The ship rattled, and Taylor felt a giant hand trying to push him through the wall. Though it wasn't as bad as he had expected it to be, from watching space movies. This, he realized, was probably due to their advanced technology. He just hoped Zoe wasn't too scared.
The ship steadied, and he became aware of the wailing of several babies. Zoe was whimpering, and looked terrified. As soon as the chairs automatically unstrapped their mother rushed over to her and snatched her up, crooning softly to her. He saw the other mothers of babies doing the same.
He noticed the other passengers heading for one of the ship's restaurants, but he felt to tired to eat. He took his map out, and his key, and headed back to his room to crash for a few hours.
He yawned and got up. Grabbing his gear - which is how he thought of the key and map - he headed out, pausing only to run a comb through his hair quickly and pull it back. He was definitely ready to eat now.
Jogging, he quickly arrived at the restaurant. He saw that it was empty now, but the buffet still had plenty of food on it. He grabbed a plate and piled food on it. This was definitely not normal flight food. It was actually good.
Faith strolled toward the dining area. She hadn't been hungry earlier, so she had gone for a walk to explore the ship. She had then gotten thoroughly lost, and had spent the last half hour finding her way back here. Her map had, typically, died just when she had decided to head back.
She spotted one of the worker people, and went to complain about the map.
"But you must be mistaken," he said. "Everything is in perfect condition on this ship. Nothing can go wrong here."
"Yeah, well that's what they said about the Titanic," she muttered. His tone of voice was that of a lord talking to a not very bright peasant, and it was hard for her not to say something even ruder.
"Excuse me young girl? Did you say something. I thought not. Now, let me see this map."
She handed it over to him silently.
"Yes, well the problem is clear. The batteries are finished. I do not know how that could have happened, however." He glared at her suspiciously. " I will have new ones put in. What is your room number."
"257," she said coldly. The young girl remark was still stinging.
"Of course it is. Now, may I see your ticket?" Despite the wording, his tone of voice made it clear that it wasn't a question.
Faith didn't have it with her, and had to follow him to the control room to get her name and photo pulled up on the computer."Is this really necessary? It's just a battery."
"There are certain procedures that must be followed. If you want a new map, young girl, it is necessary."
She ground her teeth together. "Could you not call me young girl? My name is Faith. Miss Faith." She regretted that bit of snobbism instantly. He probably couldn't help being so unpleasant. It was still annoying though, and she was angry enough not to want to apologize.
"Of course," he said stiffly. His nose went up even further, and he looked as if he were smelling something extremely unpleasant. His voice got, if possible, even more icy. "Your map will be delivered shortly. Good day."
This was obviously a dismissal. Faith swept out of the room, feeling pretty icy herself. She continued down the hallway, chin up, until she tripped and almost fell into a plant. She blushed, and looked around to see if anyone had noticed, before bending down to tie her shoelace.
'Well, I guess that shows me,' she thought, feeling a bit of her sense of humor returning.
She continued on her way to the dining hall. Entering, she looked around. 'I guess no one's here. No, wait, there's a guy over...Oh, my, God. That's Taylor Hanson.'
Faith gulped.
Just then he looked up. He saw her and smiled politely, then went back to his food.
Faith stood frozen. She was torn between wanting to get an autograph and wanting to run away before she could make an idiot of herself. She decided to just get her food, as planned, and then sit close enough to observe him furtively. And then later maybe work up the courage to go and ask for an autograph, or maybe even talk a little.
Taylor looked up to see a girl of about fifteen looking at him. He smiled politely before taking another bite of his egg. She looked sort of shocked. Probably a fan.
He looked up again. The girl was moving toward the buffet table, casting occasional glances at him. She had long dark red hair braided back and was fairly slender. She had pale skin, without freckles, which was slightly flushed right now. She was wearing jeans and a plain gray t-shirt, with a sweatshirt tied around her waist. Her features were even, with the beginning of high cheekbones. She would probably be very beautiful one day, he decided.
He wondered if he should invite her to sit with him. She looked safe, and if she was a fan she would probably be thrilled. Besides he was bored. He might as well.
Faith saw Taylor waving at someone. Could it be her? Well, there was no one else around. She waved back tentatively. He smiled. It was her. She smiled back.
He motioned for her to come over. Hoisting her plate, she weaved her way around the empty tables toward the small corner table where he was sitting. She had calmed down a little while getting her food, but by the time she got to him she was nervous all over again.
"Hi," she said shyly.
"Hey." He was still smiling. He motioned for her to sit. "What's your name?"
"Faith." His smile was so friendly that she began to relax again.
"That's a nice name. Did you win a contest to get on the flight?"
"Actually, my mom designs jewelry, so we were invited to come as part of the arts and crafts section."
"Cool."
"Did your whole family come along?"
"Yeah, but I don't know where they are. If you expected Ike or Zac to be with me..." he looked uncomfortable.
"No! I mean, I know you guy's aren't, like, connected at the hips or anything. You can't be together all the time..." she trailed off, feeling silly.
He smiled again, and the light in that smile caused an answering reaction in her face. Without even thinking about it, she spoke.
"Let's go exploring."
This was deemed an excellent idea, and as soon as the food was finished they took off. Soon they were lost, tired, and extremely happy.
Faith was still giggling uncontrollably as she sank onto the floor.
Taylor was also laughing, and his hair by now was a compete mess. Faith's neat braid was also a thing a past, and loose strands of copper flew everywhere. Any discomfort or shyness that they felt had been forgotten.
They calmed down slightly.
"We better head back," Taylor said, still smiling faintly, but with regret in his voice. "It's getting late."
"Yeah."
He helped her up. They looked at each other a second, before they took off running down the long corridor. At the end, they both skidded to a stop, flattening themselves against the wall. Any sense of age or propriety had vanished after the shyness and discomfort; they both felt like small kids again.
Taylor peered around the corner. He then crept ahead, before waving her on. She darted after him. The both jumped next to the door of the empty smoking room. Then, when Faith nodded, they jumped in, pointing their fingers like guns."
"Police! This is a raid! Put your hands up!" Faith shouted.
"Well, my goodness. What on earth are you two doing?" inquired a voice from the corner.
They turned, and saw that there was, in fact, a rather startled old gentleman with a pipe in the corner. Apparently the room wasn't so empty after all.
"Oh. Sorry, sir," Taylor stuttered, before he followed a retreating Faith out the door. Her face, which was bright red, clashed horribly with her hair. They both burst out laughing again.
"I haven't had this much fun since I was eight!" Faith said, tears of laughter running down her face.
"That guy must have thought we were insane!" Taylor chuckled. He rooted in his bag, and pulled out his map. "Let's go. My parents are going to kill me for staying away this long!" He didn't look very concerned by this, and grabbed her hand as they kept their eyes on the little dot on the map.
Faith was a little surprised, but then smiled again, and with her hand held firmly in Taylor's she followed him back toward the restaurant.