All Jimmy wanted to do was go home.
He hated airports and everything about them: the crowd, the noise, the overly priced water, the flying.
He especially hated the flying.
Jimmy preferred travelling via solid ground. The thought of floating in the air, trapped in a tiny metal contraption jammed with hundreds of people that could possibly go down any minute, petrified Jimmy.
He was starting to lose his nerve at the gate. He already had to endure a 45 minute delay due to "technical problems," and now he had to wait in an absurd queue to get on the blasted plane.
He huffed in frustration, just wanting to get this 12 hour plane ride over as soon as possible. Only 12 hours more and then he would finally be back home on solid ground in London. But first he had to get through this ridiculously long queue.
It was almost five minutes later when he got to the front. The flight attendant looked as agitated as Jimmy felt with her grimacing scowl as she ripped the boarding pass from Jimmy's hands, scanning it, and shoving it back to him.
Jimmy gave a sarcastic thanks and brushed passed her only to have to wait in line again as people boarded the plane.
Jimmy didn't understand why it was always such a long process. It was not that difficult to place luggage in an overhead bin, but yet, there was always someone struggling to store their things properly. He watched on in irritation as the old man a few people ahead of him tried to jam his duffle bag into the compartment. The man took so long that someone had to help him.
Finally, Jimmy thought as the man sat down. The line began to quicken from there.
Jimmy was soon able to find his seat: 26B. It was an aisle seat, which didn't thrill Jimmy too much. For one he couldn't look out the window, which only made his claustrophobia worse. He was stuck staring at the tiny 8 inch monitor in front of him. He also didn't like the fact he would have to move any time 26A wanted to get up. He was already going to have to move once 26A finally got there. That ruined his plans of sleeping through the whole ride.
Jimmy took his seat, grabbing the provided blanket and pillow that laid in its space. He placed the objects on his lap, not knowing where else to put them. He pondered at the thinness of them.
Who in their right mind would think a pillow as thin as a sheet of paper could possibly be comfortable?
"Excuse me," a polished voice broke Jimmy from his thoughts, "that's my seat, there."
Jimmy looked up to see a kind-eyed man gesturing towards the window seat with a crooked smile.
"Oh right," Jimmy gave a practiced smile, standing up so the man could slide by.
So, it begins.
It was a tight squeeze for the man to get through due to the narrow rows. The two men ended up rubbing chests.
Jimmy was grateful the man was at least good looking. He presented himself in a decent manner, wearing a maroon jumper over a button-up shirt, the collar of it just sticking out the neck of it. Jimmy now felt a bit underdressed in a hoodie and jeans. The man even had his hair slicked back, whereas Jimmy's curled all over the place.
In any other circumstance, Jimmy would have dressed more respectably. He took pride in his looks, however, when it came to plane rides, comfort took precedence. If he knew he was going to be miserable, he was going to make himself as comfortable as possible before hand.
Jimmy sat back down and shook his legs. He couldn't control them. His nerves were becoming worse as the claustrophobia set in. With the man now sitting next to him and aisle being crowded with people, Jimmy was losing the ability to breathe.
