Airplane - CONTEST STORY

The loudspeaker crackled. "Flight 918 with nonstop service to Orlando now boarding at gate A19. We'd like to invite our first class passengers and those sitting in Zone 1 to board now. Zone 1."1

In the immediate crush of travel weary passengers ready to board the plane home and families eager to get to Disney World, Daniel Kaye's thermos was almost knocked out of his hand. Panicking, he dropped his suitcase and held on to his precious elixir with both hands before looping his carry-on bag's strap around his forearm and pushing toward the gate. He took a deep swig from the bottle and sighed.2

"Good morning. Good morning. How are you today? Good morning." The smile felt plastered on Sarah's face. She was supposed to greet every passenger with a cheerful grin, whether it was a five year old child or a sixty year old pedophile. More often than not, they responded with a grunt or a roll of the eyes. But every so often, she got a smile, and the inevitable flick of the eyes downward (especially from older men). 3

"Good morning sir." The man looked like he traveled a lot, the dark circles under his eyes and his lightly packed briefcase denoted him as a business traveler. He was clutching a thermos. He nodded almost imperceptibly and proceeded to take his seat in first class. Sarah noted, as he walked by, that he smelled of liquor. 4

He didn't pay a bit of attention during the safety presentation, preferring to become very engaged with the contents of his thermos. Sarah wasn't bothered in the least; no one pays attention to the presentation anyway. 5

"Stewardess!" Daniel gestured Sarah towards him. "I need a drink." 6

"After we've taken off, sir," she responded calmly.7

"No. I need one FOR takeoff. You see, I hate flying." 8

"Well, you already seem to be under the presence of something. I'm sure you'll be alright." Sarah smiled slightly and backed away. 9

"How dare you! I have not touched a drop of anything! Now get me a drink woman!" Daniel stood up, glaring down at the stewardess.10

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down, or I may have to ask you to leave the plane."11

Daniel grunted and sat back down grumpily. "Fine. After we take off I'm going to need a very strong drink."12

When Sarah returned with the drinks cart, Daniel was more than ready. She gave him a glass of red wine (at his request, contrary to his previous desire for something strong) and then reached across him to give the woman sitting next to him a diet coke. 13

Daniel wolf-whistled and pretended to grab at Sarah's considerable assets.