Wattpad Block Party - Winter Edition III

hennwick Presents: Flying High (An Imagine)

Hi guys! I am so thrilled to be part of the Wattpad Block Party and I really hope you enjoy my piece. I decided to put a spin on an author/character Q&A so I have written it like a chapter in which you are asking the questions directly to the characters (and to me!). This Q&A is set just a little bit before my ongoing novel, 'Piece of Cake,' in February 2027. This piece contains major spoilers for all other works, so bear that in mind before you read ahead! I hope you like this and if you have any questions that haven't been answered in this, feel free to ask me, or my characters, in the comments below! Just as a little guide, anytime you see a ✈, that symbolises a shift between 'real' and 'dream,' whereas a * indicates a time break within that scene. Don't forget, my prize for this event is a signed, paperback copy of Cosy Christmas for one lucky winner, so make sure to enter the giveaway!

- Hen

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You're not big on flying. Planes have always baffled you a little, struggling to wrap your head around the notion of a giant hunk of metal propelling you across land and sea, so you try not to think about it too much as you stand in the queue that snakes away from the gate, waiting to board. The flight is seven hours, long enough for you to sleep, and that's exactly what you plan to do: it's nine o'clock at night right now, and you pray that once you find your seat, you'll be able to settle. You'll have to, really: you're sitting in the window seat and you'd rather be stuck there for the entire flight than to bother whoever's sitting next to you.

When you reach the desk, the last stop before you walk down the jet bridge to the plane that's waiting to carry you across the Atlantic Ocean, the flight attendant scans your boarding pass with a wide, lipsticked smile and wishes you a safe journey, repeating the words she has to say to a good two hundred people or more. You wonder if she ever varies her farewell or if she says those same words on autopilot every time, but that thought leaves you as you are ushered towards the plane door. Shifting the backpack that hangs from one shoulder, you glance out of the window at the end to see luggage being tossed into the belly of the plane and your hope your suitcase has made it to the right gate else when you get to London, you'll have nothing to wear but the clothes on your back.

21A. That's the number on your ticket, the seat you reserved when you booked this journey months ago, a spur of the moment trip to England after you found yourself with a free week and a little spare cash. You repeat the number in your head a million times and you've checked it on the ticket even more, and as you walk down the narrow aisle between the seats, your eyes scan the numbers above each row until you find 21. It's a row of two – A and B – and so far it's empty. With a smile of relief at not having to ask anyone to move, you slip into your seat and lift up the window shade. The sky is pitch black outside as night sets in, the lights of the airport glowing against the dark canvas, and you stare at the taxiing planes as you do up your seatbelt and tuck your bag under the seat in front. All you need is your phone and your earphones, and the long playlist of relaxing music that you put together and downloaded with the airport WiFi.

Three minutes pass. Three minutes for which you have plenty of space and you're beginning to get your hopes up: maybe nobody booked seat 21B and you'll be able to stretch out for the next seven hours, but you're not so lucky. A woman bustles down the aisle with a bulging carry-on suitcase and when she gets to your row, she stretches up to shove it into the overhead bin. But she's a little short, and a little weak, and the man in front gives her a hand. You watch as she lets out an awkward laugh and thanks him, smoothing down her top and raking a hand through her hair.

"Hi," she says to you as she sits down in 21B, double checking her ticket to ensure that she's right. "Let me know if you ever want to get up, by the way. I never sleep on planes anyway."