Ten Stories Alan Heard on his Flight to LA
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Title: Ten Stories Alan Heard on his Flight to LA
Fandom: RPS
Story: Highway: Pacific Coast Highway 8.1
Characters: Alan Davies and Robert Sean Leonard
Authors: michelleann68 + evila_elf = evila_ann
Prompt: coclaim100 27 Passages
Word Count: 1200
Rating: PG
Summary: We have taken on the challenge where you take a book and every 10 pages, use the first full sentence until you have 10 sentences. We decided to do 10 100 word drabbles about Alan’s flight from London to LA, plus an extra at beginning and at the end. We used the QI book “The Book of General Ignorance.” Sentences used are at the end.
Authors’ Notes:
Where it all began:
Big table of prompts is here:
Order of the story is here:
Previous story:
Shampoo
Alan had regretted letting Robert leave without him. The soonest flight that was available didn’t leave until peak time the next day. Now he was in coach on a crowded non-stop flight to LA, where there were screaming kids and a plethora of people to keep him on his toes. Luckily he had managed to secure a window seat and was hoping that he would be able to lean back and sleep the miles and hours away, get a little shut-eye. He didn’t want to be wasting his Robert-time sleeping. But even the best-laid plans can manage to go awry.
***
She was an older lady, traveling to see her son and her only grandchild, a two-year-old poodle. “Mike was fed and watered using an eyedropper.” She droned on and on about how her boy had saved the dog from certain death and now doted entirely on him. She reached forward for her pocketbook, bringing out a rather large clutch of photos and Alan passed the first hour looking at the ‘baby’ pictures. She pointed out the custom made clothing, the matching outfits. Once dinner was served and the photos put away, Alan tried to find some peace in the bathroom…
***
There was a line forming, and Alan stood 7th. He avoided any direct eye contact, but the tall man behind him did not know the no-talking-to-strangers-in-bathroom-line rule and started to talk to whoever was within earshot, pathetically hoping someone would acknowledge his existence and turn around to listen. “I use to work on the space shuttle. Did you know that at an altitude of only a few thousand miles after leaving the Earth’s orbit, no man made objects are visible at all? That would be incredible to see!” The line shuffled moved forward one person and no one turned around.
***
Alan stood in the cramped loo and did his best to wash his hands and towel down the sink. The last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him and go to the tabloids with “Alan leaves the sink dirty on planes.” There were better ways to get press. As he exited, the tall man was still tossing out facts right and left. “There are 8,000 Indian restaurants in Britain turning over an excess of 2 billion pounds and employing 20,000 workers,” he was explaining for some reason. Alan sighed and wandered back towards his seat, hoping for quiet.
***
As Alan started to sit back down, his seatmate began to jabber. She reached into her knitting bag and pulled out her video I-pod, madly using the touch-wheel to pull up a homemade video. Her voice droned about how much she loved her grand-puppy. “My son told me that scientists concluded that dogs imitate their owners in order to bond with them; the closer the bond, the closer the similarity in sound.” She then shoved the ear-bud to him and he had to admit there was a striking similarity. He wondered who Sylvia had sounded more like, Robert or Gabby?
***
Alan was distracted by a loud noise. He looked around and tried to see what part of coach had initiated the disturbance. He saw a couple up front making out aggressively and decided it was not them. He peered behind him to see a family of nine who were rearranging themselves, children seeming to be pouring out from all sides of the aisles. No, he thought, it was a popping noise. He continued searching for the source. As two flight attendants passed by, he overheard them: “When this happens, seriously peculiar things begin to happen.” And he started to worry…
***
Alan tried to put his nerves at ease. His seatmate had finally drifted off to sleep, listening to her son and his dog do Top-Ten songs. The flight attendants were serving dinner and Alan waited for embarrassment from his special vegetarian meal. The tall man from the bathroom was still trying to find someone to listen to him. Alan caught him leaning across the isle, chatting up a woman. Alan doubted he would get action with pick-up lines like, “NASA employs a small team to sniff every singe piece of equipment, which goes onto its space flights,” any time soon.
***
A cute flight attendant was waving Alan’s “special meal” in the air. Alan sheepishly raised his hand, shrinking in his seat when she zeroed him out set the overcooked vegetables and dry orzo down in front of him. He smiled and thanked her, ignoring the glares directed at him for being served first. The man in front of him leaned back in his chair, forcing the veggies closer, trying to get the stewardess’ attention. “Hey can you make change for me?”
She smiled sweetly and nodded, but when he pulled out a bill, she narrowed her eyes. “Not a hundred.”
***
Alan fumbled with the headset and decided to just ignore everything, including the still-present popping sound, and watch some in-flight entertainment. He stabbed something resembling eggplant and nibbled around it, trying to find some flavor. He heard snarling and snapping in his ear and looked up the nature program. He watched intently, idly chewing his rubbery meal. “The muscles that close the jaws of a crocodile or alligator are so strong they have the same downward force of truck falling off a cliff,” the voice-over guy was saying. Alan thought he needed a jaw like that to chew his meal.
