That didn’t sound good.
They went to the end of the mall and turned the corner.
“All that’s down here is the game room. Video games, pinball…things like that.”
“I know.” He held her hand as they went inside. “This is what I wanted to show you.” He pulled her over to a machine that looked sort of like a plane, but on a much smaller scale.
She cocked an eyebrow. “Simulated flying.”
He stood taller. “It will cure you of your fear.”
She laughed. “I doubt that, but it was a nice thought. Come on, I need coffee, then food.”
But he held her hand, not letting her escape. “You’re afraid?”
“I am not.” She glared at him. Teens and kids looked their way. “I am not scared of a video game,” she said a little quieter.
“Then why do you run away?”
“I wasn’t running away. I just don’t see how a video game could cure anyone of anything. And believe me, I’ve ridden my share of roller coasters at Six Flags. I am so not scared of a video game.” He only stood there looking like a very determined warrior. “Okay, fine, I’ll try it.” No video game would get the best of her.
Ria climbed inside the one-person cockpit. What was there to be scared about? It looked like a plane, but it wasn’t like the thing was going to get off the ground. When the ride was over, she would still be in the game room. At least maybe then they could get some coffee. And food. Her stomach had started rumbling.
The fake plane sucked up the five-dollar bill Kristor put in the slot while she adjusted her seat, checking out the pedals, and the steering wheel.
“Headphones,” he said, pointing to the ones on the hook near the steering mechanism.
Of course, couldn’t forget those. She placed them over her ears.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded.
Kristor pulled the black curtain over the top. The fake plane wasn’t quite as cool anymore. In fact, it was a little too convincing. But she wasn’t a coward and no matter how spooky real it was, it still wasn’t going anywhere.
A screen in front of her came on. Cute, she was on a runway. She hoped the kid that had been playing the pinball machine in front of her moved out of the way. She snorted. There was no way a toy was ever going to cure her of her fear of flying.
The sound of jet engines starting up filled her ears. Then she was moving. Not really, it just felt like she was. The plane tilted back and suddenly she was taking off, surrounded by blue sky.
“Just a simulation, just a simulation,” she muttered. Kristor was standing right outside probably thinking he was pretty smart to think this up.
The plane climbed higher and higher. Blood rushed through her veins, pounding inside her head. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand any more, the plane began to level out. Clouds drifted past.
This was better. Maybe. It was sort of like watching a 3-D movie.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Not as bad as she’d thought. Had she been afraid for nothing all these years?
“Flight commander, we have a situation.”
She grinned. That was probably her. She was a flight commander. Carly would not believe any of this. Ria wondered what kind of situation they had. They would probably have to land early. Five dollars’ worth of fuel would only go so far nowadays. Hopefully, Kristor wouldn’t put in another five bucks.
“The tower has enemy planes on the radar.”
Ria sat a little straighter. What enemy planes? Wasn’t this a commercial flight? She had figured they were out of peanuts or something. Kristor hadn’t said anything about this being a war plane.
“There they are, sir!”
A black ugly plane appeared in front of her. She swerved to the right as it fired.
“Good move, Commander, but you have two bogies on your tail. Watch out, sir.”
Bogies? What the hell was a bogie? She looked at the screen and could see two more black planes coming up on her tail. She stepped on the gas and swerved to the right, then the left. She couldn’t shake them. They fired. Her wing caught on fire.
“Commander, Commander, you’re going down!”
She was going down? No, she was too young to die! But the screen showed her plane aiming toward the ground and there was a strong smell of smoke and fire.
She screamed.
The curtain over her head was flung back. Ria jerked the headphones off, and scrambled out, falling into Kristor’s arms and sobbing.
Kristor looked at the screen. “You said she would get over her fear of flying in the simulation.” He glared at the young teenager.
He took a step back. “Well, yeah, but she crashed. That probably didn’t help. Most ten-year-olds don’t crash the plane.”
“It crashed. Just like when I was a kid.” Her stomach rumbled as she wobbled to an upright position. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“We have bags inside the cockpit for that.”
She curled her lip. The boy couldn’t be more than sixteen, smacking gum, wearing shorts that showed his underwear, and a T-shirt that claimed he was too smart for his shirt. The shirt lied. She should barf all over him.
“You’ll feel better soon,” Kristor told her as he led her away from the game room. “Do you want some coffee? You said before you wanted coffee and food.”
He had to be joking. He didn’t look as if he was joking. “I need the ladies’ room so I can wash my face.” Maybe the cool water would help.
“Over there.”
He walked her over. She stopped him at the door. “I can make it from here by myself.”
She went inside. There were several ladies waiting in line, but they moved farther to the side when they got a good look at her. Hell, as soon as she saw her reflection, she understood why. People could actually turn green. More of a pale green, but green just the same. Maybe she had a Martian in her ancestral tree.
She splashed water on her face. Much better. Never ever would she get on a plane. She hadn’t been able to stomach the damned simulator. No way would she spend as much time as needed to get to another planet.
“I’m sorry,” Kristor spoke from the other side of the door.
The women turned to look at her. Maybe if she ignored him, he would go away.
“I didn’t know it would make you this sick. Are you okay?”
He wasn’t going away. “I’m okay.”
“Your first?” a little gray-haired woman asked.
“Yes. And my last.” She was not going near anything remotely related to flying. She grabbed a rough paper towel from the dispenser and patted her face.
“But when you hold that baby in your arms, you’ll feel differently.”
“Baby?” Sudden realization hit her. The woman thought…“I’m pregnant?” This was priceless.
A stall opened and Tilly the dispatcher stepped out. “I thought I heard your voice, Ria Lancaster.”
Crap! “Listen, I’m not pregnant. It was a misunderstanding.”
“Crackers will help calm the stomach,” the old woman said.
Tilly turned and looked at her. “Seven-Up is good, too.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve heard that, too.”
“Great,” Ria mumbled and left as the two women continued their conversation about babies. She supposed this would be all over town before she even made it back home.
“Now we will eat,” Kristor said as she emerged from the ladies’ room.
“I think I’ll just have crackers and maybe a soda.” She might not like more rumors being spread, but she would take their advice about settling her still-churning stomach.
