It's Our Time to Shine
Fear of Flying And Pilates.
After the dinner, Mrs. McCracken cleaned off the dining table and I and the guys sat down in the living room’s sofa group.
“Lina, sweetie”, she began, coming from the kitchen before sitting down in the recliner.
“Tell me, have you by any chance been in Japan before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well, you’ve missed out big time! But lucky for you, you’ll see all of it tomorrow”, Jepha added with a smile on his face.
“Yes!”, Mrs. McCracken agreed smiling.
“Yeah…”
I couldn’t hide my disparity.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you wanna go to Japan?”
Jepha almost shouted, shocked by my somewhat indifferent attitude.
“No, it’s not that! It’s just that… Well, I’m afraid of flying.”
At that point, my confession made me want to dig a whole in the floor and bury myself in it.
“Aww, you shouldn’t! Have you ever flown before or is tomorrow going to be your first time?”, Jepha asked, leaning back in the sofa.
“No, I’ve flown before both domestic and abroad many times, and when I was seven, I even flew by myself, but I’ve never really been comfortable with it.”
“Sure. I’ve never been comfortable with it either, but I’ve had to ‘cause of the several tours we’re constantly having”, Quinn said as he was getting confirming nods from the guys.
“Does anyone want something hot to drink? I’ve got chocolate, tea and toddy. Is anyone interested?”, Mrs. McCracken suddenly asked, getting up from the recliner.
“Yeah, green tea would be great, thank you”, Jepha answered.
“Hot chocolate for me, please”, Quinn smiled as his eyes met hers.
“And you two?”, she then asked, looking at me and Bert.
“No, thank you. I’m full”, I said smiling.
“Yeah, me too, mum”, he agreed.
“Very well, then”, Mrs. McCracken responded before heading into the kitchen.
“But seriously, Lina”, Jepha continued. “You shouldn’t be afraid of flying. And, hey, this time you won’t be alone; you’ve got us, and we’ll be there with you the whole time.”
“Yeah”, I replied hesitating while fumbling with my fingers.
As much as I wanted to believe in Jepha’s comforting words, the anxiety was still building up inside of me, refusing to let go.
“You should try Pilates!”, Dan exclaimed, grinning from here he was sitting in the sofa.
“What – Pilates?”, I repeated while looking at him with a confused smile.
“Yeah! It’s really relaxing and it helps me to calm down whenever I’m stressed or somethin´ like that. You should totally try it.”
“Yeah, maybe I should…”
“Come on – I’ll show you!”, he said a she got up from the sofa and walked to the living room’s center, making me follow him.
“Okay, so here’s what you do”, he continued, lifting up his right leg with one hand and stretching his other hand to the side.
“You’re gonna kill me, aren’t you?”, I said in a humoristic tone in my voice.
“No, this is actually good for you! I do it all the time before shows n’ stuff. It helps!”
“Dude, come on - you’re gonna hurt her”, Bert commented from the sofa, grinning like an idiot.
“Oh, yeah? Come on over and show us how it’s really done, then. Weren’t you a gymnast back in the days?”
“Yeah, Dan, I was a gymnast for quite a while. But that doesn’t mean that I remember it all, does it? Fuck, Lina – come on over here and sit down again before you end up in a wheelchair or somethin´”, Bert said, now giggling like a school girl.
“What is all this noise?”, Mrs. McCracken asked smiling as she entered the living room again, carrying a tray with three cups containing hot beverage.
“Nothin´, mom. Dan’s just trying to show Lina some Kung-Fu.”
“Pilates”, Dan corrected.
“Oh, how exciting! I didn’t know you were a performer of Pilates, Daniel?”
“I’m really not, Mrs. McCracken. I just do it to reduce some of the stress sometimes”, he replied.
“Well, either way, it is really impressive”, she said.
“Thank you. I haven’t gotten a compliment like that since my birthday”, Dan grinned.
“Oh, and when was that?”
