Diving commando-like inside the belly of the aircraft, I flopped hard onto the floor. Why did that always seem so easy in films? Maybe it was just that I was a wimp! There was no sign of the others. The cabin was in total darkness and they were all well hidden.
‘Psst!’ I heard from behind the second row of seats. Scrambling forward on my elbows and knees, I had just managed to drag my feet behind the chair, when I heard their voices on the stairs. The pilot jumped on board, with Silke close behind him. I couldn’t understand what she was saying to him, but her voice sounded calm. I heard her drop down in the front seat and sigh, yawning, ‘Ich bin müde, Hans. Kanst Du die Tür bitte schliessen?’
‘Kein Problem,’ replied Hans, closing the door.
My German isn’t great, but I guessed she had asked him to close the door. Letting out a long sigh, I smiled at the gang. Charlie gave me the thumbs up and I surveyed the cabin. The plane was much smaller than I had thought so we would have to stay where we were for the flight.
‘Psstt!’ I whispered, sticking my head around the back of the chair. Silke turned her head and put her finger to her lips. She knew this plane well and had probably sat in the cockpit many times; the door wasn’t totally soundproof. We all sat very still.
When the engines started and the pilot began his take-off manoeuvres, we relaxed. Silke got up from her seat and came to crouch between us. ‘Ve forgot to talk about how ve’ll get you off this plane!’ she started.
‘Hadn’t really thought that far, to be honest,’ I replied.
‘Well, ve’ll land near my house. I’ll have to go directly to see my father. You’ll need to stay very quiet while the pilot locks the plane. You’ll be stuck here for a while, but I’ll come to let you out as soon as I can. It might be tomorrow morning, but at least you’ll have somewhere warm to sleep tonight. These seats are very comfortable, but there are only five, so one of you vill have to sleep on the floor!’ She smiled at Aretha and rubbed her head. She was taking good care of us, like she promised.
‘Yey!’ whispered Tara, ‘a night on a plane!’
‘Cool!’ whispered Charlie.
‘Better than camping outdoors, I suppose,’ mumbled Cam.
I rolled my eyes - some people!