16 - Up in the air

'It's awfully loud.'

'What?'

'Your mind.'

Jubilee woke up, the strange, male voice echoing eerily in her brain. That must have been the shortest nightmare she'd ever had, she mused. The conversation had sounded innocent enough, as absurd as it was - her mind was always quiet - but the voice, to which she couldn't give a face, made her hair stand on its end. She wished she had her scrapbook near, to write the dream down, but the black book was somewhere in her suitcase. The dream description would have to wait.

'He said she'd leave soon,' she heard her mother's hushed voice from behind her, 'but I didn't imagine it would be this soon.'

Jubilee thought she could hear regret in her mother's voice. Odd. Since when was her mother sorry to get rid of her? Her new life would allow both her parents to enjoy life as they wanted. No underage daughter to take care of, no kid to be responsible for. And who on earth was "he"?

'I know, Laura,' replied her father. 'There's nothing we can do now. She's made up her mind, and it's a great opportunity. We haven't interfered much so far, we can't start now.'

So that's what he called parenting. "Interfering". Jubilee clenched her fists. If they had such a view on raising their children, why did they even bother having kids?

'I'll miss her, Adam,' sighed her mother. 'It's not that easy to pretend not to care. Adopted or not, she's still my little girl.'

'Laura...'

Things were getting interesting, Jubilee thought, as she strained herself to hear her parents' conversation.

'She'll be fine,' he father continued. 'She's a good girl. Tough cookie. You know her.'

'No, I don't feel that I do,' replied Laura. 'Chad is the only one who does.'

'And he says she'll be fine, honey. Trust him.'

Chad returned to his seat beside her, and she immediately pretended to be asleep.

'Kid, you sleeping?' he asked, gently shaking her shoulder. She slapped his hand away.

'Yes,' she grumbled. 'Leave me alone.'

'You need to wake up now, we'll be landing in a little while.'

She fake-rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up straight in her seat.

'I'm SO not excited to get there.'

'Could you try to see the positive side of things?' begged Chad. 'You're making things hard for yourself.'

'Ok, fine,' she huffed, and closed her eyes. A few moments passed before she said anything.

'Nothing.'

'Come on, there's got to be something.'

'There isn't anything.'

'How about getting a new perspective on life? New place, new stuff to do, new opportunities...'

'There was nothing wrong with my old perspective, or with my old place, or with my old stuff, or with my old opportunities,' she grumbled. 'Sod off.'

Her brother sighed.

'Look, I'm sick and tired of seeing you so miserable-'

'Well, aren't you lucky,' she cut him off suddenly. 'After today you won't see much of me at all.'

Chad dropped his head in his hands.

'You know I'm against bribery,' he groaned, 'but really, I'd do anything right now. Is there anything you'd like to have?'

Jubilee immediately sensed the rare opportunity. Ever since she could remember, her parents offered her money or other prizes for behaving herself, for not doing anything weird in front of guests, for keeping her temper in check, for going to her room and staying there like a good little girl. Chad, however, would never do that. Rewards for a job well done, sure, but never bribe. He was the one who kept her from becoming spoiled rotten. In retrospective, he was better at parenting than their parents. She was sorry to see him so desperate, but the opportunity was simply too good to miss.

'Anything?' she asked, just to be sure.

'Anything, just stop moping, emo kid.'

'A switchblade.'

The words had left her lips without much prior thought - she had coveted her brother's switchblade since she had first seen it, years before. She had lowered her voice to a whisper, attempting not to draw anyone else's attention. After all, that word, spoken on a plane had a great potential of causing panic among passengers, and a thorough search of her and her family's luggage. And if she knew she was clean, she couldn't guarantee for Chad. Something was always off about some of his belongings, the ones he never let her touch.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, he opened his mouth to protest, closed it again, glared at her, then spoke again.

'Deal.'

It was her turn to be surprised.

'What, really?'

'Yes, really,' he grumbled. 'You can have mine as soon as I get my suitcase. Do I get to see that mopey face of yours show any sign of happiness now?'

She smiled.

'Good enough,' he sighed. 'Couldn't you have asked for a car, or something that's, you know, legal in all states?'

'I'm not sure me walking around is legal in all states,' she said blankly, drawing a scowl from Chad. 'The switchblade is nothing.'

'My one condition is for you to be careful. You do know you're not supposed to carry one of those, right? Being underage and all...'

'Yes, just like you're not supposed to carry it in Montana, and in 21 other states. I'll be careful.'

'Good.'

She slumped a bit in her seat and looked out the window, at the shaking wing of the plane, and imagined gremlins gnawing on it. She immediately shook the idea off, not wanting any more nightmare material, and turned to her brother.

'Can I name it Steve?'

'She,' he grumbled, 'already has a name. Mara.'

'It's a pretty name,' mused Jubilee. 'Why Mara?'

Chad shrugged.

'Why Steve?'

'Good point.'

'Did you name your laptop yet?'

'Yeah. Tinkerbell.'

Chad snorted, and Jubilee replied with a shrug.

'Blame the guy who named that OS Enchanted,' she said, slumping a bit more.

'Yes,' he mused, 'I can't imagine what they were thinking. Now, don't forget what we've talked about.'

'Yes, big brother. Nobody touches my laptop.'

He nodded.

'Nobody gets to go through your files, nobody gets to know your password, and-'

'I'm not an idiot, Chad.' She cut him off. He spared her a look and kept going.

'Now, your dream diary...'

'... stays hidden, I know.'

'And you remember to take your pill every morning, don't break that habit.'

She pressed her lips together for a moment, an expression her brother missed.

'I'm not skating any more,' she protested half-heartedly. 'Why should I-'

'You' he said sternly 'still need your vitamins and minerals, Jubilee, even if you've stopped skating. I have spoken to doctor Albert, and he will send your prescription every month at school. He's giving you those supplements for a reason. Now keep taking them.'

She looked at her lap to hide her discomfort. Her brother would stop being creepy any moment, she just had to pretend it was all cool.

'Ok, fine,' she grumbled, for his peace of mind. But she had decided that the little orange bottle would go to the trash the second she started unpacking.

The Washington Dulles airport came into view, approaching rapidly. One part of Jubilee's mind imagined the plane crash violently on the runway, due to the gremlins having eaten the landing gear. Another part of her mind told the first one to shut up. She let her brain fall quiet and finally accepted her new life. She had a feeling she was in for a bumpy landing.