A Girl Worth Fighting For {A Student/Teacher Relationship}

Chapter o1

"Final boarding call for flight 1836 with non-stop service to Kittredge, Colorado." A female voice announced over the intercom of the airport. She was smiling and waving for passengers to approach the gate to board. She was dressed in a white button down shirt with a navy blue jacket and matching skirt. Her red striped tie was a little crooked. 

I sighed, stood up, and gripped tightly onto my boarding pass. It's bad enough that I have to leave California, but I have to go on an airplane too. Yes I know it sounds stupid, but I am terrified of flying. I wasn't always afraid of flying, I have a good excuse.

 A few years ago, I was on a plane to vacation with my parents when a huge storm came out of no where. The whole sky turned black except for the blasts of lightning. The thunder was so loud that we must have been right in the middle of the storm. There was extreme turbulence and people's luggage fell out of the overhead bins. It got so bad that the cabin lost lighting and the little masks above the seats fell out. Everyone was terrified that we were going to crash. We had to make an emergency landing to ride out the storm. 

So don't get me wrong, I love that planes take barely any time compared to driving, but I have a little bit of PTSD from that.  Ever since then I've been terrified of flying.  This is the first time that I've gotten on a plane in years. My mom and I drove to California because of my fear. She needed to stay a few more days and I had to leave because I am starting my senior year of high school next week. She would not let me drive all that way by my self. 

I started walking to the gate agent and I handed her my ticket. She scanned it and I headed down the long, carpeted ramp to get on the airplane. The people in front of me were chatting casually about their trip. Each step I took was getting harder and harder as the plane was getting closer and closer. The people behind me passed me because I was walking so slow. I could see the end of the ramp and the opened airplane door. I had to stop and take a few deep breaths to get myself to calm down. 

I finally gained enough courage and reached the airplane door. I took one last deep breath and stepped inside the ridiculously small airplane. I looked around and everyone else looked so calm. I could feel my breathing getting choppier and choppier every second. I looked down at my ticket and looked for my seat number. It was seat 18 C. Great. That was the last seat on the plane and a window seat of all things. How could this get any worse?

I slowly made my way down the aisle thinking that with my luck I'd be sitting next to a really big woman or a creepy old man. I looked to my left and searched for the seat numbers. Row 14...15...16...17...18. Finally my row. I opened the overhead bin to put my bag in but there was no room. Probably because I took so long to get onto the plane. I closed the bin and walked a few more steps to my seat. I braced myself for the creepy person sitting next to me and I looked down.

I was in utter shock. The guy sitting down in seat 18 B, wasn't creepy at all. He looked sweet and around my age, probably just a few years older. He was wearing a black long sleeved sweater. His blue jeans fell just over the laces if his black converse. He was staring back up at me. I stared into his eyes for a few seconds until he looked away. I felt embarrassed. He looked back and I looked down at my ticket, then at the seat number, not believing that this was my seat.

I shoved my ticket in my pocket, cleared my throat, and quietly spoke, "Excuse me, sir, that's my seat right there," I said as pointed to the seat next to him.

He looked back up at me and nodded. He stood up gracefully and I slid past him and bumped my head on the roof. I heard him chuckle as I sat down. I rubbed my head a little and we both sat down.

 He looked over at me. "Are you okay?" he asked with a sly smile on his face.

 "Yeah, I'm fine," I said snappily. I don't mean to take it out on this poor guy, but I'm terrified.