The Night Flight
a Major League Baseball - The Boston Red Sox story
by Tina
The members of the Boston Red Sox slowly boarded the charter plane at Logan Airport. It was well after 1:00am following a long game that went well in to extra innings, and they had a day game early the following afternoon in Baltimore.
Johnny Damon, his damp hair pulled back in a ponytail, made a face upon entering the cabin, "What is that smell?" He wrinkled his nose. None of his teammates seemed to notice the odor and most just shrugged their shoulders as they tiredly made their way to collapse into their seats. He continued to complain about the strange odor as he made his way down the aisle.
Finally one of the crew boarding the plane had an answer for him, "It's some type of cleaner," the young man called back to him, "We have a new cleaning company. I can't stand the smell of it."
His curiosity satisfied Johnny nodded his thanks and flopped into his seat rubbing his nose. He was soon joined by Bronson Arroyo, Johnny sang back up vocals on the young pitcher's newly released CD. As he talked to Bronson, about the sales of the CD, Johnny continued absently rubbing at his itchy nose.
By the time the plane took off, Johnny was well aware of the irritation his nose was experiencing. It was becoming extremely itchy and his eyes had started to water. Bronson noticed his friend's discomfort. "Are you alright Johnny?"
Johnny nodded, and replied breathlessly, "Have to.....sn..... heh..... sneeze.......... ETCHOOOO!!!! HEHCHOOOOOO!!!! AHHHH CHOOOO!!!!"
Bronson grinned, "Yeah, I guess you did! Bless you!"
"Thanks," Johnny continued to rub at his nose, not sure he was finished. Bronson, sensing Johnny's discomfort waited to resume their conversation.
Johnny, finally thinking the irritation had subsided attempted to resume the conversation. But within moments he was suddenly overcome by another bout of sneezing. "Etchoooooo!!!!! Hetchoooo!!!!!!! Heh.... heh.... CHOOOO!!!!! Ahhhhhchoooo!!!!!"
At that, Curt Schilling who was sitting in front of Bronson turned around, "Are you sick Damon? Because if you are I'm changing seats. I just managed not to catch my kids cold, I'm not gonna catch one from you!"
Johnny shook his head, sniffling wetly. "No, I think I must be allergic to something. I was fine until I got on the plane." He rubbed at his nose, wishing he had something to blow his nose with.
"Well, I guess I'll stay then, but Johnny? Try not to sneeze on me will ya." Curt smirked at Johnny who grinned back.
"I'll do my best Schill, I'll try to aim for Bronson."
"Watch it buddy, or I'll change my seat." Bronson elbowed Johnny as he noticed he was about to sneeze yet again.
"Heshhhhhhhh!!! Heh.... heh.....hechoooo!!!! Etchooooooo!! This sucks!" He murmured between sneezes. "Ahhhhchooo!!!! Ishhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" He sniffled wetly and rubbed at his nose.
His outbursts were starting to draw the attention of the rest of the team. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz sitting across the aisle were looking over with curiosity. "You ok man?" Manny asked and Johnny just nodded still trying to fight the tickle.
"Are you sick Johnny?" David Ortiz asked looking concerned.
"No...... just ehhhh... ahhhhh... Ahhhchoooo!!!! Allergic to something. I think." Johnny finally realized that he couldn't ignore his running nose any longer and stood to make his way to the bathroom. "I need to blow my nose!" He announced as he made his way down the aisle.
Going into the small bathroom, he soon realized was a huge mistake. The smell of the cleaner was even stronger there. He grabbed a handful of toilet paper but was overwhelmed with more sneezing even before he could try to blow his nose. "Ahhhhhchooooo!!!!! Etchhhhh!!! Etchoooooo!!!!!! Ishoooo!!!!!!" He was gasping for breath as he blindly made his way out of the bathroom.
He felt a firm hand on his arm and heard the voice of his friend Kevin Millar. "Jesus, Damon what's wrong with you?" He asked guiding Johnny to the closest empty seat.
"I think... I'm ehhhhh... etchooo!!!!! allergic to......ahhhchooooo!!!! something. Can't ... stop... HEHCHOOOOOO!!! sneezing." Johnny attempted to blow his nose, but by that time it was just completely blocked.
"Can I get you anything man?" Kevin asked, starting to worry about his friend.
Johnny shook his head, "Chooooo!!! Don't know....."
By that time most of the team were well aware of his situation and looking concerned. Terry Francona, the manager and Jim Rowe the trainer had come down the aisle to check on him, as had his seatmate Bronson . Johnny wasn't able to answer any of their questions as his unrelenting sneezing continued. Bronson suggested the new cleaning products as a potential source of the reaction and Johnny nodded in agreement. Terry went to talk to the crew to see if there was an area that might not have been subjected to the cleaning chemicals but the plane was small and there was not. Jim managed to obtain a first aid kit from the crew and find some benadryl of which he gave a double dose to Johnny. There was also an Epipen in the kit, should the reaction become more severe and although he didn't think he'd need it he was grateful to see it there. There was still a good hour left of flight time.
Johnny continued sneezing for quite some time before the benadryl kicked in. Bronson and Kevin stayed with him, offering support and tracking down tissues until he finally stopped sneezing and fell into an antihistamine induced sleep, his head resting on Bronson's shoulder. By that time his deep brown eyes were red and swollen and his nose red and raw from the frequent blowing.
By the time the plane landed Johnny was deeply asleep and had to be nearly carried off by his teammates as he stumbled along unable to fully wake up. They delivered him to his hotel room and tucked him into bed before they left for the night. Bronson stayed with him a bit longer than the others, making sure he was ok before heading off to his own room.
The Boston Red Sox are real, the story is not. If they belonged to me they really wouldn't have that much time to be playing baseball, they'd be playing with me.
Written in response to Weekly Hatching #69 Plot Bunny Idea: Someone is on a bus or plane and is allergic to something but can't get away from it.