A Stroke Of Originality

As Shawn took another sip of his whiskey a young lady came and took the seat next to him.

“Wow, a drink already?” She smiled “I’m Lauren.” she said as she extended her hand.

“I’m Shawn.” he said as he shook her hand. She felt his sweaty palm as she shook back.

“I take it you don’t like flying?” Lauren asked
“This is my first time actually” Shawn replied while taking another sip of his whiskey.
“Ahh, it’s not that bad! Trust me I do it all the time. It’ll be to be easy, I’ll talk you through it…. just relax.”
“That’s why I’m drinking, I’m trying to—“ Shawn stopped short when he noticed the plane began to taxi onto the runway. “Here we go. I don’t know how I got talked into taking a flight.” Shawn downed the rest of his whiskey. “Nerves are bad, and the plane hasn’t even—”  Shawn was cut off by the flight attendants announcement to the passengers.
“Please enjoy the flight.” The flight attendant said as the announcement ended.
“This is your captain speaking, we’ve been given the green light to take off. flight attendants please be seated for take off.” The captain’s announcement ended.

As the plane began to speed up, and Shawn became anxious. He closed his eyes and put his hand on his head as his legs began to shake. “Please God I know I haven’t been the best of people in this world but I promise if you help me make it out of this I will change my life”  Shawn prayed to himself as the plane began ascending. He felt like he heard every little noise the plane made.
“Is it suppose to sound like that?” Shawn asked Lauren.
“What noise? The engine?” Lauren said with a smile that went unnoticed to Shawn. His eyes were closed and his head leaned back in the seat. She placed her hand on his leg. “It’s fine. I’ll get you another drink on me when we are at cruising altitude…. Just relax!” She giggled
“Girl—” he started just gazing at her blue eyes. “I need that drink now.” he replied while shaking his head. Lauren just tried not to laugh, but she thought it was funny.
“This is your captain speaking. We are now at 33,000 feet our cruising altitude. The flight attendants will be around shortly to assist you with drinks and snacks. Should be approximately three hours and a half until we land in Fairbanks, Alaska.”
“33,000 FEET!? He had to say that? We don’t need to know how high in the damn air we are. Lord!” Shawn looked at Lauren who was side eyeing him while covering her mouth trying not to laugh. “Is this funny?”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she put her head down, as she began to turn red. “I’m not laughing…. I promise!”
Shawn just shook his head as he caught glimpse of the flight attendant walking down the aisle with her cart.
“Would you like a drink or a snack?” the flight attendant asked Lauren who was still trying to hold her laughter in. Shawn answered instead. “We will take a triple shot of whiskey and vodka. No ice please!”
“Okay, I’ll get that right away.” The flight attendant seemed astonished at the choices Shawn selected.  “Anything for you Ms?” she asked Lauren who now had gained her composure.
“Just a coke and rum for me please.” She smiled looking at Shawn nearly downing his whiskey.
“I needed that.” Shawn said finally claiming himself.
“I told you once you get to cruising altitude you’ll be fine. Flying isn’t all that scary.”
“Girl, I’m probably only relaxed now because I got this liquor in me.”
“So what brings you to Fairbanks?” Lauren asked
“Just visiting a friend. She’s having a baby and I’m coming for support.” Shawn replied.
“Well, that’s kind of you. How long are you staying?”
“Just a few days. Not long.”
“Well if you get some free time maybe give me a call or text and I’ll show you around.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I’m sure you could show me a lot of things.” Shawn and Lauren were now flirting back and forth until the plane began to tremble abruptly and the seatbelt sign illuminated.
“Seems like we are hitting some unexpected turbulence….please stay seated and put your seatbelt on as the seatbelt sign is now illuminated.” The captain announced.
Shawn closed his eyes trying not to panic, but he began to shudder at the thought of what was happening. “Lord I’m coming to you again. Please allow me to make it through this flight I will never do this again. I will get a rental and just drive home if you help me make it through this flight.” Shawn prayed to himself again. The turbulence was gone. “Thank you Lord”. Shawn thought to himself.
“The turbulence has cleared, and we are now preparing to land. Flight attendants please prep the cabinet for landing.” The captain announced.
“This is the last part Shawn, then we will be on the ground and your first flight will be over!” Lauren said clapping and looking at Shawn who seemed to be very anxious.The sound of the plane breaking soon followed.
“Welcome to Fairbanks Alaska where the current time is 9:24 pm, hope you enjoy your stay, and thank you for flying with us.”

I wanted to challenge myself to write a Flash Fiction about someones first time flying on a plane. There will be a lot more Flash Fiction coming in the future. Remember to like comment, give suggestions, and subscribe if you liked it, and want to see all the other creations I have in store.