Coder Girl 2 /Dreamwastaken/

՞՞18՞՞

Clay's P.O.V.

After searching her symptoms online, Lizzy became convinced that she had got salmonella from the lizard. For three days, all she did was argue with Nick about it. Fortunately, she eventually recovered without any issues.

Our flight back home was scheduled for the day before Lizzy's graduation, and I was so excited to go back that I had packed my belongings a day in advance.

However, a terrible turn of events unfolded. Our flight was canceled due to severe stormy weather.

When George told me, I thought he was doing one of his stupid pranks again. At first I couldn't believe him. But then I couldn't believe my luck.

"When is the next flight?" I asked George, cause he appeared to be already well-informed about the situation.

"The only available flight with tickets is in three days," he replied.

"What?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "This can't be happening. I won't miss her graduation, no way."

"We're not going to, calm down," I could sense his concern and his efforts to find a solution, even though it seemed like he was struggling to make any progress.

"Let's look for different airports," Nick suggested, lying on the bed. "There must be some with flights available for tomorrow or the day after."

"The day after is the day of her graduation," I responded, shaking my head. "We need a flight for tomorrow, ideally in the morning."

"Don't worry," George reassured, his focus on his phone as he was likely searching for available flights. "I've already found something, but there should be better options as well."

There should've been better options. At least better than whatever we had to endure for literal hours.

The earliest flight we managed to find had three economy tickets that were close to each other, although not directly next to eachother.

Unfortunately, I ended up with the middle seat, flanked on both sides by children.

One of the children was too young to do anything other than cry before the plane even took off, while the other was her older sister, still a kid, who refused to trade seats with me, citing that her ticket specified she was entitled to the window seat.

I'm not even sure where their parents were.

George was seated beside an elderly couple, while Nick occupied the seat directly in front of me. He was accompanied by a man who was already snoring and a middle-aged woman.

Initially, I thought Nick had secured the best seat, but my opinion shifted when the plane took off and the lady began reciting prayers aloud for nearly ten minutes.

Later, I considered that maybe George's seat was better after all. But a glance in his direction revealed a different story. The elderly couple was engaged in conversation with him, and even though I couldn't hear what was being said, I could see the "help me" expression in George's eyes. He was nodding awkwardly and offering forced laughter.

And no, the idea of having the best seat never crossed my mind, cause the crying of the kid next to me continued without pause.

It was so loud that even Nick got annoyed. He turned around and shot me a dirty look, as if the kid was mine. All I could do was shrug in response.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and start a conversation with the child.

"What is your name?" I looked at her, but got no reaction.

She screamed for a while, crying. Eventually, she turned her attention toward me, took a deep breath, and then managed to respond to my question.

"My name is Ruby."