“Not so long ago – July 7th.”
“My apologies, I did not know! Well, happy belated birthday, Daniel”, Mrs. McCracken smiled before giving him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush.
It wasn’t until then I noticed that this was the first time I’d ever seen Dan blush.
“I suppose you won’t mind being hugged and kissed by an old, married woman, would you?”, she chuckled.
“No, of course not. And thank you for your congratulation, Mrs. McCracken.”
“You are very welcome, Daniel. Oh, my – look at the time. I don’t know about you kids, but I’m certainly going to bed. Don’t let it become too late tonight now. Remember, you need to get up early tomorrow to not be late for your flight.”
“Yeah, mom, we know”, Bert said as he gave her a smile.
“Well, good night, everyone, and remember to turn the lights in the living room off. I’ll see you all in the morning”, she smiled before heading upstairs, leaving us alone in the sofa.
“So, when are we gettin´ up tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, Bert. When does the plane leave again?”, Quinn asked.
“9 am”, Jepha answered, taking a sip of his green tea.
“From where are we leaving? I mean, are there any airports around here?”, I said, feeling like I didn’t know anything at all.
“Salt Lake City International Airport and we need to be there at around 8 am”, Quinn added, licking off the hot chocolate that covered his upper lip.
“But that means that we’re gonna have use about 1 hour, depending on the traffic, to get to the airport, and we need to be there before 8 am – hey, we need to wake up at 5 am!”, Dan exclaimed, having a shocked look upon his face.
“Yep, you’re right. Is anyone actually feeling tired at all?”
Jepha’s question was met by ‘no’s’ from all of us before ending in a giant simultaneously sigh.
“So what do we do now?”
“I have no fuckin´ idea”, Quinn responded as he yawned, which by the way was pretty ironic considering the fact that he only a second ago denied being tired.
“And there’s no TV here, no videogames and no technical fun at all”, Bert added, losing more and more faith in having a fun night tonight before leaving tomorrow morning…
“Lina, sweetie”, she began, coming from the kitchen before sitting down in the recliner.
“Tell me, have you by any chance been in Japan before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Well, you’ve missed out big time! But lucky for you, you’ll see all of it tomorrow”, Jepha added with a smile on his face.
“Yes!”, Mrs. McCracken agreed smiling.
“Yeah…”
I couldn’t hide my disparity.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you wanna go to Japan?”
Jepha almost shouted, shocked by my somewhat indifferent attitude.
“No, it’s not that! It’s just that… Well, I’m afraid of flying.”
At that point, my confession made me want to dig a whole in the floor and bury myself in it.
“Aww, you shouldn’t! Have you ever flown before or is tomorrow going to be your first time?”, Jepha asked, leaning back in the sofa.
“No, I’ve flown before both domestic and abroad many times, and when I was seven, I even flew by myself, but I’ve never really been comfortable with it.”
“Sure. I’ve never been comfortable with it either, but I’ve had to ‘cause of the several tours we’re constantly having”, Quinn said as he was getting confirming nods from the guys.
“Does anyone want something hot to drink? I’ve got chocolate, tea and toddy. Is anyone interested?”, Mrs. McCracken suddenly asked, getting up from the recliner.
“Yeah, green tea would be great, thank you”, Jepha answered.
“Hot chocolate for me, please”, Quinn smiled as his eyes met hers.
“And you two?”, she then asked, looking at me and Bert.
“No, thank you. I’m full”, I said smiling.
“Yeah, me too, mum”, he agreed.
“Very well, then”, Mrs. McCracken responded before heading into the kitchen.
“But seriously, Lina”, Jepha continued. “You shouldn’t be afraid of flying. And, hey, this time you won’t be alone; you’ve got us, and we’ll be there with you the whole time.”
“Yeah”, I replied hesitating while fumbling with my fingers.
As much as I wanted to believe in Jepha’s comforting words, the anxiety was still building up inside of me, refusing to let go.
