Wu Yingjie closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of shuffling feet walk past. Truth is flying made Yingjie a bit uneasy; it’s not that she’s afraid of flying. Planes are just germy, stressful places; thank gosh she had chosen first class or some strange man would practically be sitting in her lap. Add on the fact she hadn’t slept in her own bed for two weeks and you’ve got one displeased Yingjie. She’d gone to Thailand to make a business deal with a less than pleasant man, who denied one proposition after another.

“Ladies and gentlemen, at this time all seat belts need to be fastened and all electronic devices powered off” A voice called over the intercom

With a light sigh Yingjie opened her eyes and obeyed the voice’s orders. Five minutes later everyone was informed that there would be a deferment in the planes takeoff due to a last minute ticket booking. Rolling her eyes Yingjie reached into her bag to pullout earplugs and a blanket. Reclining in her chair Ying inserted her ear plugs and began to doze off. Sometime later she felt the plane shift beneath her feet.

Removing her earplugs Ying looked around to see that man had appeared in the seat next to her. She had hoped that no one would purchase that seat so that she could have her own space. Avoiding eye contact she turned away just in time to see the ground disappearing out the window. She couldn’t say she was sad to see Thailand becoming a distant place, but she was dreading the next 12 hours is the sky. Time passes slow when you’re not having fun. Apparently the guy next to her wasn’t having much fun either.

Yingjie looked over at the man, acknowledging his presence for the first time. His head thrown back on the head rest, his eye brows furrowed, his lips slightly parted. The man looked like he was in agony. Then as she turned to look out the window, she heard it, the faint sound of his stomach churning. Giggling quietly to herself Yingjie pushed the bell calling the flight attendant.

“How can I help you?” the attendant questioned

“I need a glass of water.” Yingjie responded

A few minutes later the woman handed Yingjie the glass and set on her merry way. Careful not to rouse the man next to her she pulled out two tablets of cherry flavored Alka-Seltzer. Dropping them into the water, she gently nudged the man next to her.  

“Drink this you’ll feel better.” She stated earning her a twisted look from the stranger.

Shrugging her shoulders lightly, she raised the glass to her lips. Suddenly the glass was snatched out of her hand, startled Yingjie looked over. The man was tossing the liquid down his throat like a shot. A small smile made its way to her face as his twisted in distaste.  

“How’d you know?” He asked staring at the glass in his hands

“My grandfather‘s a bad flyer too; your face looked just like his does during takeoff.”

“Oh.” He said grimly

“Don’t feel bad, I get it. I don’t care for planes much, myself.” She replied nonchalantly

Dinner came around when she’d finally finished her work. The flight attendants were rolling huge carts of food. When a woman stopped to ask what the two of them wanted she asked for two bowls of rice porridge somehow guessing that the guy next to her would chose something that would upset his stomach. She was right he ordered a bowl of spicy noodles. The woman served their food sometime later.

As Yingjie brought a spoon full of hot porridge to her lips the man next to her began to eat his poor choice of food. Shaking her head she continued to eat. Eventually the man stopped eating with a sick look plastered on his face. Sighing Yingjie handed the extra bowl of porridge to him.

“It may taste bland but it should help settle your stomach.” She spoke softly

“What’s your name?” he asked digging into the food

“Wu Yingjie. What’s yours?” she asked mostly out of politeness

“Aaron Yan.”   

After a few minute of eating in silence; he began to talk again.

“Why did you help me?”  Aaron asked curiously

“Because I didn’t want you to yack on me.” Ying answered without looking up from her food

“I’m only joking, you just reminded me of my grandfather.” She said when he didn’t respond

“Are you saying I remind you of an old man?” he ask with sarcasm

“Yes, In fact I think you look a little like him!” She said focused on Aaron’s face

“Really? How so?” He retorted jokingly, completely focused on her

Studying him for a moment Ying became serious. “Your eye brows are just like his.” Reaching over casually she placed a finger in the center of his forehead. “Yah, what kind of look is that? Don’t stress so much they’ll be stuck like that!” A smile played over her lips.

Removing her finger she looked away shyly, she’d just so overtly shown affection something she’d never done before.

“Your personality is the opposite of his.” She laughed a little as she said this

Aaron’s face lit up as he watched Yingjie laugh, within twenty minutes her demeanor toward him had completely changed. Her long hair bounced as she continued to chuckle. That smile, that voice suddenly Aaron found himself mesmerized by this girl. He wanted to touch her, kiss her even but he stayed still. Her laughter eventually faded but his need to touch her didn’t.

In an effort to keep talking he asked small questions; her favorite color, best movie she’d seen, etc. It went on for two hours till the rest of the passengers in first class had gone to sleep.

“It’s late I think we should rest now.” Ying said declining in her chair. Aaron did the same, and the two finally drifted to sleep.

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