Page 51 of Royally Drawn

Keir flipped switches and talked to himself, virtually ignoring me. Then, he handed me a headset, not specifying if I should put it on. I did, assuming that was a signal I should.

“Should I not help you?”

“Sure,” he answered, handing me the tablet. “Just hold this.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You asked. You ask stupid questions; you get stupid answers.”

I scoffed, “It wasn’t stupid. It was anoffer.”

“Do you want us to lose our place or die?” Keir asked.

That made me feel worse.

“I’m kidding—sort of,” Keir said. Relax. I would never endanger you—or anyone other than myself.”

I wasn’t sure that was a comfort or that this bucket of bolts would get us off the ground. He chimed in on the radio, repeating something with technical jargon I didn’t understand.

“Yes, Chef, we read,” some guy said.

“Chef?” I laughed.

“You don’t pick your handle, Ingrid. It’s like we said.”

I guess I was stuck with the Chef for this weekend—if I made it out alive. I had more questions than answers.

Chef

KEIR

“Chef, though? Why Chef?” Ingrid asked.

“I can cook… well,” I answered. “I got razzed a lot, even if everyone loves it. My mother didn’t let us get out without a proper culinary education. She wanted us to be useful people.”

“Betty really cannot cook.”

“Betty is just bad at cooking. We tried.”

She smiled. “Okay, fair.”

That satisfied her. Ingrid wasn’t into aviation. I’d have to convert her. She grew visibly nervous as we stayed far behind a fast jet bound for the Mach Loop. I wished I were going with him, but I sat this one out. Ingrid didn’t understand how anything worked—including the bit where we waited our turn like everyone else.

“It’s funny they’re all… lined up like cars,” she noted. “How do they not crash into one another?”

“First, most of these blokes fly in tight formation, so they are spatially aware. Second, the controllers are good. They make sure we aren’t in trouble.”

“Oh. How do they teach the guys to fly like that?”

“It’s learned. There’s trust in it. You learn over time.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“It’s not without danger, but I’d argue riding that horse of yours over what seems to be just a bunch of downed redwoods isn’t much better, Ingrid.”

She snickered. “I cannot fall out of the sky.”

“You can… just differently. But you are courageous. I admire that in you so much. There is a fearlessness there I relate to.”

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