't in his seat which made me feel better. I didn't want to talk to anyone right now. I looked at the seat in front of me. Leslie and Kari were there, but Trina wasn't. Where could they've gone? I waved a flight attendant over and asked how long till we land.
"About 20 minutes," she replied.
I thanked her and she smiled and walked away. I couldn't believe it had already been 7 hours! I must slept a long time. I put my headphones back on and continued listening to music. 10 minutes passed, still no sign of Trina or Mark. Another 5 minutes passed, still nothing.
    The flight attendant announced over the intercom that we were getting ready to land. Still no Trina or Mark. I was starting to get worried. The plane started to descend. I kept the window closed because I was afraid if I opened it I would freak out again. I started to pack my stuff up. I threw my magazine and headphones into the backpack I brought, and lay it by my leg. The plane touched the ground, and the entire plane shook, and slowed into the gate. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and stepped out into the aisle. I followed the line of people that led out of the plane. When we got into the airport we looked around for Trina. She was till no where to be found.
"Do you have your phone?" Leslie asked Kari.
"Yeah. Should I try an text her?" Kari asked.
"Ask her where she is," I told her.
She pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen a couple times.
A couple minutes later she got a text back.
"She says she's at baggage claim," Kari said confused.
"How did she get there?" I asked.
Kari just shrugged her shoulders. We walked to the baggage claim and found Mark, and Trina waiting for us.
"What's he doing here?" I asked Trina when we were close enough to talk.
"He was going to hang around with me till you guys showed up," she explained.
"Oh," I said smiling.
He was staring at me. It was like he was waiting for a reaction or something. We stared at each other for a minute, assessing what the other was doing.
"So, Mark and I were just about to get something to eat, right Mark?" Trina said. It was more like an order than a question.
He stopped looking at me and smiling.
"Yeah," he turned towards me again.
"Would you like to join us?" He asked.
I looked at Trina. She was giving me a death glare.
    I was afraid of Trina. if she wanted something, and you got in her way, she would take you down. She ruined this girls life because she was talking to her boyfriend. I decided it would be best to stay with Leslie and Kari. I was about to say something when Kari saved me.
"I think we're all hungry," she said.
"You all can come," he offered.
Kari smiled and made plans to meet them at a French restaurant in the airport. Kari, Leslie and I walked over to the baggage pick up,and grabbed our bags. We walked down the large hallways to find the restaurant we planned to meet at. Mark, and Trina were sitting in the front. Mark waved us over while Trina looked madder than ever. Why was she so mad about us hanging out with them? Mark wanted me to sit by him. I smiled and sat down in the empty chair. I ordered a drink, and some fries and ate quietly. I listened to Leslie's ramble about our plans, and Kari's facts about the Eiffel Tower. Trina didn't say anything. She just stared at me. I couldn't sit there and not say anything any longer.
"So Trina," I started.
When everyone's attention directed to her she put on a fake smile and acted like nothing happened.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
She looked up at the ceiling in thought.
"Hmm. I think io might just hit up some shops. What about you, Nat," she said menacingly.
"Haven't really thought about it," I responded ignoring her tone of voice.
Kari and Leslie kept their mouths shut. They knew what was happening here. We sat there for a while until Trina broke the silence.
"Hey Natalie, do you think you could come to the bathroom with me?" She asked innocently.
"Sure," I said with a smirk.
She smiled and got out of her chair. I took that as my cue to stand up with her. We walked out of view of the others. She turned quickly and got in my face.
"What do you think your doing?" She said with anger.
"What do you mean?" I asked acting dumb.
"You know what I'm talking about! Sitting by the guy I'm trying to get with!" she said loudly.
"Is that what this is about? Your really childish if your mad over that," I said maturely.
"Shut up! I know what your trying to do, and it's not working," she said.
"What am I trying to do? Why don't you tell me since you apparently know everything," I said sarcastically.
"Y-" I cut her off.
"I'm not going to listen to your stupid gibberish. I'm going to go back to the table, and I'm leaving. I'll see you at the hotel," I said.
    I knew she was still staring at me when I walked away. I smiled at the thought of getting under her skin, but at the same time I knew this would cause fights in the group. Do I stand up for myself, or do I just take it for the sake of the group's friendship. I sighed. This was going to be a long month.