***
Over the Rocky Mountains, they hit some turbulence and lightening danced outside the window. The plane was quiet and the lights dimmed. Most of the people had fallen asleep, but Alan was restless. Anna slept uncomfortably on his shoulder, but he didn’t want to wake her up, afraid that she might force him to listen to more of her duets. He was skimming through a magazine article, trying not to crinkle the pages. “Men are struck by lightening six times more often than women.” The fact amused him…until he saw another flash of lightning outside. He quickly checked his watch.
***
Alan was happy the flight was finally over and he was looking forward to getting to Robert’s flat, taking a nap with his favorite Robert-pillow. They arrived at the gate and he stood, stretched, and looked for a way off the plane as fast as possible. The popping sound wasn’t as frequent, but still disturbing him. He went to the flight attendant and asked her about the noise. She leaned forward, whispering two words in his ear: “bubble wrap.”
“The kids brought bubble wrap with them?”
“No, they didn’t.” She winked and walked away as Alan tried not to laugh.
Alan was happy to have both feet on solid ground again. The hustle and bustle of the airport was welcome to him after the nine hours in the air. As he hailed a cab and settled into the backseat, he closed his eyes, trying to contain excitement. He counted down the minutes to Robert’s flat like the cab counted fare. Soon. If he breathed in deeply, he could smell traces of Robert, see his happy face, lips…
The driver coughed and Alan opened his eyes, sheepishly giving him a small smile and trying to get a handle on his emotions.
Sentences used from The Book of General Ignorance
Page 10
Mike was fed and watered using an eyedropper
Page 20
However, at an altitude of only a few thousand miles after leaving the Earth’s orbit, no man made objects are visible at all.
Page 30
There are 8,000 Indian restaurants in Britain turning over an excess of 2 billion pounds and employing 20,000 workers.
Page 40
They concluded that dogs imitate their owners in order to bond with them; the closer the bond, the closer the similarity in sound.
Page 50
When this happens, seriously peculiar things begin to happen.
Page 60
NASA employs a small team to sniff every singe piece of equipment which goes onto its space flights.
Page 70
Not a hundred
Page 80
The muscles that close the jaws of a crocodile or alligator are so strong they have the same downward force of truck falling off a cliff.
Page 90
Men are struck by lightening six times more often than women.
Page 100
No, they didn’t.
08.02 Welcome to La La Land
Title: Ten Stories Alan Heard on his Flight to LA
Fandom: RPS
Story: Highway: Pacific Coast Highway 8.1
Characters: Alan Davies and Robert Sean Leonard
Authors: michelleann68 + evila_elf = evila_ann
Prompt: coclaim100 27 Passages
Word Count: 1200
Rating: PG
Summary: We have taken on the challenge where you take a book and every 10 pages, use the first full sentence until you have 10 sentences. We decided to do 10 100 word drabbles about Alan’s flight from London to LA, plus an extra at beginning and at the end. We used the QI book “The Book of General Ignorance.” Sentences used are at the end.
Authors’ Notes:
Where it all began:
Big table of prompts is here:
Order of the story is here:
Previous story:
Shampoo
Alan had regretted letting Robert leave without him. The soonest flight that was available didn’t leave until peak time the next day. Now he was in coach on a crowded non-stop flight to LA, where there were screaming kids and a plethora of people to keep him on his toes. Luckily he had managed to secure a window seat and was hoping that he would be able to lean back and sleep the miles and hours away, get a little shut-eye. He didn’t want to be wasting his Robert-time sleeping. But even the best-laid plans can manage to go awry.
***
She was an older lady, traveling to see her son and her only grandchild, a two-year-old poodle. “Mike was fed and watered using an eyedropper.” She droned on and on about how her boy had saved the dog from certain death and now doted entirely on him. She reached forward for her pocketbook, bringing out a rather large clutch of photos and Alan passed the first hour looking at the ‘baby’ pictures. She pointed out the custom made clothing, the matching outfits. Once dinner was served and the photos put away, Alan tried to find some peace in the bathroom…
***
There was a line forming, and Alan stood 7th. He avoided any direct eye contact, but the tall man behind him did not know the no-talking-to-strangers-in-bathroom-line rule and started to talk to whoever was within earshot, pathetically hoping someone would acknowledge his existence and turn around to listen. “I use to work on the space shuttle. Did you know that at an altitude of only a few thousand miles after leaving the Earth’s orbit, no man made objects are visible at all? That would be incredible to see!” The line shuffled moved forward one person and no one turned around.
***
Alan stood in the cramped loo and did his best to wash his hands and towel down the sink. The last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him and go to the tabloids with “Alan leaves the sink dirty on planes.” There were better ways to get press. As he exited, the tall man was still tossing out facts right and left. “There are 8,000 Indian restaurants in Britain turning over an excess of 2 billion pounds and employing 20,000 workers,” he was explaining for some reason. Alan sighed and wandered back towards his seat, hoping for quiet.
