Jasmine smiled. “Perfect.”
“Sorry I couldn’t actually get you in the first or second row.”
“No, that’s fine. You helped me out a great deal.”
Jasmine smiled, took hold of her boarding pass, and thanked him again before going to sit down and wait for the plane to start boarding.
A little over an hour later, she found herself boarding the plane and sitting happily in her third-row seat. She had already put her carry-on bag in the overhead compartment and was reading the latest issue of Essence magazine while the other passengers boarded the plane. She began to flip through the magazine aimlessly before deciding to put it away.
She looked up and couldn’t believe her eyes. She saw Mia boarding the same plane and taking her aisle seat in row two just across the aisle from her. Jasmine’s heart started to beat rapidly because she was certain that Nico would be soon boarding the plane. Mia was wearing designer sunglasses that hid her face somewhat, but Jasmine was sure that it was her. She intently watched for Nico, but he never walked onto the plane.
Mia searched out one of the male flight attendants and asked him if he could put her carry-on bag in the overhead compartment for her. And as soon as the flight attendant took hold of her bag, she turned and saw Jasmine looking at her. Mia slightly slid her shades downward off her face, just to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.
“Yeah, it’s me, bitch!” Jasmine shouted at Mia, to the shock and dismay of the older white lady sitting next to her.
Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head before putting her shades fully back on. “Thank you so much,” she said to the flight attendant. She went into her bag and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and tried to hand it to the flight attendant who had just helped her. “Here, this is for you,” she said, purposely ignoring Jasmine.
“Oh, no. Thank you, but I can’t take that.”
“Just take it, buy coffee or something when we land in New York.”
“He said he can’t take it. Now sit your ass down, so we can take off! Bitch!”
Everybody seated in the front of the plane was shocked and surprised at Jasmine’s language, not to mention confused.
Mia smiled and calmly walked toward Jasmine and stood over the white lady sitting next to her. “You’re frustrated. I understand, sweetie. You’ll be okay,” she said in a soft, nonthreatening tone.
“If you were smart, you would sit your ass down in your seat.”
“Ladies, is everything okay?” a gay black male flight attendant walked up and asked both Mia and Jasmine.
“Everything is fine,” Mia replied right before taking her aisle seat. “She’s just going through a little of life’s frustrations.”
The flight attendants stood watch for about a minute, and then they realized that Jasmine’s emotions had subsided. They continued on with their duties, and the flight eventually took off.
For the remainder of the almost six-hour flight, Jasmine and Mia both ignored each other. Jasmine sat with more of a screw face, but that was because her prospects for the future didn’t seem as bright as Mia’s.
Mia sat through the entire flight knowing that within a matter of days, if not hours, she would have her hands on three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash, which would go a long way to helping her feel good, regardless of what Jasmine and Nico chose to do.
***
When the flight was approaching the airport, Jasmine sent Simone a text and asked her if she could pick her up in thirty minutes from LaGuardia Airport, which wasn’t too far from Simone, and Simone agreed.
So when the plane finally landed, Jasmine and Mia continued to ignore each other, and they both exited the plane, with Mia walking in front. Mia had luggage that she had checked in, so she had to go to the baggage area. When she went to the left, Jasmine went to the right toward the passenger pick-up area outside. She saw Simone and she walked toward her, pulling her carry-on bag behind her.
“Hey, girl.” Simone rolled down the passenger side window. She popped the trunk, so Jasmine could put her bag inside.
“Thank you so much. I flew out of Kennedy Airport, and I got my truck parked there. But there was so much drama, I ended up flying back in to LaGuardia,” Jasmine explained.
“Oh, okay. So you need me to shoot you over to Kennedy?”
“Yeah, if you can.”
Simone gave Jasmine a look. “If you didn’t have your car parked at Kennedy, then I would be driving you home. So what’s the difference?”
“No, I’m just saying I don’t want to be all rude and assuming, that’s all.” Jasmine smiled.
“So you went to Vegas and didn’t even tell me?”