Otis

After stabilising myself on the seats, my vision starts to clear up and I'm able to actually slow down my thoughts and think.

'Otis, are you okay?' I hear Eric ask.

'Yes', I manage to get out, although my voice is weak. 'Just need to get my energy back.'

'Yeah, you should' says Ola. 'Do you want me to get you anything sugary for energy?'

'Get him a Lucozade and some chocolate' says Jakob. 'That'll help.'

'Okay, I'll go now' and I see Jakob hand his daughter some change before she powerwalks off in the direction of the vending machine.

'So, is she okay now?' I ask desperately.

'Yes, she is stabilised now' he says. 'She gave us a huge scare earlier.' He smiles as he says this.

'Yeah, she did' I say, managing to meet his gaze and expression. 'But Mum's strong, she won't let a little matter like her heart stopping keep her from raising Joy.'

'That she is' he says. 'That she is.'

'She's amazing, she's genuinely an angel' adds Eric. 'Like seriously, what a person.'

At this, Ola returns with a Lucozade and some rainbow laces, and I gulp down the drink, waiting for the effects to kick in.

Charlie

I look at the girl next to me, Maeve, as she takes a book out of her bag and starts to read it. What an enigma she is already posing to me, and we're not even 2 hours into this flight. I glance at the title of the book she has chosen to read and smirk doing so. War and Peace. This choice of literature is an interesting one. On the face of it, a girl who looks like she does wouldn't normally be associated with such a complex read. However, upon conversing with her, it appears, to me at least, to make total sense. She seems to have a hugely impressive literary prowess to her. And if I needed any convincing, she won the scholarship to study in the USA, in New York no less. The same scholarship program I happen to be on. I wonder when I should break this news to her.

I can already predict an audible sigh and a roll of the eyes when this information comes to light. But then again, I may be pleasantly surprised with a courteous display of positivity. I highly doubt this, however. She doesn't seem the type of girl to waste her clearly limitless positive energy on such small interactions. She's clearly determined to prove herself, hence the attitude. My guess would be that she's been belittled far too much in her life for her liking and so she feels she has to be constantly defensive, constantly alert to make sure it doesn't happen again. I can understand that point of view. After all, I've been through it myself. Perhaps not in the same way as the firecracker next to me. But still an identifiable experience, nonetheless. This is going to be a fun few months, for both of us I hope. After all, we're gonna be seeing a hell of a lot of each other.