Micro Fiction Monday: One Part

He fiddled with his neck pillow, fluffing it and adjusting it before settling back into his seat. He closed his eyes for a moment, if that, before fiddling with the pillow again. He reached for the packet of gum tucked into the seat pocket, purchased from a stand in the airport. He fumbled with the packaging, dropping the first piece onto the floor, before he popped one into his mouth. He chewed it quickly and aggressively, so much so that his jaw quickly grew sore.

He jerked back in his seat as the plane moved forwards, gaining speed quickly. He gripped the edges of his seat, so hard that his knuckles turned white and the tips of his fingers went numb. He kept his eyes focused on the TV screen in front of him, his destination outlined on the map.

His eyes darted to the side only once, and he took some comfort in the fact that the young woman beside him looked just as nervous as he felt. Perhaps, he mused, he was not the only one new to flying.

~~

This wasn’t her first time on an airplane. Her family travelled to Florida when she was seven, again when she was ten. She flew to Mexico at age fifteen, and back and forth from the West coast once she started college at eighteen.

Her nerves didn’t derive from the sudden jolts of movement, or the force of gravity as they lifted up into the air. She twisted her hands nervously in her lap, afraid that this plan was futile; that he would find her, no matter how far she went. She was scared that she had left behind some clue, or that he would notice her absence too quickly. He had held his grasp on her for so long...a part of her didn’t think she could get away.

Another part of her didn’t want to.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

Jackass (Micro-Fiction Monday)

He’s in my seat. My seat. The seat I picked on the first day of class, the seat that I’ve been sitting in for the last three weeks. That’s my seat, and some jackass is sitting in it.

No one else seems to be bothered by this—but then again, his being in my seat isn’t disrupting everyone else’s. Is he even in this class? I’ve sure as hell never seen him before. What is he doing here?

“Excuse me?” I tap him on the shoulder and he turns around in his—in my—seat. Oh, no—he’s cute. Really cute. I didn’t prepare for him to be cute.

“Yes?” he replies. Oh, God, his voice is heavenly—abort mission, abort mission.

“I, um,” I stammer. “It’s just that, uh…you’re…uh…are you new?”

He furrows his brow and gives me a funny smile. Good God. “What?” he laughs.

“I just, uh…I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”

He looks at me for a moment. Am I blushing? I think I’m blushing. “You’re observant,” he says finally. “I don’t actually go here; I’m visiting a friend.”

I look around the room—any excuse to turn my reddening face away from him. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh, he’s in a different class.”

I look back at him. God, why does he have to be so cute? “Then…why are you here?”

He shrugs. “Something to do, I guess. My friend’s got classes pretty much all day, so I’ve got to amuse myself somehow.”

“Right.” Say something. Say something or walk away, otherwise he’s going to think you’re a complete moron.

“Well, I…I should go,” I say, turning away.

“Hey.” He catches hold of my arm. Okay, now I’m red. Lobster red, probably. “Do you wanna meet up after class? Y’know, show me around?” It’s his turn to blush now—but it’s one of those adorable, hardly noticeable blushes. Ugh. “I, uh…I’m kinda lost.”

I can’t help but smile a huge smile, the cheesy kind I made back in kindergarten on school picture day. “Sure.”

He grins and lets go. “Perfect.”

I turn walk away, smiling like the idiot I am…until I look around and realize that there isn’t a free desk anywhere.

That jackass is still in my seat.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne