the next morning

Abbie woke up to her alarm, and got showered and dressed. She wore a light and flowing skirt, sandals, and a white t-shirt.

Despite the early hour and not enough coffee, she drove to the airport. She easily made it through security, navigated her way to her gate, and with no incident, got on board the commuter jet and was on her way.

The plane was small, and to Abbie's surprise, completely full. Then again, she didn't do this kind of travel much, so she didn't have anything to compare it to. It didn't matter much, though. This was only going to be an hour flight. They'd barely be up in the air before it was time to come down again.

It was a regional jet, and with two seats on one side of the aisle and one on the other. Abbie had the aisle half of one of the two-seat sides. She settled into her seat and checked the time.

There were two flight attendants on the plane. One was an older man, small, with short white hair and a clean goatee. The other was a young woman, Black, her hair slicked back with a small bun at her neck. Both cheerfully welcomed the passengers on board.

As the plane filled up, she watched the passengers moving slowly down the center of the plane, wondering who would wind up in the window seat next to her.