Chapter 1

The Best Class

Chapter 1

___Mr. Anderson was sure that he had never been prouder of _his class. The small, private jet they were all riding in was bouncing and swaying drunkenly through the sky. The cabin had been mostly black since the lightning from the terrible storm outside had hit the plane. After that shattering bolt had rocked the plane, all the lights had gone out. Now only the frequent, blinding flashes of lightning would cast a bright glare of light through the windows of the plane. Each instant of light showed the inside of the plane in great disorder. The oxygen masks that they no longer needed hung from their overhead cases, bouncing and swaying like so many snakes. Trays from the storage bin, whose latch had broken when the plane had been hit, were scattered about the floor, shifting with each sharp lurch and roll of the stricken plane. Among the trays were a mess of pillows, magazines, and other garbage, but even now, through the darkness and terror of that wild ride, he could hear his students whispering words of comfort to each other.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m sure we’ll be alright.” ____Mr. Anderson could recognize __Remi’s voice as he spoke calmly to whomever was sitting beside him.

From behind him, he could hear __Braxten, asking the two classmates on either side of him to once more check their seat belts.

__Mr. Anderson knew that everyone must be scared because he was scared himself. But from throughout the plane, he could hear the children checking on each other, and saying things to help each other be brave. Only the new kid that had just moved in the month before the trip began, was whimpering. It was that feeling of concern for each other that had won them the trip. A rich farmer, hearing of the hard work the class was doing, and the great progress that they were making, had been so impressed that he had paid for the class to make the field trip of a lifetime. He had arranged for the children to fly to Hawaii to observe and learn about the volcanoes there. The flight had started off alright, but now, _Mr. Anderson knew they were in trouble.

Beside him, in the very last row, was the unconscious flight attendant. When the plane had been hit, Pam had been thrown against the wall and knocked out. ___Mr. Anderson had managed to get her belted into a seat and had been able to stop the bleeding from the small cut on her forehead.

Undoing his seatbelt,___Mr. Anderson pulled himself to his feet and started to make his way down the aisle towards the pilot’s cabin at the front of the plane. Each sickening roll of the plane tried to knock him down, but he hung on grimly and struggled forward. By one seat he felt a hand grab his. He looked down and saw only blackness. “Don’t worry _Mr. Anderson. We’ll be alright.” He recognized the voice of __ Aliyah. There was a quiver of nervousness in it, but the words were bravely spoken.

“That’s right,” Mr. Anderson replied. “We’ll be fine.” Mr. Anderson just wished that he was more sure of that than he felt.

As he reached the door to the pilot’s cabin, it opened and the copilot appeared, hanging on tightly to the doorframe. Behind him, the pilot’s cabin was dimly lit by the glow of the instrument panels. There was the screaming sound of wind and Mr. Anderson saw that one of the windows in the pilot’s compartment was shattered. Everything in the cabin was wet, and the pilot was struggling with the stick. From one of the instrument panels, sparks were flying and there was the smell of smoke in the air.

“Mr. Anderson, the copilot had to shout to be heard above the wind. “I was just coming back to see you. I’m afraid we’re in real trouble. We’ve lost two engines, we’re losing altitude, and I’m afraid we’ve going to have to set down. The only problem is, we don't have any idea where we are. All of our navigation equipment was knocked out when we were hit by lightning. We’ve been trying to spot an island, but we’ve had no luck.”

Just then another flash of lightning lit the cabin. Outside the pilots’ windows, Mr. Anderson saw white capped waves. He was shocked to see how low they were.

“I’ve got to get back to help the pilot. If we have to set down, there are rubber life rafts on board. Pam will show you how to get them out.”

“I’m afraid not, shouted Mr. Anderson. “When the plane was hit, she was knocked out. I think she’s alright, but she’s out cold.”

The copilot frowned at the news. “Then it’s going to be up to you. There’s a raft at the rear of the plane, by the galley in the middle and one more right here. The copilot slapped on a compartment door beside him. “They will slide right out of the compartment. Wait until you’re out of the plane, then pull the yellow handle to inflate it. You’ll have to get the children out and into the boats before the plane sinks. It will be best to use the doors over the wings.”

