Suddenly, I wake up upside down in one of Pinkie’s bedrooms. By that, I mean my head is at the foot of the bed.
As my eyes adjust, I check to see what I have with me. Pockets empty, I frantically search for my phone. When I do find it, I find a text from Pinkie.
“Oh shit. What did I do? What did I do??”
Blinking a few times to clear my vision, I read the text.
“Hey Max, you wiped out hard. You had us scared out of our wits! If you read this, please find me! I’m worried you left us early.”
“What happened?” I ask myself.
After I check the time: 00:15, I check the time I received the text: 19:52. “Shit, was I out that long?”
I exit my bedroom and find the party still kicking, albeit with fewer people. When I make my appearance, I get some weird looks but find Pinkie hopping around making random chatter with people.
Trying my best to blend in, I pour myself some more punch, but instead of Cosmo/Absinthe, the hardening agent of choice is that in a Cuba Libre. Pouring myself a Virgin America Cuba Libre, and diet at that, I try and blend in.
I do pretty well, until Bon Bon sits next to me and says, “glad you’re okay. You looked fine until you went underwater and didn’t come back up.”
“Anyone see what actually happened? I don’t remember much after slipping into the pool.”
“Just that. You slipped in, went underwater, stayed under a little longer than normal, then you started to look disoriented. Lyra dove in and pulled you out, then Pinkie and I checked your vitals and carried you to the bedroom.”
“Was I conscious when you pulled me out?”
“You were breathing, but you had water in your lungs.”
“How long was I under?”
“Probably 2-3 minutes.”
“Nice.” I respond dryly. “Well, I’m okay, and as long as you’re okay and ready when you are, we can head back to your homes.”
“Actually, about that. We both called Alaska, and they rebooked us out of Miami.”
“You don’t need me anymore?”
“No. We have seats on an American flight to Vegas. From there Lyra goes to Everett, and I head up to Portland.”
“Cool. You get compensated?”
“We’re both getting a $125 travel voucher.”
“Just out of curiosity, did your flight number have 3 or 4 digits?”
“What?”
“Is your flight number between 1 and 999 or more than 1000?”
“Oh! It had four digits.”
“Okay. Let me check something really quick.”
“What?”
“Well, I hate to be that guy, but if my suspicions are correct, there may be a good reason your flight got cancelled.”
“Do tell.”
“You are, or were flying on Alaska. The flight number is in the 1000’s, which means it’s operated by an Airbus aircraft. More accurately, Alaska flights in the 1000’s were former Virgin America routes. Because Alaska is a staunch Boeing company, the company mechanics have essentially boycotted working on the Airbus aircraft. Those mechanics from Virgin America that remained are now swamped with work.”
“So basically the airplane’s down and it’s in a queue for maintenance due to short staff.”
“Basically.”
“Wow.”
“Let me check something else.”
“What?”
“What particular ship were you gonna fly on? If you hit one of the unlucky ones, you… ohhhhkaaayyy then. Damn. N854VA.”
“Why?”
“That airplane has a history of issues. Once, a cooling fan for the inflight entertainment system broke. Ended up diverting to Buffalo from Boston due to an uncomfortably hot cabin. Due to security reasons, no one could leave the terminal and the crew had all but disappeared. Stuck in Buffalo for like 5 or 6 hours, eventually, they return to Boston, but don’t get rebooked until almost 24 hours later, on the same numbered flight. Most of the passengers got $20 food vouchers and not much else. Had to sleep in the terminal chapel with nothing but newspapers. They did an empty ferry back to Seattle so maintenance could fix it, and it broke down again before it left the eastern time zone!”
“Wow.”
“The best part of that story is the fact that even though the airplane was already repainted into Alaska colors, Virgin America had a tradition of naming their planes. The name this broken airplane used to wear: “stand up flyer.”
“That’s funny, but so bad.”
“I know, right? Anyway, I’m sorry about the whole situation. Glad it worked out though.”
“Thank you for offering.”
“Not a problem. I live in Southern California. The least I could’ve done is take you to my place and then shuttle you two to wherever you would meet your connection.”
“Well, thank you.”
“Not a problem. If you ever need to get somewhere an airline just won’t reach, give me a call, or actually, just text me. I respond better to texts. If I don’t see her, tell Lyra the same is extended to her.”
“Tell me what?” Lyra asks as she sits down next to Bon Bon.
“You got rebooked through Vegas and out of Miami instead, so you won’t need me anymore. Nevertheless, if you need me to take you somewhere on short notice, give me 4 hours notice and I’ll be there as best I can. I prefer text, but you can call.”
