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Jess identifies herself as an author/artist/non-conformist. Her literary work has appeared in a diverse range
of publications, such as Word Riot, ITCH Magazine, and The Battered Suitcase. She was a research assistant to the
2010 Jossey-Bass/Wiley publication, My Lie.
Jess is currently working on an urban fantasy project featuring cyberpunk elves. Her novella, The Devilin Fey,
hit #1 in Amazon's "Hot New Releases in Bargain Books" in July 2010.
Author website: http://www.jesscscott.com
Amazon author page: http://tinyurl.com/27dbywd
Copyright © 2010 Jess C. Scott
Leaving...on a Jet Plane:
The Intern
“Hey—check out the first song on the list.”
I glance at the catalog Chester Taylor Adamski, my internship partner, is showing me. The page lists the
radio channels provided by the airline. There’s the Top 40s channel, Adult Rock, Blues/Swing channel, and so on.
The one he’s pointing at is Classic Rock, and “Suzy Q” is the first song.
“Your all-time favorite?” I wink.
“Right on,” Chester says with a mighty grin.
His chin rests on his hand that’s propped up on the armrest between our seats. A couple of fingerprint
marks smear the lenses of his black, plastic-framed glasses. His dusty blond hair is neat as usual, and pretty much
unstyled.
I smile. I’ve gone with “Suzie Q” after Chester introduced me to that rock song. It has more flavor than
“Suzie Quinn” anyhow. Chester told me about the song when we were thirteen or fourteen. I was surprised he
listened to hard rock. I thought he’d be more into something like classical music.
Once in a while, in moments like this, I almost think Chester might be the one.
But then I get real. Not Chester. He’s more like a brother to me.
“Oh, and take a look at this.” He points to a small image—a close-up shot of a woman’s mouth with bright
red lips, with the caption: Devil or Angel.
“What’s that?” I enquire.
He speed-reads the rest of it, then turns the page.
“Nothing important?”
“Yep,” he concludes. “Just another bunch of silly people, brought to you by yet another brainless reality TV
show.”
We both laugh. I’ve always had a love-hate kind of relationship with reality shows. There’s something
addictive and entertaining about even the worst of them.
The kid behind starts kicking the back of my seat, adding more distress to the slight migraine and blocked
ears I’m experiencing during my maiden flight.
“Are you excited about the internship?” Chester asks suddenly, rubbing his chin lightly. He does that
sometimes, when he’s deep in thought.
“Are you?” I ask in turn.
“Sure, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” I lie. “It’s a privilege we made the cut for the Spring Break internship.”
While the internship is the highlight of Nova Academy’s junior year, I was half-hoping I’d be thrown into an
exotic location, like India or Japan. I’ve lived all my life in Essex, Vermont, a quiet and scenic region in the
northeast.
“We’re Nova Academy’s finest.”
“Wear your t-shirts with pride,” I reply, imitating the shrill voice of our advisor, Mrs. De Sousa.
Chester’s wearing the shirt right now, and he points to it. The t-shirts have our school crest and school name
emblazoned on the front.