**WATTYS 2022 WINNER** Seventeen-year-old Evelyn Werth is on an endless flight from hell. She's the only person onboard Aloha Airways Flight 1333 who's caught in a 28-minute time loop.
During each cycle, four things happen:
1. The Internet goes out...
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Still Loop 3
Ignoring me, Evelyn points to her right side, as if she's operating a tour bus and we're pulling up on a famous landmark. "Over here is Anton Singh," she tells me over her shoulder. I glance at a man in the aisle of 19C, watching what looks like a nature documentary on his computer with headphones on. "He's a struggling singer and songwriter, and his stuff is really good. His last single even got some radio time." Her lips pout in a disappointed frown. "But unfortunately, he checked his guitar which totally sucks. A little acoustic guitar would've been a nice addition to these loops. Plus, I've always wanted to learn how to play."
Evelyn pauses on a row filled with teens around our age. "This group of six is on an ecological team-building youth trip. They're nice and all, and have some interesting Netflix shows downloaded." She points to a boy wearing a blue baseball cap, flipped backwards. "Niko over there has a crush on Meghan, but Meghan pretends she doesn't know - even though she really does - because she doesn't have the heart to tell him that it's never gonna happen."
Both the boy and the girl, I'm guessing Niko and Meghan based on their reactions, stare at Evelyn in utter disbelief.
"It's fine," Evelyn reassures them. "I promise, neither of you will remember this soon."
She keeps moving, and my nerves are fraying. There's something she's not telling me and I have the feeling it's something I really need to know.
"This is Dekor Astor." Evelyn stops at a twenty-something guy with bleached blonde hair, and sunburned shoulders that are already peeling. "Because of him I realized that I'm a cat in a box which is probably the reason you're awake in the first place. So if you want to blame anyone for you being stuck in these loops, he's your guy. Although, to be fair, I had a lot to do with it, too. I kinda started the chain reaction that eventually caused the peanut to pelt you in the head." She looks away sheepishly.
Is that what this is all about? She feels guilty for waking me?
"Wait, what?" I hear myself saying. "You're a cat in a box? What does that mean?"
Evelyn rolls her eyes. "Trust me, you're better off not knowing."
The turbulence increases as we approach row 23 and Sibyl Erly is about to take a sip from her drink. I lunge forward, grabbing the gin and tonic out of her hand.
"Hey!" Sibyl snarls, shooting me a dirty look.
"It was about to spill all over your shirt," I tell her.
"Yeah, sure it was," she replies, snatching the drink. "Get your underaged paws off my beverage."
Evelyn calls behind her, "Yeah, Sibyl isn't the nicest person on the planet. I stopped her drink from spilling on her a couple times, too, and she nearly bit my head off. Now I have no qualms letting it soak her each time."