“Thank you so much Max. It means a lot.”
“No problem. If I don’t see either of you before you leave, it’s been a pleasure meeting you both. Hope to work together sometime.”
“Likewise!” They both say, with Lyra giving me a hug and Bon Bon hesitantly following in her best friend’s path.
After they end up leaving, I find Vinyl and sit at the base of her table and wait for Pinkie, since she told me she’s down to her last two songs of the night.
A few minutes later, she gets on the mic and announces, “Alright, ladies and gentlemen, this is the last song of the night. It’s been an absolute blast turning the tables tonight, here’s to another great weekend for us!”
I jam out to the beat, mostly in my head, but since I’m still in the clothes I jumped in, I make for another dive, seeing as the pool is empty. No special tricks this time, I do a traditional dive and let the water cool me down, not that I was scorching, but still.
As I stay afloat as an excuse to stare at the night sky, Pinkie finds me.
“Max!!! I thought you were gonna be out for the night!“
“Surprise!”
“Too bad you came out just as we start to wind down.”
“Speaking of winding down.” I say as the music from Vinyl’s table fades. “I’m really glad you invited me. I had a lot of fun.”
“I’m so glad you came. I got to see you out of your shell and actually having a good time.”
“You didn’t think Chicago was a good time for me?”
“I do, but at least one of my parties made you just as happy!”
“I must admit, when I landed at Opa Locka, I thought I was gonna be overloaded with what I would expect from a party in this kind of place. I honestly expected nothing less than a rave, despite your objections to your outlawing of contraband. I owe you some apologies: one for my misconception about you, one for my misconceptions about your parties, one for almost dying at the hands of one of your parties, and one for being such a downer.”
“Hahaha! Oh, Max! You don’t have to apologize. I’m just glad you had a good time! I knew all I needed to get you out of your shell was to get you comfortable! I also knew you wouldn’t be comfortable until you had gotten what you needed to off your chest. That’s not to say I didn’t just ignore what you’ve been telling me completely, but look at what you did!“
“You’re right. I did, I guess. I’m glad this party was a success. I’m also pleased to report that I need to stay here another day to get the drinks out of my system. I strictly adhere to a 24 hour policy between my last drink and starting the engines.”
“Perfect! I’d love to have you for another day! Stay longer if you need to too!”
“You sound like my uncle.”
“That can’t be good.”
“Oh, relax. He was probably the last of my family to actually disown me.”
“Look Max, I’m probably the last person that should tell you this, but I don’t think you’re gonna truly be happy until you accept the fact that your family is done with you. The only thing you have to do is to sever your connection to them, because clearly they had no problem severing theirs to you.”
“You’re unfortunately right, but can you imagine me in my shoes? I would lay down my life for them, I love them to pieces.”
“Max, I understand, but I also know that you hoping you can come to peace with the fact cannot happen until you let them go.”
“If I do, then I’ll truly be alone. I’ll have dumped the people who have been with me since day 1.”
“Clearly not, if they disowned you for not doing what they wanted you to do.”
“I would’ve never qualified for med or dental school anyway. My grades were shit.”
“Still, you won’t be alone. You have all of us! Me, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Applejack, and Sunset Shimmer. You’re our friend, we would never disown you!”
“Sorry to sound unappreciative, but I have trust issues with word of mouth, so I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“I understand. And another thing Max, I like you especially because despite your blatant pessimism, you manage to keep me grounded.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m glad I can have someone who keeps me in check, and vice versa with you. I remind you that there’s so much more than the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“I’m glad you think that, but I’m a pessimist?”
“Well, duh!”
“Eh? Well, doesn’t surprise me. I consider myself a realist, but I guess that’s just what people think of me. Because anything less than sunshine and rainbows is negative.”
“I think your definition of normal is what most people, would call negative.”
“Well, pardon me for preemptively cushioning the blows I always seem to receive regardless of whether I was involved in it or not, never mind whose fault it is, mine or not.”
“Max, you’re not making any sense.”
“You’re right. Being abandoned by my family, losing my friends, and relying on people I’ve known for less than a year to sustain my will to live makes me delusional.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to say, Max. I’m not saying all you need to do is just think positive, because that’s just plain wrong. I’m saying that there’s nothing for you to be afraid of.”
“Too bad I spent my time here wallowing in my sorrows.”
“You had a right to, what with you having just dropped off Rosalina.”
“Still.”
“Yeah…”
The conversation ends rather abruptly so we can finish the last of teardown and cleanup. Eventually, when all her stuff is put away or tossed, we both head inside and get ready for bed, the time quickly approaching 4 AM.