Test The Limits

Final Countdown

This was it.

Two days before competition.

They had to leave today since the flight was thirty five hours long.

The three teams had to practically beg their coaches to allow them to ride on a public plane together instead of a private jet.

"We won't get there as fast." Murphy huffed impatiently, mainly to himself.

"I know." Jack smiled, taking his stuff and Signe's from the back of the taxi he and Signe took from his house to the airport.

"I can carry my own stuff." Signe protested, taking her suitcase back.

"Yes ma'am." Jack replied sarcastically, earning a light slap on the arm.

It took them awhile to find Amy, Mark, Felix, and Marzia since they were in the midst of a large fan group begging for photos and autographs. Mark shot Jack a pleading look and Jack almost felt bad. Almost. Instead, he tried but failed to hide the fact that he was laughing at his friends while the three coaches managed to get a hold of security to help fend off the fans.

"Thanks." Felix sighed in relief once the sea of fans begrudgingly dispersed.

"C'mon, our flight's about to take off!" Marzia tugged on Felix's arm. Together the group had to practically sprint to reach the plane in time without being late. They were riding first class, which meant that they boarded earlier. They always rode the plane normally for conventions.

Even though they were on the same plane, their coaches made sure to have them sit far apart from each other. Since they were on a plane and didn't have international service, none of them could use their phones.

Jack resorted to tossing paper airplanes at Felix, using a piece of spare paper Signe had brought with her to draw on.

"Stop it." Murphy hissed as Jack scribbled something down on the airplane and tossed it towards Felix. It fell short of his seat by a couple of feet, but Marzia got up and grabbed it, showing it to Felix. He then wrote something in response and tossed it back with more success than Jack had.

Jack ignored his coach's protests and tossed the plane to Mark. It ended up hitting Amy in the back of the head while she was sleeping, causing her to wake up. Mark to look around to see who threw it, unfolding it to see Jack's and Felix's handwriting all over it. Jack mouthed an apology, watching as Mark wrote something down and threw it back to Felix. Taylor intervened by snatching it from the air before Felix could grab it, crumpling it up and sticking it into his pocket.

The rest of the plane ride was boring, Jack drinking one of the alcoholic drinks brought around by one of the stewardesses out of sheer boredom. Mark fell in and out of consciousness, his hand in Amy's the entire time. Felix and Marzia talked quietly to each other, both unable to sleep due to the excitement of the competition and the fact that they were going to someplace new.

As soon as the plane landed, the group grabbed their luggage and rushed off quickly, eager to be able to move around and observe their new surroundings that they would be in for a couple of days.

It was about seven in the evening when the plane landed, so all of them were hungry.

"All competitors are supposed to stay in the same hotel. We should go there first and drop our stuff off." Smith suggested. Each team paid for their own rental car and drove to the address their coaches gave them. It was large and extremely fancy, which intimidated Jack. He was used to whatever was cheapest and worked.