Page 1 of Another Lucky Number (Lucky Number #2)
Chapter One
‘ E xcuse me, madam? Would you like something to drink?’
‘Ooh, a glass of champagne, please.’ I quickly fold down the corner of the page I’m reading as the immaculate flight attendant places a flute of beautifully chilled fizz on the tray table in front of me.
‘Hand cooked vegetable crisps or olives?’ she asks.
‘Can I have both?’
‘Of course.’
‘Greedy cow,’ a voice mutters from across the aisle and I shoot the owner (my friend, Amber) a faux dirty look in response.
Once the flight attendant has served the rest of our row and moved on to the next one, I catch the eyes of my two friends and raise my glass.
‘To an amazing holiday.’
‘ Yay! Cheers .’ My bestie, Cat, thrusts her own glass in my direction while Amber surveys me with a bored look.
‘This is incredible and all, Emma,’ she says. ‘But are you going to do that every time we’re served a drink? You’re starting to take the piss. ’
‘Aww, leave her alone.’ Cat comes to my rescue. ‘Neither of us have been in business class before. Don’t spoil the fun because you’re used to these perks from your job. And remember , it was Emma who made all this happen.’
‘Hmm… that’s not entirely true.’ Amber taps her chin, wearing a pompous expression. ‘I got us this business class upgrade… remember ?’
‘Right, Amber, enough .’ I find myself bailing Cat out of her own failed rescue attempt. ‘Let’s compromise. No non-alcoholic toasts – but I make no apologies, I’m having the boozy ones.’
Amber simply rolls her eyes, allowing me to settle back in my seat and enjoy my champagne.
Closing mine for a moment, I bathe in the excitement and anticipation of what lies ahead, just several hours from now.
This is what life should be about. Not stress.
Nor heartbreak. I stretch out my legs, flexing my calves and wiggling my toes as recommended in the traveller advice I read. It feels nice, almost therapeutic.
Suddenly, there’s a bump and the cabin shakes. I glance across at my friends, but they don’t seem to have noticed. Giving my neck a stretch, I try to relax, but then there’s series of bumps followed a huge jolt and the sound of the seatbelt signs being illuminated.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, due to some unexpected turbulence, the captain has switched on the seatbelt signs. Please return to your seats and ensure that your seatbelts are securely fastened. The toilets and first-class bar are now out of use until further notice.’
My pulse quickens and I anxiously tug at my seatbelt to tighten it as the bumping and lurching in the cabin intensifies. Seeking reassurance, I make eye contact with Amber.
‘ Relax .’ She chuckles at my terrified face. ‘Happens all the time. Think about it like being on a bus on a bumpy road.’
‘I don’t think I like this bus,’ I murmur.
‘Seriously, it’s fine. The flight attendants are still walking around. That’s a sure sign there’s no problem. ’
The moment she says this, the cabin seems to drop a few feet, taking my stomach with it, and the captain’s authoritative voice comes over the plane’s PA system.
‘Cabin crew, take your seats.’
‘ Oh my god! ’ I watch in despair as they swiftly leave the cabin.
The turbulence is now so heavy that my champagne is slopping over the sides of the glass.
‘All right, I take it back,’ says Amber. ‘Bit worse than usual, but it’s still fine. Maybe less bumpy road, and more… rollercoaster. They’re fun though, right?’
‘Not the time for it, Amber.’ I down what’s left of my drink in one go.
Clutching the arms of my seat for dear life, I glance helplessly at Cat, who’s face has drained of colour.
She’s clutching her poker straight dark hair anxiously, and as her amber eyes meet mine, I can tell she’s as petrified as I feel.
We’re being thrown around like rag dolls, kept in our seats only by our seatbelts, our belongings and refreshments now rolling around the floor.
Then without warning, the plane goes into a nosedive, the force of the acceleration pinning us to our seats as we scream in terror.
‘ Cat, Amber …’ I call to them, tears rolling down my cheeks. ‘In case we don’t make it, I want you to know I love you both more than—’
‘ We are not going to die ,’ Amber yells back, barely audible above the noise of the plummeting plane.
‘How can you know that?’
‘ Because there’s no effing way I’m missing out on this holiday …’
My eyes fly open and I sit bolt upright.
Everything is still shaking and bumping, but it’s so bright I can’t see a thing.
I rub at my eyes, desperate to orientate myself, realising only after several seconds what’s going on: Amber’s in front of me, dragging my sun lounger across the concrete poolside – with me still on it.
‘ Amber! ’ I bark at her. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘You’re getting burnt. I was trying to move you to the shade without waking you.’ She states this as if it’s obvious.
I look down at my reddening stomach and see that she’s right.
‘OK, well, you could have woken me up. Thanks to you, I just had a horrible dream.’ I glance around self-consciously, noting that there’s a growing audience enjoying this spectacle.
Amber, unmoved by my plight, carries on dragging me across the concrete. This includes some abrupt movements as she adjusts the lounger’s direction, making me look like a poorly-trained circus performer.
‘Look, stop, will you?’ My face is now hot with embarrassment.
‘Nearly sorted. Stay put.’
In my state of embarrassment, ‘nearly’ isn’t good enough.
Unable to bear being the centre of attention for a moment longer, I attempt a swift and graceful exit from the sun bed, but my foot gets caught in my towel, and before I know it, I’ve overbalanced and plunged head first into the swimming pool.
Moments later, I emerge coughing and spluttering to raucous laughter and a shadow appears above me.
‘What did you do that for?’ Amber’s incredulous face peers down at me. ‘I told you to stay put.’
‘But you were… Why would you even… Oh, forget it .’ I haul myself out of the pool, grab my towel and furiously dry myself.
Cat bounds across to us from the bar, brandishing three ice creams, clearly oblivious to the drama that has unfolded in her absence.
‘Here we are, ladies, thought you might… um… did I miss something?’ She looks from Amber to me and back again.
‘Everything’s fine,’ says Amber. ‘Emma took a quick dip. ’
‘Oh, lovely,’ says Cat. ‘Was the water nice? It’s so hot today.’
‘It was freezing .’ I seethe. ‘I’m going for a shower. See you in a bit.’ I quickly gather my stuff and stalk off in the direction of my room.
‘Did I say something wrong?’ I hear Cat ask Amber as I leave the pool area.
‘Nah, don’t worry, she’ll be fine. Here, give me that extra ice cream. Shouldn’t let it go to waste.’