Just Deserts Read Online Free Page B

the plane lands?” I asked.
    â€œI’d be rather surprised if he was there,” Captain Evans said.
    That was probably the case. I was just hoping.
    â€œEither way, we need to leave,” Captain Evans said. “Please take a seat.”
    I wasn’t going to argue with that. As Captain Evans and the co-pilot pulled up the gangway I walked down the aisle, figuring I’d sit for a while and then go and lie down for an hour or so in the stateroom.
    I looked at my watch. It was just before noon—amazing how much had happened in less than four hours. I’d gone from passed out to woken up to meeting McWilliams, being expelled, packing, and driving to the airport, and now I was sitting on a jet to fly home. Busy few hours.
    It was about a six-hour flight and a five-hour time difference, so if all went well, we’d be there around two in the afternoon. Assuming we were going to leave soon.
    The engines started up. It wouldn’t be long. Good.
    Maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten in God knows how long, but I was starting to feel kind of shaky and sweaty. My head was less achy now but still pretty fuzzy. The best thing for that, I’d figured out long ago, was another drink, just to take the edge off. And then I had a thought. I got up and walked over to the bar:the only question was whether it was locked or not. I took a deep breath and pulled the handle. The door opened. It was filled with a treasure trove of alcohol—there was enough quality, quantity and variety to satisfy any and all tastes. I pushed aside a few bottles until I came to what I was looking for.
    I pulled out a bottle of vodka—a full bottle of vodka. I broke the seal and took a little swig. I grimaced at the taste and the way it burned a passage down my gullet. I hated those snobs who talked about how they liked the taste of one brand of vodka more than another. That was like saying they liked the taste of one type of iodine better than another. You didn’t drink vodka for the taste, you drank it for the effect.
    I took another swig, and some of it spilled on the carpet. Oh well, not my problem. Besides, it wasn’t like there wasn’t more vodka where that came from. The bar was full and the door was open.
    I laughed quietly to myself. Here I was being expelled from school for drinking, and nobody had had the foresight to lock the liquor cabinet on the plane sent to get me. Well, their lapse was my gain. I tipped the bottle and took a big, long drink, chugging it back like it was water.

CHAPTER FOUR
    â€œ GET UP .”
    â€œWhat?” I mumbled. My eyes popped open. Captain Evans was standing over me.
    â€œGet up, we’re here.”
    â€œWe’re in New York?”
    â€œWe’ve arrived at our destination,” he replied.
    â€œOh … good … I must have fallen asleep.”
    â€œFallen asleep inside a vodka bottle,” he said, holding up the half-empty container.
    â€œI don’t think I like your attitude,” I mumbled.
    â€œWell I know I don’t like yours.”
    â€œWhat did you say?”
    â€œYou heard what I said.”
    â€œDo you like your job?” I snapped. “I could fire you.”
    He snorted. “Your father could fire me. But would is a whole different word and a different world. Sort of like you could have become such an outstanding young man instead of such a major disappointment.”
    â€œI’m so sorry I disappointed you,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my words.
    â€œIt’s not me I’m talking about, it’s your father. What a disappointment you’ve been to him.”
    I was stunned into silence.
    â€œI remember the first time he brought you aboard the plane. You weren’t more than a few months old. He couldn’t stop talking about you, held you in his arms the whole flight. He just went on and on about the hopes and dreams he had for you.” Captain Evans paused. “And none of them