Taking Off

Chapter 7

Tia's phone beeped on her bedside table the next morning. She opened her eyes, really not wanting to get out of the comfortable bed. She pressed snooze and was about to turn over when she saw her luggage on the other side of the room.

"I'm in Australia," she whispered, realisation gripping her. "I'm in Australia!" she shrieked, jumping out of bed, the excitement from last night washing over her. She looked at her phone, read that it was 10:20am and almost jumped out of her skin. "Forty minutes to get ready, forty minutes to get ready!" she chanted as she ran to the bathroom. She showered quickly, dried her hair, brushed her teeth and began choosing her outfit.

On the other side of the wall, Elijah was still in bed. He heard muffled noises from Tia's room and blocked his ears with his pillow. It wasn't until 10:45 that he got up. He showered and dressed in less than ten minutes, hardly thinking about what he was wearing. He strolled out the door and saw Tia pacing the room, looking rigid.

"Morning," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning?! It's about time you got up! We have five minutes to get to the lobby," she cried, stopping in the middle of the room. He rolled his eyes.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," he muttered.

"For your information, there's only one side of the bed that I could have woken up on," she said, clearly annoyed, pulling at the ends of her hair.

"That explains why you're always rude and grouchy – you always wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I suggest you move it around," he retorted. She glared at him.

"I am not always rude and grouchy!" she snapped.

He shrugged and checked to make sure his wallet was in his pocket. "That's the only way you are whenever I speak to you."

"Have you not made the connection then? I'm only 'rude and grouchy' to you," she said, matter-of-factly, remembering to also make sure she had everything in her purse.

"And why is that?" he asked. Her hand froze in her bag, and she hesitated.

"Uh..." she stammered. He narrowed his eyes, curious. She looked at her watch, suddenly. "Oh crap! It's eleven! They're going to leave without us," she cried, heading to the door. "We won't even have time to eat anything!"

Still wondering why she had hesitated, he rolled his eyes. "You didn't have to wait for me."

Turning back to him, staring intensely into his eyes, she retorted, "Uh, yes I did. We have to present a united front. If Principal Andrews heard we weren't together at all times, he will give us a monster lecture when we get back, and I really don't want that, right?"

She walked out, and he followed. They caught the elevator and rode down in silence, until Elijah asked,

"So, why are you rude and grouchy to me then?" Her eyes widened but she recovered almost instantly.

"Shh," she whispered, pretending she heard something. He looked around.

"What?" he asked.

"Shh!" she whispered, more harshly. He looked at her, baffled. She kept this act up until they reached the lobby. Once the elevator doors opened with a 'ding' she walked out, as though nothing had happened. He froze for a second but followed her out before the doors could close again.

"What on earth was that about?!" he demanded, as he caught up with her, but they'd reached a big group before he could force an answer out of her. There was something she didn't want him to know and he was going to find out what it was, no matter what it took.

But his thoughts were interrupted by Figg's voice floating towards them from the front of the group. Beside him, Tia tried looking over the many heads by standing on her toes, but she wasn't having much luck. He rolled his eyes and walked around the circle. Tia looked over. She didn't want to follow him, but she really wanted to hear what Figg was saying so she hadn't much choice. She followed him to the front of the group and listened to the organiser speak.

"So, today's going to be a calm day. We won't be doing anything too adventurous. It's more of an introduction to the program. Now, follow me," Figg informed the group of school kids. Tia looked around at the group. She had no idea how this one woman would be able to watch over all of them. The students quickly piled out of the lobby after the teacher and followed her down the street. Elijah turned to the boy closest to him.

"Hi, I'm Elijah," he greeted, offering his hand.

"Aladdin," the boy replied, shaking his hand.

"Like the street rat?" Elijah asked.

The boy shrugged. "Yeah, my parents loved the movie," he laughed. "I don't mind."

"Why would you? Aladdin's awesome," Elijah responded. Tia, who was listening from beside Elijah, raised her eyebrows. Elijah didn't seem like the kind of guy who enjoyed Disney cartoons. "So, where are we going? We were a little late," he said, gesturing to Tia.

"Oh – Figg said we're going to some park. We're going to do some 'get-to-know-everyone' activities," Aladdin replied.

"Oh, sounds good, I guess," Elijah said.

"So, what's your name?" Aladdin asked, leaning toward Tia. She smiled.

"I'm Tia. It's nice to meet you," she responded, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Pleasure's all mine," he winked. Tia laughed. Elijah rolled his eyes.