***
As Alan started to sit back down, his seatmate began to jabber. She reached into her knitting bag and pulled out her video I-pod, madly using the touch-wheel to pull up a homemade video. Her voice droned about how much she loved her grand-puppy. “My son told me that scientists concluded that dogs imitate their owners in order to bond with them; the closer the bond, the closer the similarity in sound.” She then shoved the ear-bud to him and he had to admit there was a striking similarity. He wondered who Sylvia had sounded more like, Robert or Gabby?
***
Alan was distracted by a loud noise. He looked around and tried to see what part of coach had initiated the disturbance. He saw a couple up front making out aggressively and decided it was not them. He peered behind him to see a family of nine who were rearranging themselves, children seeming to be pouring out from all sides of the aisles. No, he thought, it was a popping noise. He continued searching for the source. As two flight attendants passed by, he overheard them: “When this happens, seriously peculiar things begin to happen.” And he started to worry…
***
Alan tried to put his nerves at ease. His seatmate had finally drifted off to sleep, listening to her son and his dog do Top-Ten songs. The flight attendants were serving dinner and Alan waited for embarrassment from his special vegetarian meal. The tall man from the bathroom was still trying to find someone to listen to him. Alan caught him leaning across the isle, chatting up a woman. Alan doubted he would get action with pick-up lines like, “NASA employs a small team to sniff every singe piece of equipment, which goes onto its space flights,” any time soon.
***
A cute flight attendant was waving Alan’s “special meal” in the air. Alan sheepishly raised his hand, shrinking in his seat when she zeroed him out set the overcooked vegetables and dry orzo down in front of him. He smiled and thanked her, ignoring the glares directed at him for being served first. The man in front of him leaned back in his chair, forcing the veggies closer, trying to get the stewardess’ attention. “Hey can you make change for me?”
She smiled sweetly and nodded, but when he pulled out a bill, she narrowed her eyes. “Not a hundred.”
***
Alan fumbled with the headset and decided to just ignore everything, including the still-present popping sound, and watch some in-flight entertainment. He stabbed something resembling eggplant and nibbled around it, trying to find some flavor. He heard snarling and snapping in his ear and looked up the nature program. He watched intently, idly chewing his rubbery meal. “The muscles that close the jaws of a crocodile or alligator are so strong they have the same downward force of truck falling off a cliff,” the voice-over guy was saying. Alan thought he needed a jaw like that to chew his meal.
***
Over the Rocky Mountains, they hit some turbulence and lightening danced outside the window. The plane was quiet and the lights dimmed. Most of the people had fallen asleep, but Alan was restless. Anna slept uncomfortably on his shoulder, but he didn’t want to wake her up, afraid that she might force him to listen to more of her duets. He was skimming through a magazine article, trying not to crinkle the pages. “Men are struck by lightening six times more often than women.” The fact amused him…until he saw another flash of lightning outside. He quickly checked his watch.
***
Alan was happy the flight was finally over and he was looking forward to getting to Robert’s flat, taking a nap with his favorite Robert-pillow. They arrived at the gate and he stood, stretched, and looked for a way off the plane as fast as possible. The popping sound wasn’t as frequent, but still disturbing him. He went to the flight attendant and asked her about the noise. She leaned forward, whispering two words in his ear: “bubble wrap.”
“The kids brought bubble wrap with them?”
“No, they didn’t.” She winked and walked away as Alan tried not to laugh.
Alan was happy to have both feet on solid ground again. The hustle and bustle of the airport was welcome to him after the nine hours in the air. As he hailed a cab and settled into the backseat, he closed his eyes, trying to contain excitement. He counted down the minutes to Robert’s flat like the cab counted fare. Soon. If he breathed in deeply, he could smell traces of Robert, see his happy face, lips…
The driver coughed and Alan opened his eyes, sheepishly giving him a small smile and trying to get a handle on his emotions.
Sentences used from The Book of General Ignorance
Page 10
Mike was fed and watered using an eyedropper
Page 20
However, at an altitude of only a few thousand miles after leaving the Earth’s orbit, no man made objects are visible at all.
Page 30
There are 8,000 Indian restaurants in Britain turning over an excess of 2 billion pounds and employing 20,000 workers.
Page 40
They concluded that dogs imitate their owners in order to bond with them; the closer the bond, the closer the similarity in sound.
Page 50
When this happens, seriously peculiar things begin to happen.
Page 60
NASA employs a small team to sniff every singe piece of equipment which goes onto its space flights.
Page 70
Not a hundred
Page 80
The muscles that close the jaws of a crocodile or alligator are so strong they have the same downward force of truck falling off a cliff.
Page 90
Men are struck by lightening six times more often than women.
Page 100
No, they didn’t.
08.02 Welcome to La La Land