ONE CHANCE, kotlc

Chapter 8: Down We Go

"How's your grandpa?" Keefe asked her.

"Oh," Sophie stuttered. "His flight got delayed. We're hoping he can make it for later today."

"Yeah." Keefe cracked his knuckles, then stared out of one of the windows.

Sophie shifted in her leather seat. Sophie took a few swigs of her cool water as she stared ahead, awaiting further instructions.

It took a few moments more before someone spoke. 

"Attention, skydivers!" A man on the microphone said. "You will get your parachute packs on and get into your duos!" 

They all stood up and made their way to the parachute pack area. Everyone had to get into position with their buddy, aside from Alvar.

Two kind men showed them the usual position; The two people went facing the same direction, the parachute sitting between them. The heavier person would jump off, the other person trying to keep the two balanced to the best of their ability. 

"Got it?" One of the men asked, and a chorus of murmurs and nods concluded their answers. 

"We've done this before!" Keefe snorted. But they hadn't, and Sophie felt too chicken to interfere.

"That means you should be good without one of us coming along," The man nodded.

Sophie blushed as she realized that she would have to be that close to Keefe.

"Who's going first?" The man asked. He threw his cap onto an empty seat and crossed his burly arms.

"Not us!" Sophie piped up, and Keefe rolled his eyes but didn't object.

So, they found the order: First, Dex and Biana. Second, Alvar. Third, Linh and Marella. Fourth, Tam and Fitz. And finally, Sophie and Keefe. 

Sophie and Keefe stood back to back, awaiting their turn. Keefe seemed excited to jump, but Sophie didn't have a good feeling about it.

Each time one pair went, they screamed as if they were falling into the depths of who knew where. And each time that happened, she regretted coming more and more.

"Okay, you two are up."

Keefe stood in an odd stance, ready to jump. Sophie was terrified. Being the one not jumping was scary enough. Not to mention that Keefe never played anything safe. It always seemed to be do or die for him. 

"And you may go," The man said. 

Keefe didn't hesitate or look back as he jumped. 

Sophie let out an earsplitting shriek as they plummeted. It was so loud she was almost certain the whole world could hear her. She managed to steady her breathing as the ground came into view. 

"Isn't this fun?" Keefe yelled. "WOO-HOO!" 

It actually was quite fun. 

"Woo-hoo!" She was a bit quieter than Keefe, but the rushing winds made it all the more fun. 

It wasn't that scary, but Keefe had begun panicking. "Is the ground getting closer really fast or is it just me?"

"Open the parachute!"

"WHAT?"

"The parachute! The parachute!" Sophie hollered as Keefe fiddled with the button. "HURRY UP!"

"IT'S STUCK! IT'S STUCK!" Keefe waved his arms frantically around, making them waver in the air. 

"Keefe Sencen, stop that!" Sophie felt around for the button and managed to burst open their parachute, letting them take a slow fall. 

She immediately regretted eating food this morning, even though she'd only taken a bite or two.

And finally, they hit the ground— Well, not exactly the ground. Keefe still waved his arms around, making them turn and twist. That left them to land on Fitz and Tam, who let out garbled grunts.

The four of them got all tangled up and had their arms and legs flying everywhere. 

They all shoved and twisted, and Sophie wasn't lucky. She was the frail one. Unlike the other three, she got the most jostled and squished. 

"I'm bruised for life!" Sophie moaned as she lay face down, getting grass in her mouth. She sat up and spat grass out as she glanced at the three boys who offered her half-smiles. 

"Have fun, Foster?" Keefe asked as he, Fitz, and Tam stood up and brushed imaginary dirt off their clothes.

"I can't even tell anymore," She grumbled. Sophie stood up, took her helmet off, and tried to pat down her messy blonde head of hair. "I've had enough excitement to last me a decade." 

"Nooo!" Keefe shook his head. "I was thinking of booking a trip to Hawaii for our families. I'm still debating on it, though." 

Tam rolled his eyes, and Fitz shrugged. This must have been a usual thing for them. 

Keefe smirked as Sophie muttered under her breath while walking back into the building.

She ignored their conversation and looked at her with amusement as they caught up to Marella, Biana, and Dex. 

"Where's Linh?" Tam asked, his eyes darting around.

"She um. . . didn't feel well after skydiving," Biana explained. "How'd your guys' skydive go? I saw Sophie and Keefe's. You guys were hilarious," She laughed, and Sophie's cheeks burned. 

"I bet we were all pretty scared," Fitz chuckled. 

"Not Foster," Keefe grinned. "She seemed happy for part of it." 

"What? Why can't I have a little fun? But, you ruined it," Sophie pointed out hastily. 

"I'm back!" Linh smiled, looking a little green. 

"Where'd Alvar go?" Biana stood on her tippy-toes as she searched for her older brother. 

"Maybe the van?" Marella offered as she tossed her hair.

"To the van, we go!" Keefe grinned and led the way. 

Once they got to the car Alvar was in there waiting for them. They drove home quietly. 

It all went well, and once she returned home, her parents seemed happy she had a fun day. Sophie managed to hear Edaline say that her grandpa rescheduled his trip day for next weekend.

When her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.