Maeve
The gate is teeming with people, which is unsurprising considering London to New York is the busiest air route in the world. The people there are unsurprisingly a mixture of American and British people, looking to get onto the plane and take off as quickly as possible. I was just hoping that I could get someone who wasn't a complete asshole as the person who would be sitting next to me. And would you believe my luck, an overweight man comes and sits next to me. I'm in the aisle seat, so this man will be squishing whichever unfortunate soul sits in the window seat as well. I stand up and let him through, his stomach rubbing against my back and ass as he takes his seat in the middle.
'Sorry' he mutters as he pushes past me, an American accent clearly present.
'It's okay' I say back, giving the minimum of courtesy in my response.
I don't like flying as it is, I don't really feel comfortable putting my life in the hands of two people I'll never properly meet inside of a metal container, suspended by physics 30,000 feet in the air, poised at any moment to drop us all to our deaths. And the presence of this man next to me isn't exactly going to make this experience any more enjoyable. I take my seat once he has settled in, the sides of his body touching mine as they spill underneath the armrest that separates his seat and mine. 'Why?' I ask myself. As I ask myself this, a man shows up, looks momentarily at his ticket and indicates to the overweight man sitting next to me.
'Excuse me sir, he says in a British accent. 'I believe you're in my seat.'
'I don't think I am' replies the man.
'I do think you are' he says back. 'This is seat 26B, and as you can clearly see.' He pulls out his ticket and shows it to the man, 'This is my seat.'
The man pulls out his own ticket and looks at the seat number. It reads '29B.'
'My apologies' he says and I have to get up and wait for the man to gather his things before he leaves and the man takes his seat in the middle, and I take mine in the aisle seat again.
'I'm Charlie' he says to me and holds out a hand, which I shake. 'And you might be'
'Maeve' I reply back to him.
'Well, Maeve' he says. 'For a little over 8 hours I'm going to be your company so here's to a safe flight.'
I nod back at him and look down at my phone. He does the same. Around 5 minutes later a middle aged woman takes the window seat in our row and we all sit down, three strangers ready for a long flight to New York. After I send Otis a text saying 'I'm flying now, text when I land. Love u.' I put my phone down and prepare for take-off. And as we start speeding down Heathrow's south runway, I feel a hand grip mine, it's Charlie's and I pull my hand out of his
'Oh sorry' he remarks and quickly pulls his hand away as well. 'I've just never enjoyed taking off in an aeroplane. Makes me nervous.'
'You're not the only one, don't worry' I say as we jet off, bound for the Big Apple.