The P.A.

Chapter 6: Tokyo Bound

It had only been a little over a week, but MJ felt like she'd been on the road forever, with Los Angeles a distant memory. Sydney was already in the past, with its brisk weather, and they were leaving muggy Singapore, where MJ hadn't even had time to see anything other than the hotel, the arena, the airport, and the road that connected the three.

MJ was already in her (first class) seat. The plane was sitting on the tarmac waiting for Meredith, who was finishing up some shopping at the duty free shops. Meredith's friend Sammi had gone home the day before; it had been both better and worse for MJ that Meredith had company; better because Meredith had someone to keep her occupied and therefore there was less for MJ to do, worse because it gave Meredith an audience when she wanted to put on a show, with MJ, usually, as the entertainment.

For the most part, though, MJ found her job to be mind-numbingly boring. Meredith was pretty dull-witted, which had surprised MJ; she'd assumed, from listening to her music, that Meredith Renner was someone who had a lot going on in her heart, in her mind, in her life. It seemed, however, that the majority of Meredith's time was spent looking at social media and gossiping with her equally boring friends. MJ was happy to find that she had plenty of time to read, work on her own music, and draw. She made sure to keep her conversations and texts with her father happy and interesting. He didn't need to know how bored and lonely she was. After all, she was being paid pretty well, and for money she could be bored and lonely.

"Hey! Javelinopoulis!"

MJ looked up with a smile.

Heath was standing in the aisle, looking down at her expectantly.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I think you're sitting in the wrong seat," he said in a theatrical whisper.

MJ looked around, but no one else was listening.

She was sitting in the aisle seat, and next to her was Thatcher, Meredith's bass player. He was leaning comfortably into the corner between the window and the seat, sleeping already.

MJ looked again at her boarding pass, and at her seat number.

"No I'm not," she said, holding up her boarding pass. "See? 22b? I'm in the right--" she stopped talking, eyes going wide with shock, when Heath grabbed her cardboard boarding pass out of her hand, tore it into pieces, and proceeded to eat it.

He made a point of chewing vigorously, swallowing, then taking a huge swig of his water, draining half the bottle. He smiled maniacally at her, and said, "So, like I was saying, I'm fairly certain you're in the wrong seat, yeah?" He nodded at her for emphasis as he took the window seat on the opposite side and gestured to the seat next to him.

MJ just stared, still in shock, unable to move.

"Oh holy lord, MJ, will you move your arse before she gets here and I'm stuck sitting next to her for the entire seven hour flight!" Heath said, continuing to whisper as he scanned the doorway to the plane, collapsing into laughter at last as he gestured frantically at her. "Please," he entreated. "I don't want to be shitting paper for the next week for nothing, yeah?"

These words finally got MJ moving, and she quickly shifted across the aisle. She'd just gotten settled down when Meredith made her appearance at last. She came running up the walkway laughing, handing her duty free bags off to an attendant as she apologized.

"I'm here, I'm here," she gasped.

The crew quickly closed and locked the handle behind her as she walked up the aisle toward her seat, still apologizing to everyone.

She paused when she got to the empty seat.

"Um, MJ, I think you're in my seat," she said, still smiling. "Up, please."