Jean-Pierre opened his eyes. His sleepy state was not completely gone, and he looked half-asleep at the rows of seats in front of him. He saw the "fasten your seat belts" signal blink. The thought blinked, “landing?”
The plane bounced. Jean-Pierre sat quietly in his seat, assuming it was a hard landing. But the people in the cabin shrieked. The Japanese man next to him perked up. Jean-Pierre looked out the window and realized the plane was in the air. “An air hole?”
“Dear ladies and gentlemen, we have hit turbulence. Please fasten your seat belts,” the pilot said quickly and coldly.
The plane jumped once more heavily, as if the clouds outside had hardened and hit the hull of the plane. The lights in the cabin flickered. A scream was heard from the tail section.
Jean-Pierre tried to look down the aisle, but immediately realized what had happened. There was no Debby in place. Jean-Pierre unbuckled his seatbelt and, holding tightly to the back of the seat, moved toward the tailgate. There was a steward standing by the lavatory, knocking on the door.
“Please open the door,” the steward said again.
“Just open that door,” Jean-Pierre said sharply in French. “I heard a scream, there’s an American girl, she’s obviously been hit.”
“Monsieur,” the steward replied nonchalantly, “take your seat.”
He looked reproachfully at Jean-Pierre and pointed to his seat. A girl appeared behind the steward.
“Etienne,” she tugged at the steward’s arm, “please open the door, in case it’s something serious.”
The steward reluctantly lifted the toilet sign and pulled the handle that was hidden underneath it. The lock on the door moved from ‘occupied’ to ‘vacant’. Jean-Pierre was the first who saw Debby lying in an unnatural position. She had clearly hit her head on something hard. The steward rushed to her, but Jean-Pierre pushed him away:
“Get the first aid kit, she has a head wound.”
The plane began to shake again: it jerked sharply and began to turn over. Jean-Pierre wanted to hold Debby in place, but he felt his body become noticeably lighter and rest against the wall of the lavatory. Jean-Pierre grabbed Debby in an armful with his right hand and rested his legs and left arm on the wall. The door slammed shut again. Jean-Pierre tensed with his whole body, but through the chattering he heard Debby come to her senses and moan something like, “Where am I? Help!”