3
FLYING
This was not my first time on a plane, but it was my first time on a plane for more than two hours. It took over eleven hours to get from Los Angeles to Tokyo. That’s like a whole day.
The plane was huge!
“I want to sit by the window,” I announced as we walked down the aisle.
“Whatever,” Sophie said. “I don’t.”
I felt sad because Sophie was being Sophie again. She didn’t want to do anything I wanted to do. Well! That was fine with me because that meant I didn’t have to fight her for the window seat.
“Here we are,” Dad said, pointing to a middle row.
“But I wanted to sit by the window,” I said.
“The middle row has four seats together,” Mom explained. “This way we can all sit as a family.”
I tried to sit next to Sophie, but she said, “Not a chance.” So I sat on the aisle seat next to Dad, who sat next to Mom, who sat next to Sophie, who got the aisle on the other side. She was as far away from me as she could get in our row. That made my heart hurt.
When the plane finally started to rumble down the runway for takeoff, I leaned forward to try to see out the closest window, but the people in that row were blocking my view.
I leaned in front of Dad and Mom. “Hey, Sophie! Look out your window!” At least she had a clear view.
Sophie glared at me and then looked back down at the book she was reading. Walnuts! She sure was grumpy.
The plane took off and soon we were flying high up in the sky. I had plenty to keep me busy.
First I wrote in my journal. Then I played with Fred Just Fred. I ate two brownies without nuts that my neighbor Mrs. Reese made for me. Fortunately, Mom did not count snacks as personal items. I read two chapters of Charlotte’s Web. Mom always said keeping busy made the time go by faster.
“How many more hours until we get to Tokyo?” I asked Dad. “Are we almost there?”
Dad laughed and patted my arm. “We just barely took off, sweetie. We have many many hours to go. Why don’t you watch a movie?”
We had little screens on the backs of the seats in front of us. My very own TV! But I did not want to watch a movie by myself. “Can I sit next to Sophie?” I asked Dad.
Dad leaned over Mom to talk to Sophie.
“She said okay, but please behave,” Dad said.
I always behaved! It was Sophie who got in bad moods for no reason. Mom switched places with me and I settled in next to my sister.
Sophie had the tray down in front of her. It had a pile of books on it. I’d seen her studying Japanese workbooks all summer long. She’d spent most of her summer learning like we were going to school instead of on vacation.
“Why are you studying so hard? We are not going to be tested,” I said.
“We will definitely be tested,” Sophie said, putting down her pencil and looking at me.
“What? No!” I squeezed Fred Just Fred.
“Well, not like a test in school,” she said.
Whew. That was a relief.
“But,” Sophie continued, “everyone will be speaking Japanese. And things are different in Japan. They have different customs.”
I shook my head. “Obaachan speaks English. Mom and Dad speak Japanese. We don’t need to speak Japanese.”
Sophie gave me that look that said she was smarter than me. “Maybe. But I like to be prepared.”
“It’s a vacation. You don’t need to prepare!”
“Okay, smarty,” Sophie said. She closed her workbook and faced me. “What does gomen nasai mean?”
I rolled my eyes. “Easy,” I said. “Excuse me.”
“Domo arigato,” Sophie said.
“Thank you very much. And doitashi mashite means you’re welcome.” Sitting with Sophie was not as much fun as I had hoped. This felt like a test, and as much as I liked school, I did not want to study with Sophie. “Let’s watch a movie.”
“How do you say movie in Japanese?” Sophie asked.
I frowned. “I don’t know.”
“Movie is eiga in Japanese,” Sophie said.
I shrugged.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll take a break. But you’ll wish you studied with me when we get there.”
Sophie loved to study. She loved to show off how much she knew. She loved to practice and be good at everything.
I didn’t need to study because I knew I would love everything about our vacation. I loved adventure!
I curled up with Fred Just Fred. Sophie and I picked the same movie to watch. Even though we had separate screens we watched at the same time. That was nice.
Jasmine’s Journal
Dear Linnie,
The plane ride is too long and very boring. Good thing I have you to talk to. I can’t wait until we land in Tokyo and I get to explore. It will be new and exciting. I’m not sure what kind of adventures I will have, but I’m sure they will be special and fun and amazing!
If you were here, we would laugh and talk to each other the entire time. We would want to do the same things at the same time, like when we play with your dog, Trixie, or dress up in costumes at your house or make collages at my house.
I am so bored! There is nothing to do on this plane. Mom is doing needlepoint. Dad is reading. Sophie is studying.
Oh! Dad just said I can listen to music on his phone. Hooray!