"So, you like the aisle seat?" he asked.
"Yeah mostly. I'd always book an aisle one. But considering the difficulties of a tall man, I'd offer you the aisle now and let me take yours" she smiled.
"Can you be a little less sweet? I just had three packets of sugar, remember? he giggled.
"Okay! Let me be the scariest nightmare you shall ever have"
"Ah! It's okay. I am fine with the extra sweetness. No diabetic family history. I'll survive"
"You'd better" she laughed. He too did.
They both sat comfortably in their exchanged seats. After a while, the cabin crew started their routine flight safety announcements.
He was looking keenly as if he was too concerned about flight safety instructions.
"She's cute right?" she asked.
"Who?" he asked in doubt.
"That air hostess girl. The short one. She's chubby but cute"
"Hey! Nothing like that. I wasn't looking at her. It's better to listen to safety advices right?"
"It is. But don't tell me you're listening to it for the first time. I know you like her. That's why you are gazing at her. Don't pretend that you aren't"
"Yeah she's cute. But how did you know I was only looking her?"
"When we boarded, she was like 'Welcome sir' and you bent a little extra and also involuntarily drooled. It was quite evident. However it's not a big deal. She's really cute. If I were you, I'd go talk to her and get her number before we land"
"Nope. I am fine with the gazing part. Sometimes, you just have to enjoy the moments and not roast them too much. Else, they'll lose their taste"
"Agreed"
"But hey! You really have a superpower. Noticing things!"
"Every girl has this superpower deep inside her. It just comes out only when another girl around us looks extra cute and people start noticing them. It's not envy. It's just a natural survival instinct to be the fittest in the room"
"Survival of the fittest?"
"No. Survival of the cutest"
"Ha! You'll survive" he smirked.
"Consolation?" she frowned.
"No. Let me rephrase it. You'd win the contest, if there was one"
"I'll rather not participate. I am the queen of my world. A queen need not compete to win anything because she already owns everything"
"Amen to that, My Majesty!" he touched his hands onto his forehead like a salute. She nodded with an attitude like she had accepted his salute and both laughed together, when the whole flight was silently listening to the air hostess's flight safety instructions.
"Ouch! May be we should reduce our volume a bit", she whispered.
"Yes! We should", he murmured to her.
After a while, the flight took off without any shakes or quakes , thanks to the pilots. These two started joking rather whispering to each other about what if the engines fail and what if the flight drops into the ocean and how they can have a Titanic kind of story just with a different ending that they will fight to death with each other for hopping into that log of wood and not be stupid like DiCaprio and freeze in the cold currents of the ocean. Yes! They both were crazy. They did not try to enquire much about each other because their randomly deviant but intriguing crazy conversation included science, space, spirituality, sky diving, how funny did the old man in their back seat snored, for what they would jump off a cliff and more.
Meanwhile, the cabin crew started invading the aisle with their food and drinks. They had their own meal preferences and coincidentally both were neither drinkers nor smokers. They had a not-so-satisfying meal because they both missed the freshly grilled chicken breast.
After her meal, she took a tablet with some water because she had cold. It was CPM - ChlorPheniramine Maleate and it will knock almost nine out of ten people to a deep sleep. She did not escape its effect. While he was explaining why he loved Stephen Hawking more than Newton, she slowly hung her head on his shoulders and slept off. The only two times she opened her eyes were when she was thirsty and when she had drowsy walkathons to the restroom twice.
He should have felt bored without those crazy talks but he did not. He felt a soothing breeze inside himself when she was sleeping on his shoulders most of the times. He would have had many dates and romantic moments earlier but gazing at the beauty of a sleeping girl was new to him. It was beyond his imagination and despite being carried away for hours together all he did was making sure that she did not get disturbed.
*Kling* sounded the announcement tone.
She woke up to that and bid him a 'Good Morning'. He responded back with a Good Morning and also a sigh of relief that she's finally up.
*Kling* "Hi. This is the Captain. We have almost reached the destination. We will land in about another fifteen minutes"
She was still drowsy and didn't want to open her eyes.
"Hey Miss! The flight's landing in few more minutes"
"I know mister. But I want to sleep. Can you book me a ticket in this same flight back to where we took off? I shall sit here and sleep till then"
"Yes I can but who'll answer that Zeus guy?"
"Oh yeah! That strict officer!" she sighed and opened one of her eyes and giggled at him.
*Kling*
"We have landed at Athens International Airport. It's a clear day with a soothing warm weather. The temperature outside is 25 degree Celsius and the local time here at Athens is 10 A.M. We hope you had a good flight and we served you good. We will be happy to serve when you fly with us in the future too. Have a great time at the beautiful Greek capital"
He helped her with her bags and they both got off the flight.
"You were the one who leaned on my shoulders most of the time. Didn't sneak into my shirt right?" he witted
"You!" she laughed hard and punched at his arm
Eventually they crossed the immigration too and was walking towards the exit gate of the airport. His heart was pumping suddenly. His adrenals were bursting out. He wanted to talk to her more but he knew that the moment they cross that exit gate and get into their respective cabs, they are just strangers again. They haven't quite asked about each other too except their names. He wasn't a shy guy but suddenly a fear of rejection tore him apart. As they were pushing their trolleys towards the gate, he suddenly stopped.
"Hey"
"Yeah?" she stopped too
"You broke a promise!"
"Promise? What did I promise?"
"You promised sixteen long hours of stupid talks but you offered only a couple of hours or less"
"Yeah! That was the CPM. Though I really enjoyed those couple hours of random laughs I was knocked out involuntarily. Apologies"
"But promise is a promise. Right?"
"Yeah but what shall I do? Can we take the next flight back home so that I shall fulfill my promise?"
"If that's still the only option, I won't mind taking it. But we have others"
"What're they?"
"You can start with paying our dinner bill for tomorrow's night"
"Do you realise that you're almost asking me out for a dinner date?" she smiled notoriously.
"Almost is the key word there. I haven't asked yet. I am almost there"
"Smart ass huh?"
"Not very smart. See I haven't even asked your number yet"
"You won't ask my number. I know you don't like to roast things too much. Right?"
"You got me on that. My bad! But hey, sometimes you'll have to roast a little extra for the spice to completely settle in"
"Ah! Mr. Masterchef! First state me a good reason why do we need to meet again"
"Because I don't know anything or anyone in Greece. Believe me. I wanted to travel, I just randomly picked this place, packed my bags and flew here. This is my first Europe trip and it still feels home when you're around. All I wanted before was to be away from home but all I want now is to feel home all the time that I stay here"
"That's a genuine one! If you promise that you won't judge me, I'd like to confess that I myself wanted to get your phone number but didn't know how to ask it. Though I have a packed itinerary ahead, I would love to share a cup or two of coffee with you when I am here"
"Why would I judge you?"
"I don't know. Men judge women, who give space right?"
"Yes they do! But when did you give space at all? You even robbed my armrest space during the flight!"
"Errr.. That's an average joke. No points for that. Okay! Just give me your handphone. I shall dial my number in there"
"Sure" he gave his phone
She dialed her number and she got his number on her phone.
"Happy?"
"If you still are going to pay the dinner bill"
"You'll let the woman pay for the date?"
"I won't but it isn't a date, is it? It's only 'almost a date' right? So you can pay"
"Playing smart!"
He shrugged his shoulders as they both walked their trolleys out to the cab bay area. They both hired a cab each to their respective hotels and bid a goodbye with a hug.
The taxis went the opposite ways.
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