Akeelah and the Bee - James W. Ellison [44]
“But you know what? I’d give it all up if it meant you and me could hang out again. Friends are more important.”
Georgia gave a short laugh. “That’s stupid. You’re doin’ something nobody else can do.”
“You think what I said is stupid?”
“Yeah, it is. ’Cause people wanna see you do good.” She paused, and for the first time there was a flicker of life in her expression. “I wanna see you do good.”
Akeelah smiled and reached for her friend’s arm.
“You know, Georgia, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and you always tell me I can do things even when I think I can’t. Well, I gotta tell you something. If you wanna be a flight attendant, you first gotta ride in an airplane.”
“I will someday.”
“Yeah? Well, how ’bout tomorrow? Is that too soon?”
She smiled and held up a plane ticket. She handed it to Georgia, who stared at it for a moment, frowning, and then broke into a mile-wide smile.
Akeelah had never seen her mother move so fast. She cleaned the house and paid for a taxi so that her brother Ralph could come stay with Terrence and keep an eye on him (Kiana and Terrence did not get along) and packed a suitcase for herself and one for Akeelah. She had worked two extra weekend shifts to satisfy her bosses, who were not happy about giving her time off, as the hospital was severely short-staffed. She made an enormous lunch to take on the plane over Akeelah’s protests, and at the last minute she called five of her closest friends and told them, without bragging but with a hint of pride, that the principal of Crenshaw Middle School, Mr. Welch, had actually purchased her round-trip ticket himself. Wasn’t that the sweetest thing for the man to do?
She and Akeelah were up at the crack of dawn and into a taxi to the airport more than an hour ahead of schedule. When Akeelah walked up the ramp to the interior of the plane, she felt a sense of wonder. She was not only flying for the first time in her life, but was leaving the state of California for the first time in her life and going all the way across America. She was on her way to Washington, D.C.! She was on her way to the National Spelling Bee! Her mother was right. She understood it now. Win or lose, her participation in the bee was a win all the way.
When the airplane raced down the runway and took off gracefully like an enormous bird, she pressed her face to the window and watched the checkerboard world spread out below. She drew in a breath and muttered to herself, “Girl, is this really happening to you? On a plane across the country?” She had dreamed about making it to D.C. for so long that the fact of it actually happening, here and now, in this present moment, no longer seemed entirely real to her.
Georgia came rushing along the aisle and plumped herself down next to Akeelah.
“They let me sit in the cockpit for, like, two minutes,” she gushed. “Forget flight attendant. I’m gonna be a pilot.”
“That’s right, girl. Aim high.”
Georgia pumped her fist and laughed. “That’s right. I’m gonna aim as high as this plane can fly.”
“And hope the passengers do not die.”
“Not with me at the controls flying the friendly sky.”
Georgia nodded. “Thass right. And you don’t lie.”
They broke up laughing.
Hours later, when the plane was beginning its descent into Dulles Airport, the girls heard a moaning sound from across the aisle. They quit chatting and stared at Javier, who was leaning his head against the seat in front of him. “I know we’re diving directly toward D.C.,” he said to the seat. “I know it. It’s time to become a man of prayer. It’s my only chance. Cover all your bases, Javier. You’re gonna need ’em.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Georgia said.
“He has an aversion to flying. Takeoffs, landings, and also while in the air,” Akeelah answered.
Javier shook his head. “It’s an aversion to plummeting. A fiery descent to earth when the pilot loses control. I may puke.”
“My brother’s in the Air Force,” Akeelah said. “He says fear is all in the head.”
“You coulda fooled me. I’d say it’s in the head, the stomach, and every nerve of your body.”
“Here.