In a Split Second || BTS

Chapter 2

I am just starting to travel through the haunted house in a mine cart when We Are the Champions by Queen begins blasting through the speakers that magically appeared. I am utterly confused for a moment, and then I realize that I am in the middle of a dream and my eyes pop open. I stare at the ceiling for a moment, debating whether to pick up the phone or leave it. Chances are, if I do not answer, Tammy will kill me, so I lazily press the "accept" button and lift the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I mutter groggily.

"Where the hell are you and why on earth did you not pick up immediately?" Tammy screeches from the other end of the phone.

I wince and hold the phone away from my ear until she pauses her incessant screaming to take a breath. "Please... please be quiet. I just woke up." I press my index finger to my lips even though she can't see me and delicately shush her before relaxing back into my bed.

"I will not be quiet. Your flight is leaving in half an hour, and you promised me you would be here by–"

"What?" I shriek, my tone matching hers.

Tammy chuckles dryly. "You forgot, didn't you? Of course. Why am I surprised?"

"What?" My screech earns a pound on the walls from my neighbor signaling for me to be quiet. "What?" I hiss at a much quieter tone while stumbling towards the bathroom and splashing water over my face.

"You always forget, Cherisse! This cannot happen anymore."

"I know, and I am so, so sorry. Uh, can I call you back?"

"What? No. Don't you dare hang up on me, you little–" I cut her off and toss my phone onto my bed, ignoring how it continues to ring and ring. I would rather deal with her wrath later than now when I am trying to focus. I grab the nearest outfit from the bottom of my closet, which happens to be the green jeans I wore yesterday and the black hoodie I wore about a week ago. I never got around to washing either item, but oh, well. I don't have much of an option.

As fast as lightning, I throw my hair up into a messy bun within seconds and dart about my room, throwing as many clothes as I can find into a suitcase. I don't pause a moment to think about how much I wish I could've just woken up peacefully, although that is my greatest desire. I am certainly going to feel the effects of sleep deprivation in a few hours. I scramble out of my apartment, hurriedly locking the door and checking my pockets to make sure I have everything I need.

"What is going on out there?" an old man with wisps of white hair hanging over his forehead grumbles as he steps outside his door.

"Sorry, Mr. Allerton," I call back as I continue to sprint down the hall with my suitcase in tow.

"Crazy kids these days," he mutters after me.

After what seems like ages, I reach my designated gate of the airport just as the flight attendant is announcing perkily, "This is the final call for boarding. I repeat, this is the final call for boarding."

I pause when I see Tammy's furious glare digging holes into my forehead.

"No time to stop now," she hisses, grabbing my wrist and dragging me towards the plane. "I already checked both our boarding passes, so get on the plane before we miss it."

"I am so, so sorry," I mumble, nearly tripping on a haphazardly placed rug.

"Stop apologizing and get on that damned plane," she grumbles, helping me upright only so she can shove me towards the plane. I board quickly and move to the back of the aircraft where Tammy strategically selected our seats so we would not have many people near us.