1. Leaving on a jetplane-part 1

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June 29, 1987- Flight KL321 : AMS-LAX


"Cabin crew, prepare for take-off please". 

As the airplane starts to pick up speed before the inevitable moment of liftoff, I hold on to my seat's backrest for dear life, desperately trying to prevent myself from screaming out loud that WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE. Because right now, trembling in my seat and checking if I've really properly fastened my seatbelt for the 100th time, I'm pretty sure that's what's going to happen.

As much as I hate being in this position, with no possibility to escape my dreaded fate, I hate myself even more for being such a chicken-shit. I mean, I should be the happiest girl in the world right now. I actually wás the happiest girl on earth just an hour before, although saying goodbye to my parents and friends made me shed a few tears. But hey, I was leaving for sunny L.A. , traveling the world like I'd always dreamed of. Leaving my small village and same old boring life in the Netherlands behind to go and start a modeling career in L.A. made me feel like an invincible, bad-ass woman of the world. Especially since, to my surprise, I received an upgrade to first class when I checked in. The lady at the check-in desk told me it was due to some overbooking in economy class, but to be honest, I stopped listening after she said the words 'first class'. I just couldn't believe my luck and already imagined myself drinking champagne and being surrounded by luxury on my very first flight. The glamorous lifestyle would unexpectedly start before I even left the country, and I couldn't wait to indulge myself in it as much as I could.

But that was all one hour ago. As soon as I entered the plane, I did not even pay attention to the lavishness of KLM's' first-class cabin. A sudden rush of panic washed over me when I realized I would be spending nearly 12 hours in what seemed nothing more than a heavy, steel casket all of a sudden. A very posh casket, I should once again add, but still, a casket.

I can feel the plane losing touch with the earth, it's nose up heading towards the clouds above. Invincible, bad-ass woman of the world-me is nowhere to be found anymore as I can't hold back the childish tears that are running down my face by this time. Completely oblivious to my surroundings thus far, I'm startled when a deep, raspy voice coming from the row in front of me addresses me. 

"First time flying, sweetheart? Don't worry, I'll try and find a way to keep your mind of things."

 Eager to seize just about any opportunity to distract me from my intrusive thoughts of finding my untimely death any minute now, I encourage myself to look up into the direction of where this- kinda sexy- voice came from. I look straight into a pair of sparkling green eyes and honestly, if I wasn't sitting down they could for sure've swept me off my feet.

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