The flight itself was fine; I sat in the middle seat between Alex and Macy, while Rachel, Cari, and Jasmine took the row in front of us. Most of the time I dozed off, but I did have a good conversation with Macy about Dean Koontz at one point. I was surprised she'd read him; besides being an older author, his books carried mature themes beyond what I would have expected an eighteen-year-old girl to enjoy. Her favorite book was The Taking, which was an extra surprise. It was the only book I've ever read that had spooked me so much that I had to put it down. In my...