Ryder's POV

As we pulled up to the airport, I had a flashback.

5 year old Ryder's POV

I pressed my small hands on the cold glass, looking out onto the air strip. "Mummy,"

"What?" she said, harsh-toned, from behind me. 

"How does the aeroplane know where to take us?" I asked, my curious ass, always irritating my parents.

My mother rolled her eyes and went back to scrolling on her iPad. My sister got up from her seat and knelt behind me, her arms wrapping around my torso, making me giggle.

"At the front of the plane, there's a room," she started, quietly, hugging me. "It's called the cockpit. In there, people who have studied and trained for a long time, sit and control the plane. They fly it to where it needs to go. They're called pilots. Just like dad driving the car."

My eyes widened with ambition. "Can anyone fly a plane?" I asked, emphasis on the 'anyone'.

"If you study hard, and stay committed, then yes, you can," she said.

I smiled. "I wanna be a pilot when I'm older," I stated, proudly. 

My father scoffed. "Dream of something realistic." 

A frown appeared on my small face, but my sister was quick to my refuge. "You can do it. You can do anything you want, if you work hard, and if you believe. You're very clever for your age. You have the potential to go wherever you want. Captain Lyndley," she said, and the frown disappeared off my face, replaced with a grin. 

I leaned closer to the glass, watching as the British Airways flight took off into the horizon.

Present Ryder POV

"Ryder?!" I flinched as Samuel prodded me. 

"Huh? Yeah?" I sat up in my seat.

"I said, have you heard this song before?" he asked. 

I focused on the music coming out the headphones and nodded. "Tangerine, by Hot Chelle Rae."

"I like this one a lot," he said. I relaxed in the seat, closing my eyes. The flashback had really shaken me up. It was just a distant memory, but I couldn't seem to let it slide. I wondered if my sister still cared about me like she used to. I hadn't spoken to her in so long. Samuel poked me again, gently this time. "Are you okay? You zoned out for a second,"

I sighed and nodded. "I had a small flashback, that's all."

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It was just a conversation I had when I first ever came to this airport, when I was 5. My sister explained to me that a pilot sits in the front of the plane and flies it. That's where my plane obsession started,"

"You've basically had an ambition for as long as you can remember? I only really even thought about the future a couple of months ago,"

"Come to any conclusions?" 

He shook his head. "I'm interested in medicine, but as a profession? I don't know. I think I'll just stick to being Night Sight," he said. 

"That's interesting. My mum is a nurse, and my dad is a doctor. It's cool, but they always cared for their patients more than me. My sister wanted to be a doctor," I said. "They wanted that for me as well, but I had other dreams, obviously,"

"It's better to be original, in my opinion," he said, and I hummed in response, before we got out of the car.