Sparks - Wendy Higgins Page 0,4

came over me. “Where are you guys based?”

“Camp Lejeune!” he said over his shoulder as the crush of camo bodies pushed him forward.

Marcelle and Silas both gave me eyebrow-up looks and I shrugged. “What?”

As soon as passengers were off, I signed my name on the clipboard and did a super-fast walk-through of the cabin, picking up trash and making sure nobody forgot anything important. I came across the vomit bag kindly left behind, and pinched the corner between my nails, tossing it in the trash as I held my breath. A few people left tabloid magazines—score for me! I couldn’t afford that kind of stuff these days. I shoved them in my overnight bag and met the rest of the crew to head out.

The four of us speed-walked through the terminal, following Ground Transportation signs. Tons of people stood in long lines at airline kiosks, probably trying to get hotel vouchers, which might be difficult since the cause of the cancellations was weather, not the fault of the airlines. These poor people. I would hate to be one of the customer service agents here tonight.

Our pilot was on his cell with Omega Skies personnel as we walked, his forehead pinched.

“That’s the best you can do?” he asked. Silas and I shared an uh-oh look when the pilot cursed quietly under his breath and hung up.

“Looks like we’re headed to the overflow motel. Piece of shit. Sorry, guys.”

Marcelle did not look pleased. She loved her comforts. But Silas and I just shrugged.

“Do we get our own rooms, at least?” Silas asked.

“Yes, I made sure of that.”

Alrighty, then. Roach motel, here we come.

Outside, nearly two inches of snow had already accumulated in the untrodden areas, and I pulled the collar up on my wool jacket, winding a tartan scarf around my neck and chin. We made our way through the mass chaos, everyone freaking out to get taxis and shuttles before stuff shut down. I gasped when one taxi slid sideways on the road as he pulled out too quickly, relieved he didn’t hit anyone.

We climbed aboard the shuttle and sat with our luggage between our knees. All four of us immediately pulled out our phones. Mine was still in airplane mode and had been since I left the apartment at five that morning. As soon as I turned off airplane mode a string of alerts sounded: texts and a notification sound I’d never heard before. I peered at the screen and saw an icon that looked like a firework. Ugh, stupid system updates. Before I could deal with it, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” began playing. Holly’s ringtone.

“Hey, Holls.” Holly had been my roommate during our six-week flight attendant training and we’d become fast friends.

“Oh, my God! Finally! Are you on the road? The weather’s getting bad.”

“No.” I sounded as grumpy as I felt. “Diverted to Philly.”

“What the hell?” Holly groaned, and I could hear her stomping her foot. “No, no, no!”

I had the vodka in my bag that I’d picked up from the Duty-Free shop. I could hear all of the girls behind her booing and pretending to cry.

“Stop,” I groaned. “You’re giving me major FOMO.” The Fear of Missing Out was real.

“We have Telestrations After Dark all set up,” she said. My favorite adult game! “It won’t be the same without your really bad oblong penis drawings.”

I laughed, despite the disappointment I felt. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said with a sigh. “It does look nasty out there. Willa’s morning flight was already canceled.”

“Hell yeah, bishessss,” Willamena sang in the background, making me laugh again. Ugh, I really wanted to be there. This sucked.

“So…” Her voice tilted upward. “How mad are you at us?”

Huh? “For what?”

“Um…” She let out a nervous laugh. Was she drunk already?

“What did y’all do?” Did she think I’d be mad that they were having fun without me? “You guys have fun! Don’t worry about me. I’ll try not to be too jelly at all the inside jokes.” I laughed, and she laughed too, but she sounded weird. I made a face, wondering what I was missing.

The shuttle slowed, arriving at the motel.

“Looks like a full house tonight,” the driver said.

“I gotta go,” I told her.

“Okay. Call us later?”

I shook my head and laughed again. “Girl, I’m going to bed. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said in a sing-songy voice. “Talk to you later…”

“Bye, weirdo.”

I hung up on the bizarre conversation and craned my neck to see out of the snowy front window. My insides jumped.