Taking Off

Chapter 27

The next morning, Elijah took a while to wake up. He was sleeping so comfortably, and he hadn't done so in a couple of days, he didn't want to interrupt it. But, of course he had to. He didn't want Tia knocking on his door in fury, yelling at him to wake up, sabotaging the very fragile forgiveness she'd bestowed on him just last night.

He left his room fifteen minutes later, just two minutes before they were meant to be in the lobby. Tia was sitting on the couch, reading a novel. "Sorry I took so long," he said. "I haven't slept properly in a while and I was just really enjoying my sleep. Not that that's a good excuse, but anyway..."

She looked up at him, letting his words fade away before replying. "No problem. Let's go." There was a little unease in the air, but she was determined to get rid of it.

He felt the same unease. "Yeah, let's."

***

On the agenda that day was a trip to Puffing Billy, a very old steam train. They arrived there in a little over an hour and boarded the train just in time. The group had one carriage to themselves, and they fit quite comfortably. The steam train sounded its horn, and all those on the platform waved to them as they pulled away, like they were really in the early 19th century. Tia waved to the people, and, as soon as she could, she climbed onto the side of the train and stuck her legs out. Many of the others followed her lead. It felt amazing, riding through the forest on an old-style steam train. The wind was perfect and the sun beat down lightly on Tia's legs. She was so at peace, she could've done this every day of the year and never gotten sick of it.

"This is so cool!" she cried, waving her arms through the cool wind.
"I know. I feel like I'm in the 1800s," Elijah laughed, as he sat beside her on the window ledge. Tia nodded but said nothing more. Elijah bit his lip, then looked around to make sure Aladdin or Vanessa weren't close by. "Hey, Tia," he said, when he'd turned back.
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted to make sure that - uh, you know - there was no awkwardness between us - after yesterday."
"Oh?" She gave him a sidelong glance.
"Yeah. I mean, I don't want the rest of the trip to be awkward silences and everything."
"Uh, yeah of course. I completely agree."
"Great. Because, I mean, I think this trip would be a lot better if we were actually friends." He put on his best, most non-mocking smile.
"I think we are actually friends," she replied, smiling back at him. Apparently his smile worked.
"Good." After another second of staring went by, he piped up again, "Well, now that that's settled, we can really enjoy this ride."
"Sounds great," she laughed, and they continued to have the first proper conversation as friends since - well, since the incident that started it all. It was surreal, and not just because they were hanging out the side of a train rushing through a forest.

When nearing the end of the ride, Tia snapped a picture of the trees they were passing.

"Would you like me to take a picture of you?" Elijah asked.
"Yeah, that'd be great," she replied, handing him her camera. He positioned the frame perfectly, waited for her to smile, and snapped it. "Thanks. Do you want a picture?" He caught her eye, hesitated, then shook his head.
"No, that's fine."
"Are you sure? I can send it to you."
"Thanks, but it's okay."
"Okay, then, can we have a picture together?"
"You want to take a picture with me?
She shrugged. "Sure. I want to remember as much of this trip as possible, and you're part of it, so..."
He smiled. "Alright, if you insist." She shuffled a little closer to him, then held the camera out in front of the pair of them. He leaned a little closer, they both smiled, and she snapped the picture. Bringing the camera closer to her, she examined the photo.
"Hmm."
"Something wrong?"
"No. The picture's fine. But I think it'd look nicer if the scenery were behind us, you know? In this one, all that's behind us are people," she replied, turning the camera for him to see it.
"Well, it's still nice, though," he said. It was a nice photo. They both looked really happy, he thought. Especially her. Seeing her happy was rare but it made him feel almost euphoric - so he hoped it would continue.