Being Watched

Chapter 19

Being Watched

Chapter 19

I pick up my black handbag and stand up from the blue chair I’m sitting on. I follow my parents and the rest of the people who are now forming a line in front of the small desk.

I give the woman my plane ticket and passport when I arrive to the small white desk she’s sitting behind. She checks them and hands them back to me.

“Have a nice flight!” She says in a monotonous tone and I can hear her colleague on the other white desk saying the same thing to all the passengers.

“Thanks,” I say, giving her a smile before walking forward.

It’s three in the morning but inside the airport it never seems like it’s at night. There are always very bright lights everywhere and all the shops are always open so without a watch, I wouldn’t know the difference between day time and night time.

I stop in front of the plane door then step in with my right foot. Ever since the first time I traveled, I’ve been doing that. I was at the age of twelve when I traveled for the first time. I went with my parents to Greece and John had told me to put my right foot on the plane first because it’s bad luck to put my left foot first. I laughed at him back then and called him stupid but the next day, I found myself telling my parents to put their right foot first and I did so as well. Ever since that time, I’ve been doing that every time I travel.

I start walking in the plane, searching for my seat. I can hear the chatter of the people on the plane as I search for the seat 42B. I have a long walk, I think as I pass the seat number 15.

When I get to my seat, I see a middle aged woman sitting next to the window so I smile at her before taking my book and jacket out of my handbag and putting it under my seat.

I sit down and then put on my seat belt. My parents are both sitting behind me and on my right a man in a suit arrives soon and takes the seat.

He sighs as he runs a hand through his blond hair, messing it up. He made it right on time because as soon as he buckles his seat belt, the plane starts moving.

“Right on time,” I tell him and he lets out a shaky laugh.

“I overslept,” he explains and that’s when I notice that his shirt is not tucked in properly and his tie is tilted to the right. I bet he doesn’t have the same color of socks in both feet but I won’t look at his feet. That would be weird.

“It shows,” I joke and he laughs again, looking relieved.

“If I missed that flight I would’ve lost all my money,” he says to me.

Apparently, he has a really important meeting to attend and it would determine whether his company would get better or go bankrupt. He says that he has more chance of making it better than getting bankrupt if he attends that meeting but if he doesn’t then he’ll definitely lose everything.

We talk for a while on the plane then he falls asleep and I start reading my book. I only get the chance to read three chapters before the plane lands.

I wake up the man to my right who is still sleeping like a rock.

When he wakes up, he gives me a grateful smile.

“Good luck!” I tell him once we’re off the plane.

“Thank you!” He replies before grabbing his suitcase and walking out of the airport.