Just then the plane gave a violent lurch and the pilot yelled something __Mr. Anderson couldn’t understand.

“I’ve got to get back to my station,” shouted the copilot. “Good luck!”

The copilot staggered back and shut the door. Mr. Anderson slowly made his way back to his seat. On the way back he heard Orion say to him, “Wow, Mr. Anderson! This is better than a roller coaster ride!” ___Mr. Anderson could hear the fear in Orion’s voice, but knew that he was trying to be brave. “What a super kid,” he thought.

Mr. Anderson got to his seat and sat down. He buckled his seat belt tightly. Then the plane gave a jerk and seemed to drop like a stone. Mr. Anderson’s head flew forward as the plane smashed into the water. The plane seed to jump back into the air, tip forward at the nose, and then come down at an angle. It hit with a crash.

Mr. Anderson’s head smashed forward and hit the back of the chair in front of him. Immediately, he felt something warm running down his face. Around him he could hear his students shouting, checking on each other to be sure everyone was all right. Something didn’t seem right with the plane. It took a moment for Mr. Anderson to realize that the plane was no longer moving. The wind still howled outside, and he could still hear the rain pounding on the metal shell of the plane, but there was no movement. Just as he glanced out the window, yet another flash of lightning lit the scene. All he could see were angry, white topped waves, but the plane was not moving.

_“If you can hear me, clap once!” Mr. Anderson shouted. The students heard his loud voice above the scream of the wind and rain and there was immediate quiet.

“Bridger, are you all right?”

“Yes sir, I’m fine.”

“Zoey, are you ok?”

“I banged my head, but I’m ok.”

“Talan, are you alright?”

“No problems here,” he answered calmly. “Braxton’s sitting by me and I think he cut his head.”

“It’s just a scratch,” Braxton interrupted. “We can bandage it later.”

One by one, Mr. Anderson called out the names of his students. Each replied that they were okay. Only the last kid, Doug, seemed panicked. When his name was called, he began to cry. “I’m afraid. I want to go home.”

“He’s not hurt, Mr. Anderson.” It was ZuriAnn’s voice that came through the darkness. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”

“Mr. Anderson,” Rhylla voice came from the front of the plane. “There is water coming in from the front of the plane.”

“Everyone stay where you are. I’m going to check on the pilots.”

The plane was slanted steeply downward and Mr. Anderson had to hang on as he slid down towards the pilot’s cabin. Reaching the door, he found the water seeping into the passenger cabin was already knee deep. He opened the door and entered the pilot’s cabin. It was flooding quickly through the holes in the smashed windows. He checked the pilots. It was obvious that they were both dead.

It took some effort, but with Tanner’s help, Mr. Anderson managed to get the door shut.

“Class,” he had to shout to be heard above the roar of the storm. “Our pilots are dead. We seem to be stuck on something, the front of the plane is underwater, but we don’t seem to be sinking. Stay in your seats. I’m going to go to the back of the plane and get a life raft out, just in case.”

Getting to the back of the plane was like climbing a steep hill. Mr. Anderson had to hang on to the seats and use them to help pull himself up. At the back of the plane, helped by a flash of lightning, he found the door marked “Life Raft.” Just as he pulled the bulky package that held the life raft from the closet, there was a loud explosion. He felt the floor shudder and shake. Then there was cold air and he was falling.

The cabin was filled with frightened screams at the thunderous crash from the tail of the plane. There was a tearing sound from the back of the plane and then the cabin was filled with cold air and the sound of the storm became louder.

_“Clap once if you can hear me.” It wasn’t Mr. Anderson’s voice, but Patrick’s. The class was immediately quiet. “Are you alright?” he called toward the back of the plane. A flash of lightning gave him the answer. Mr. Anderson was nowhere in sight and the tail of the plane was gone!