Flight 171 by Amy Christine Parker

Author:Amy Christine Parker [Parker, Amy Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2022-10-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

“Everyone, if I can have your attention. Please.”

I look over Carter’s head to where Rebecca is standing in the front galley—in the exact spot where I was earlier when I took charge and gave my little speech.

“What is she up to?” Yara murmurs.

Jack makes a face. “If I had to guess? She’s probably seizing the moment and trying to take over. I mean, we are running out of time.”

We all glance at the TVs.

1:56:07.

1:56:06.

1:56:05.

Jack clears his throat. “We have to figure out who to sacrifice. You know she’s going to want to take control of that.” He turns to me. “You should go up there too.”

“No, it’s fine. Let her,” I say. I’m relieved that it’s her up there and not me. I don’t want to be in charge of this part.

“We have to choose someone to surrender to the old lady,” Rebecca says. “Now, we could make it random and draw straws or put names in a hat or something, but I don’t think that’s fair or logical.”

“So how do you suggest we pick, then?” Kiara asks. She’s managed to maneuver Billy into one of the business class seats. He’s obviously hurting, but he’s awake and relatively aware, and that’s pretty good. Kiara’s helping him hold one of the galley towels to his nose to help staunch the bleeding. Spencer hovers nearby. It’s enough to make me cry, seeing how upset he is. The two of them have been best friends since kindergarten. When one of them hurts, the other one is always there. It’s more than I had with Emily before she died.

“Billy is exempt,” Spencer tells Rebecca. “He nearly died trying to stop the old bat. He deserves to be one of the survivors.”

“Fair enough,” Rebecca says. “Billy isn’t a candidate. But this feeds into what I want to discuss. I think the first thing we need to do is narrow down the list of possible candidates. Whoever we choose shouldn’t be someone like Billy.”

“What are you trying to say?” Jack asks. He clenches his jaw as he waits for her to answer.

“I’m saying we should come up with some criteria to base our decision on. Stuff like who gets good grades, does volunteer work, has a unique skill. Try to figure out which of us brings more to the table, so to speak. Then exempt those people and choose from the ones left, kids who haven’t really contributed in any meaningful way, who slack off, or have possibly committed crimes. Or drink too much and then drive themselves home from parties.”

She stares unabashedly at Jack and then at me as if waiting for me to offer him up on behalf of my sister. Like everyone else on the plane, she knows I accused him of killing Emily. An hour after I’d done it, nearly half the school knew. Several of Jack’s neighbors have Greendale kids in their families and are nosy as hell.

Jack turns from her to me. His gaze is a weighted thing, pressing down on me.

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