A Royal Internship | Complete

Chapter Fourteen

Just as Janet had predicted, we got to the airstrip several minutes before we were supposed to arrive; the plane was sitting there looking altogether smaller than your average plane. Maybe I'd been wrong to get so excited about it.

I took to counting clouds rolling by when, ten minutes after our scheduled departure, we were still waiting for Clarence.

"Well, this is off to a great start," I said to Janet as we slowly paced near the car and waited for Clarence.

"I wish I could say I was surprised," she sighed. "But I'm just not. Here, can you hold this so I can call him?"

I held her purse and watched while she dialed his number. She covered the phone with her hand while it rang. "Remind me to give you his number so you can help me keep track of the man."

I laughed, but it felt weird to get a guy's number from your friend. I guess, when it's for work it isn't weird. Or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself.

Janet waited until the phone went to voicemail before slamming it back into her purse, "That's it, I'm going to have to kill him!"

She was still ranting about how inconsiderate he was when a shiny black car pulled around the corner towards us. I turned her around and pointed, "I think we should calm ourselves unless we want to lose our jobs."

She glared at the car before turning back to me, "I'm not worried about losing my job, but you're right, this plane ride will be awfully unpleasant if I'm yelling the whole time."

She took the opportunity to hold on to my elbow and drag me towards the plane.

"Shouldn't we wait for him?" I pointed back at the car that just arrived.

"Probably, but we're already so late, and I don't want to push us back any further. That might actually cost me my job. He's supposed to arrive for the press," she stopped me right before we climbed the stairs and turned my shoulders to face her. "Do you have any idea how awful the press are when they get bored?"

"I'm guessing very," I couldn't help but laugh at the earnest expression on her face, trying to keep myself from worrying about what an awful press would mean for me. "But come on, let's get on the plane and you can help me learn the proper procedure for getting off this plane. I've only got six hours to learn, so we better start now."

When we stepped through the door of the plane, I really got a glimpse of what 'royal plane' actually meant. All the planes I'd been on looked a bit like buses, but this one looked like the lobby of a very fancy hotel. Well, if the lobby of a very fancy hotel had seatbelts.

The cabin was decorated in lush, deep blue carpeting and some kind of shiny tile around the edges. The walls were covered with what looked like it could be wallpaper, and the chairs made me want to curl up and have a nap.

"Nice, isn't it?" Janet must have noticed my expression. I was still taking in all the luxurious furnishings as the various staff members on board bustled about their duties.

"Nice?" I couldn't find the words. "If there's some flight attendants with champagne, I might fall out of the plane."

"Let's get you sitting down, then." She smiled. "And we can talk about what to do when you arrive in Montalivet."

"There's a flight attendant with champagne, isn't there?"

Janet just shook her head and pushed me towards one of the chairs. "Genevieve, please be serious. We have less than seven hours to figure all of this out and you'll need to practice once we're in the air."

"Good." I tried to lighten the mood with a goofy face. "Because I don't think practicing during takeoff is a good idea. And I think mocking the king would be a terrible start to the whole 'fixing the image' concept."