“You should try Pilates!”, Dan exclaimed, grinning from here he was sitting in the sofa.
“What – Pilates?”, I repeated while looking at him with a confused smile.
“Yeah! It’s really relaxing and it helps me to calm down whenever I’m stressed or somethin´ like that. You should totally try it.”
“Yeah, maybe I should…”
“Come on – I’ll show you!”, he said a she got up from the sofa and walked to the living room’s center, making me follow him.
“Okay, so here’s what you do”, he continued, lifting up his right leg with one hand and stretching his other hand to the side.
“You’re gonna kill me, aren’t you?”, I said in a humoristic tone in my voice.
“No, this is actually good for you! I do it all the time before shows n’ stuff. It helps!”
“Dude, come on - you’re gonna hurt her”, Bert commented from the sofa, grinning like an idiot.
“Oh, yeah? Come on over and show us how it’s really done, then. Weren’t you a gymnast back in the days?”
“Yeah, Dan, I was a gymnast for quite a while. But that doesn’t mean that I remember it all, does it? Fuck, Lina – come on over here and sit down again before you end up in a wheelchair or somethin´”, Bert said, now giggling like a school girl.
“What is all this noise?”, Mrs. McCracken asked smiling as she entered the living room again, carrying a tray with three cups containing hot beverage.
“Nothin´, mom. Dan’s just trying to show Lina some Kung-Fu.”
“Pilates”, Dan corrected.
“Oh, how exciting! I didn’t know you were a performer of Pilates, Daniel?”
“I’m really not, Mrs. McCracken. I just do it to reduce some of the stress sometimes”, he replied.
“Well, either way, it is really impressive”, she said.
“Thank you. I haven’t gotten a compliment like that since my birthday”, Dan grinned.
“Oh, and when was that?”
“Not so long ago – July 7th.”
“My apologies, I did not know! Well, happy belated birthday, Daniel”, Mrs. McCracken smiled before giving him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush.
It wasn’t until then I noticed that this was the first time I’d ever seen Dan blush.
“I suppose you won’t mind being hugged and kissed by an old, married woman, would you?”, she chuckled.
“No, of course not. And thank you for your congratulation, Mrs. McCracken.”
“You are very welcome, Daniel. Oh, my – look at the time. I don’t know about you kids, but I’m certainly going to bed. Don’t let it become too late tonight now. Remember, you need to get up early tomorrow to not be late for your flight.”
“Yeah, mom, we know”, Bert said as he gave her a smile.
“Well, good night, everyone, and remember to turn the lights in the living room off. I’ll see you all in the morning”, she smiled before heading upstairs, leaving us alone in the sofa.
“So, when are we gettin´ up tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, Bert. When does the plane leave again?”, Quinn asked.
“9 am”, Jepha answered, taking a sip of his green tea.
“From where are we leaving? I mean, are there any airports around here?”, I said, feeling like I didn’t know anything at all.
“Salt Lake City International Airport and we need to be there at around 8 am”, Quinn added, licking off the hot chocolate that covered his upper lip.
“But that means that we’re gonna have use about 1 hour, depending on the traffic, to get to the airport, and we need to be there before 8 am – hey, we need to wake up at 5 am!”, Dan exclaimed, having a shocked look upon his face.
“Yep, you’re right. Is anyone actually feeling tired at all?”
Jepha’s question was met by ‘no’s’ from all of us before ending in a giant simultaneously sigh.
“So what do we do now?”
“I have no fuckin´ idea”, Quinn responded as he yawned, which by the way was pretty ironic considering the fact that he only a second ago denied being tired.
“And there’s no TV here, no videogames and no technical fun at all”, Bert added, losing more and more faith in having a fun night tonight before leaving tomorrow morning…
♠ ♠ ♠
haha, what kind of fun can ease bert's boringness, huh?-wiggles eyebrows suggestivly.-
rofl. ;D
xo,
lina.