THE CHOSEN · BATTLE WITH A CERBEROSIAN PRINCE
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The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince The Package
“Did you have a specific arrival and return date, sir?”
“Yes, I need to be there by 6 p.m. this Sunday. And it
will be a one-way flight.”
“Oh,” the lady said with slight bewilderment. “That
might be a little tricky with such short notice, especially
with the time zone differences between our two countries.
Let’s see what we can do, though.”
TJ immediately realized the ticket would require some
form of payment. All sorts of questions ran through his
mind: Was that credit card active? Did it have any money?
If so, how much? What happens if you order an airline ticket
and don’t have the money to pay for it? Is it like a restaurant
where they’ll make you wash dishes? What’s the equivalent of
dishwashing at an airport?
“We have one flight that matches your exact requirements, sir. It departs at 11:50 p.m.”
“Great,” TJ replied, masking his anxiety with a smile.
“Um… Unfortunately, there’s only one seat left… And
it’s in business class,” the lady pronounced.
She wasn’t saying it with any sort of judgement. She
could sense his travel inexperience and slight reservation
in their interaction. He had a single backpack, wearing
jeans with a pair of Jordan’s, a no-name brand jacket, with
a Lakers snapback. He didn’t necessarily shout “money.”
She was more concerned about him being unable to get to
his destination than his inability to pay for a business class
ticket. In her line of work, she had learned to never judge a
book by its cover.
“How much will that be?” he asked while taking out his
wallet.
“Ten thousand two hundred and fifty-one dollars, sir,”
she responded.
“Here you go,” he said, handing her the credit card, as
his smile started to look like it was agonizingly forced.
“Before I run that through for you, sir, I need your passport to get all your information”.
Oh, come on, really? Just put it through already, he thought
to himself. His anxiety levels through the roof.
“Of course, here it is,” he said. His agonizingly forced
smile had transitioned into an emotionless, straight face.
With fixation solely on the card machine, TJ waited as
the lady entered all his details. She finally swiped the card.
The receipt started printing, and the lady handed the credit
card, the passport, and the flight ticket to TJ.
“Have a wonderful trip, sir.”
“Thank you so much,” he replied.
He walked away with a great sense of relief knowing it
was over. After making his way through security, and eventually finding the right terminal, he sat down and waited
until it was time to board. It was 9:35 p.m.
He wasn’t hungry. His last meal was breakfast back at
the house. But it had been a remarkably eventful day. One
where his mind had been preoccupied by things that were
slightly more important than food. So maybe not so surprising. I’ll eat on the plane, he thought to himself.
As he took out his phone to check the time, it reminded
him of one of the other items in the package, the Watch.
Since opening the package, he had not thought about the
Watch. He hadn’t looked at it, he hadn’t put it on, but he
simply put it away in the backpack.
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