Dreamcatcher

Chapter Thirty-Five: Hello LA

It took some time for Rachel to stop feeling grouchy and miserable before she decided to converse with Gabe to kill the silence. 

An air stewardess in her twenties had made her first pass through the aisle, handing out snacks and drinks. When Gabe set his eyes on the trolley, he licked his lips and sat eagerly as he waited for the stewardess to approach him. Once she did, Gabe politely called for her attention when she was looking in his general direction and smiled warmly his way. 

"Hi. Anything I can get you and your girlfriend?" The air stewardess asked in a soft, hush voice. 

Gabe was flustered and shocked at what she said but was quick to correct her. "Oh, she's not my girlfriend..." 

Upon realising her mistake, the air stewardess apologised for the misassumption. 

"Can I get you anything?" 

"Whatcha got?" 

"I've got some bread rolls, salad, mashed potatoes and a muffin. For drinks, I have water, apple juice, orange juice, Coca Cola and Sprite. What'll it be, handsome?" 

Gabe raised an eyebrow, flattered at how bold the trolley lady was. Nonetheless, he openly invited the flirtiness.

"Whatever you recommend." Gabe said with a wink. 

The woman studied him as quickly as she could so to give Gabe his order without causing any impatience and unsettlement from the people waiting to get their food.

"You look like a salad and muffin kind of guy wiiiiith... Cola."

"Ding, ding, ding! And we have a winner."

"What's my reward?"

"How about my number?"

Sitting beside them and listening to the whole conversation made Rachel want to hurl - not out of cringe but out of jealousy simply because it felt like a taunt that she couldn't do the same with her boyfriend. 

The long distance was killing her.

Rachel persisted to stare out the window at the fluffy white clouds whilst Gabe and the air stewardess exchanged pleasantries and phone numbers before she resumed serving passengers snacks to keep them distracted during the long trip which was expected to last an hour and a quarter. But for Rachel, it felt much longer than that - it was just another horrendous hour of sitting around, immobilised from physical activity which in turn brought pain literally in her ass from sitting down for so long. 

It took some time for Rachel to feel open to talk to Gabe. His charm worked well in sympathising her struggles created quite the friendship. In the entire hour they were in each other's company, they opened up and shared things about one another. 

Certain sensitive details were exposed but there was comfort knowing that they both could relate well to one another on a certain level. 

Their conversing permitted a time skip in which the plane came upon its destination when the pilot notified the crew and passengers aboard of their imminent touchdown at the Los Angeles International Airport. The seatbelt sign was switched on and passengers bucked themselves in preparation for their landing. 

Upon touching down at the Los Angeles International Airport, everyone aboard the plane disembarked once they were permitted to. Due to being seated for over an hour, many folks stretched in their seats or when they stood up before collecting their belongings and walking out of the plane and out of the terminal. 

Rachel and Gabe stuck together up until they got out of the terminal where Gabe announced that he had to catch another plane to get to Haven Springs, Colorado. 

"So I guess this is it," said Gabe. He felt disappointed, knowing that he had to say goodbye to another friend.

"Yeah." Rachel agreed. "We should stay in touch. Maybe one day I'll visit you if you're still in Colorado."

"Sounds like a plan. My plane should be boarding soon. Another fifteen hours of flying. Isn't that great?" 

"I'll bet. Here. Give me your phone and I'll add my number in there so we can stay in touch." 

Gabe pulled out his mobile phone and offered it to Rachel. Speedily, Rachel added her contact and her number into Gabe's phone before he took his phone back and they said their goodbyes. 

Now that they were both on their way, Rachel regrouped with her companion, Charles, and passed through the airport until they'd reached their exit. As soon as they escaped the airport interior, Rachel's phone rang while Charles located their transportation.

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Rachel didn't look at the caller ID but instead answered the call habitually and raised he mobile phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" Rachel greeted her caller.

"Hey! Hey, Rach! It's Clark. Did you land yet?"

As soon as she heard his name get mentioned, Rachel beamed with glee. Hearing Clark's voice brought her some relief during her excursion to Los Angeles for the competition that would change her life for the better.

"Yeah. Charles and I got out just now - we landed half an hour ago. I'm missing you, honey. Wishing you were here."

"Awww! I miss you too, babe. So, what are you two up to now? You heading straight to the place where they're holding the competition or are you going to look around and kill time before you submit your piece?" 

"I... do not know. Let me ask." Rachel pulled her phone away from her ear and covered it with her hand. "Where are we going to now?" 

Charles glanced at her and mouthed to her, "Going to Sonesta LAA. Then we'll rendezvous later on at the place they're holding the competition." 

"To a hotel called Sonesta." 

"Okay then. How is it in LA?" 

"Pretty humid. I'm craving going to the beach."

"I'm sure you got enough time to explore all of LA, babe. Enjoy yourself. You earned this. Now go and be a model. Love you."

"I love you too."

As soon as they hung up, Charles didn't waste a second to comment on how adorable he found Rachel's and Clark's relationship, to which the brunette proudly thanked him for complimenting the effort put in to keeping it alive amidst the long distance.

The pair dragged their luggage towards a red Lexus sedan. Once they were close to the car, the boot popped open and Charles had the decency to stow both of their luggage in the boot while Rachel hopped into the passenger seat. Charles wandered around the left side of the vehicle and climbed into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition.

"Are you craving fast food? In craving fast food. What do you feel like?" Charles asked impatiently.

Rachel shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not too sure. I don't feel like eating right now."

"Allow me to reiterate: if we head to the site of the competition, we will be there for quite some time, where I will be discussing the fundamentals of promoting you as the grand champion. Safe to say, we have not had a proper mean in a while, and I believe it best we fill up our stomachs now, lest we regret it later on and have our stomachs growl like wild beasts."

"Well... when you put it like that, I guess we could go for some Thai?" Rachel suggested unsurely.

"I could go for some Thai."

On their way to the hotel, they stopped by a Thai restaurant along the way and had a meal to fill their stomachs properly before they made their way to the Los Angeles City Hall where a room had been rented for temporary use solely for the competition.