New Girl - The Creatures

Chapter 19

The hum of my alarm brought me out of my sleep, letting me know that it was now a grisly 5 AM in the morning. I groaned as I slunk out of bed, rubbing my eyes and making my way to my bathroom to tend to my appearance and brush my teeth. I suddenly felt excitement rather than exhaustion, since today would be the day we leave for PAX.

I double checked my bags and got dressed comfily; a snug, dark gray hoodie and a pair of dark military green joggers. I braided my hair into two dutch braids, tugged on my black high top converse, grabbed my duffel bag which was slightly bulging from my camera bag I delicately packed inside and headed downstairs. Nearly everyone was downstairs already, aside from Aleks. He was supposedly still working on his hair, much to the annoyance of Jordan.

James smiled at me and wiggled the carry-on bag he had filled with our snacks. I grinned at him, thankful that we would be practically joined at the hip for the entire trip. "Aleksandr! If you're not down here in a minute we're leaving you behind!" Jordan yelled up to the stairs. Almost immediately Aleks came down, dragging his suitcase behind him.

"Are you trying to make another Home Alone movie?" he laughed, nonchalant about being the last one ready. There was some chuckling as we walked outside and then groans as Jordan saw that he ordered a transportation van for us to go to the airport since there were so many of us. "Dude, this is literally like Home Alone," Aleks said, still laughing. "Shut up, Aleks," Jordan said, repressing a grin.

I spoke to James and Max during the drive there, refraining from boring a hole into the back of Seamus' head with a glare. I was trying to be cool and calm about everything, but I was angry that he'd yet to say anything to me about it. I knew that I wasn't entitled to an explanation of his love life, but the fact that he kept from bringing it up around me was somewhat insulting.

We got to the airport and trudged in, swinging by Dunkin Donuts and an Einstein Brothers bagel shop after getting through security. I munched on a cinnamon raisin bagel while clinging to a precious hot cup of coffee as we made our way to our gate, collapsing in the cushy chairs the terminal provided. I began to nod off and felt James grab my coffee out of my hand as I slumped.

I woke up to James' soft voice, letting me know that we were about to board. I yawned and opened my eyes, stretching in the seat before standing up. After we all got into our seats, James grabbed a freezer-sized Ziploc bag from his carry-on that was labeled 'FLIGHT FOOD'. It was filled with Annie's fruit snacks, granola bars, some Capri Suns, and two bags of Cheez-Its. I grinned at him and plugged in my headphones to keep my ears from popping as we took off.

I hummed slightly to Oh Yoko! by John Lennon as the plane sped up and soared into the air, unable to keep from grinning as I felt the weight of the atmosphere press down on me. James nudged my shoulder and pointed out the window, and I could feel myself gasp as I watched Denver get smaller and smaller, the city sprawled out beneath the great big wings of the plane.

The only time I'd ever flown was when I was a little, little kid, and it was at night, so my memory of it was skewed and it wasn't the same as seeing things get smaller during the day time. When I moved to Colorado after high school, it was via Marie's car and not by plane.

James pulled out a small laptop from beneath his feet, and together we binge-watched several episodes of Breaking Bad, sharing one headphone each while we ate our snacks. I looked up the aisle to see how the rest of the guys were. The row in front of us and to our right was Max, who was watching something on his laptop as a snoring Dan leaned against him.

A few rows in front of them was Sly and Aleks, who were bickering over who gets to use the neck pillow and when. Near the front of the cabin was Jordan and, though I couldn't see him from my seat, Seamus. They seemed to be in deep conversation since Jordan's brows were furrowed together.

I yawned and closed my eyes as James' laptop died, still exhausted from being up at 5 AM for the first time since high school. I began to drift into sleep and felt myself begin to lean against the window. Just as I really began to sleep, the plane began to shake from turbulence and I hit my head.

"Fuck, that hurt like a bitch," I said, rubbing the side of my scalp. "Shit, that sucks. I'd give you a neck pillow if I had one," James said, sounding apologetic. "Could I lean against you? I'll put my hoodie on so you don't have to see my sleeping face," I asked, desperate for some sleep. "Yeah, I don't give a shit. But if you drool, I'll sue you," James said, shrugging.

"Have your lawyer on speed dial," I joked, pulling my hood on and gingerly resting my head on his shoulder. It was far better than the cold plastic of the plane's interior, and I quickly fell asleep as some soft acoustic began to play through my earbuds, lulling me into a deep sleep.