Up in the Air Pt. 01

"Chrissy," Kim said, while sniggering as she kept my face pressed towards the window. "Get a load of this."

I averted my eyes in disgrace, looking towards the ceiling of the interior cabin, just after feeling Chrissy's foot move from my arm. A second later, I felt my seat pull back, as she'd stood and was holding onto the headrest. She leaned over the seat next to me. "Oh my God," she said with a snicker while clutching a glass of soda in her hand, accidentally spilling it over the seat in the process. "How long have you been doing that to her?"

"Only a couple of seconds." Kim released her foot slightly, before spreading her toes, then pressing with more intensity.

"Why is she just letting you do that?" Chrissy asked with shock, and I felt as if I was going to pass out under her watchful stare. I could barely understand why I was letting her do it, but it was such a humiliating action, that my body had kind of gone into some kind of reclusive defensive mode. It was almost like I was curling up into the foetal position, unable to act and hopeful that they would just take pity on me and leave me alone.

"I don't know, but she's not really making much of an effort to stop me, so I'm going to keep doing it." Her toes scrunched and tugged at my cheek. "How about I keep you like this the rest of the flight?" she asked me in a slightly louder voice. "Seems fair, right? I mean, it can't be bothering you that much, otherwise you'd stop me?"

"I gotta get this on video," Chrissy said, and I could feel her fumbling for her phone as my seat shifted forwards.

"Ugh, no," I whined, barely above a whisper, but it was too late. I made to move, but Kim's foot held me against the wall. As a result, I scrunched my eyes up as I caught sight of Chrissy's phone in my face, capturing Kim's toes sprawled across my cheek.

"Got it," Chrissy said, triumphantly, and she giggled while sitting back down.

There was an awkward cough, and I noted that Marketa's towering figure was stood at the end of my row again. "Is everything okay—"

There was silence for a moment, as I was completely baffled with how I was supposed to respond. Obviously, everything was far from okay, and I waited for Kim to remove her foot through her own embarrassment at being caught. However, bizarrely, the pressure seemed to increase as she pinned me to the wall.

"Everything is fine," she suddenly announced before I could think of any excuse to mumble. "Isn't that right?" She pushed into my face with slightly more pressure.

I swallowed under the weight of her foot, while my mind scrambled for some passable reason for this to be happening. Marketa's eyes were boring through me, and my thoughts flipped all over the place as anxiety seeped through me. "Yes," I eventually said in a panic, simply wanting Marketa away and not drawing any further attention to me. The last thing I wanted was anyone else in the cabin to see what the hell was going on in my row. Thankfully, through the gap in the seat, I could see the guy in front was still asleep. "I'm fine," I said while flapping my hand, trying to urge Marketa to leave us alone.

However, Marketa remained stood there, and she seemed mesmerised by what she was witnessing. "What...what is even happening here?" she asked, this time directing her question towards Kim.

"I'm making myself more comfortable," Kim said, before adding, "and she doesn't mind."

"Even on her face?" Marketa asked, completely bemused. She then turned her head towards me. "You don't mind?"

"Please," I said, while my throat grew increasingly dry and enclosed. I peered between the seats in front again, terrified that the guy was going to overhear the commotion, turn and then there would be another witness to my plight. After the way I'd acted with such forthrightness earlier, it was going to be tragic for everyone to see me trapped in such an astonishingly humbled position. The way everyone had sided against me, they'd probably cheer and declare it fair karma. "Please, just leave us alone."

Marketa stewed in place, before she nervously scratched at her neck. "I...don't really know what to do in this situation," she said. "Nothing like this has ever happened before." She seemed confused and as if she was talking to herself more than anyone. "I don't even know what the correct protocol is. I mean, clearly this shouldn't be happening, but if you're saying you're fine and to leave you alone, then well, I guess, whatever the passenger wants?"

I didn't know whether the question was rhetorical or not, but while I was sweating and squirming beneath Kim's foot on my cheek, I simply bit my lip, closed my eyes and willed Marketa to just bugger off and let me deal with this alone. The longer she was hovering over me, the more intense and anxiety-ridden the situation was becoming. Thankfully, when I opened my eyes again, I saw that she had disappeared and left us.

"Okay, that's enough," I heard Chrissy say. "You've messed with her enough. You'll get us in trouble."

I heard a scoff, and then I felt a prod against my arm again, this time with Kim's other foot. "What's she going to do? Make a complaint? I'll just say it was an accident." My arm was prodded again. "Oops, another accident."

A hysterical giggle followed, apparently contagious as Chrissy couldn't help but snort too. "It's so weird how she isn't saying anything though, isn't it?" She asked in a curious tone. "Like, why isn't she stopping you?"

"I don't know?" There was silence for a moment, before I felt my forearm pinched by Kim's biggest and second toe, all while her other foot was still pressed against my cheek. The longer it was there, the sweatier my skin was becoming, and I whimpered under the strong scent from her toes whenever I took in a laboured breath. "She had to have felt that." She scrunched her toes against my cheek. "She's feeling this right now, and she's just letting it happen. Not saying a word."

Chrissy popped up for another look, and she made sure to take a couple more photos, documenting my shame further, till after a minute of me struggling and writhing, her shadow disappeared. However, I then flinched as I felt her foot brush against the side of my face from the other side, wedged up between my cheek and the wall. Her socked toe rubbed up against my ear before it returned to the armrest. "I just touched her face too."

"You're lying."

"I swear."

There were gasps and sniggers from behind, and I felt absolutely humiliated.

"Where did the flight attendant go?" Chrissy asked.

"I don't know. She headed towards the captain?" Kim replied.

"Do you think there will be a problem?"

"Not sure."

"Well, just in case." Chrissy's foot immediately withdrew from the armrest next to me. "Come on," she urged. "Leave her alone for a bit."

"Boo," I heard Kim whine. "You're such a drag sometimes, sis." However, much to my relief, Kim released my face, and both of her feet soon returned to her side of the seats.

I breathed a sigh of relief, so thankful that I was finally free of the torment they'd inflicted upon me with their feet. In the reflection of the screen in front, I turned my head and could see there was a light, red imprint of Kim's footprint on my cheek. I deeply blushed, not sure whether I was more ashamed that the entire debacle had happened, or more so that I had allowed it to and offered zero opposition.

It was the audacity, and entitlement that was annoying me more than anything. I mean, I had tried laying across the seats to sleep and it wasn't comfortable. Maybe if Kim had politely asked me if she could stretch out, since I wasn't using the seats, then perhaps I would have been accommodating? I was sat off next to the window, after all, and the seats directly in front of Kim were empty. Perhaps it was just a lapse in judgement and she didn't appreciate that she could have simply asked me to use that room. I kind of understood, to a degree. The seats in economy were extremely cramped with non-existent leg room. That was one of the reasons I always flew business, and it was understandable that she'd want to stretch out since the opportunity had presented itself. What got up my back was that she did it without my permission, and more so, did it in a way that she knew would annoy me. To that extent, maybe the primary motive wasn't relaxed, but rather, making my flight as uncomfortable as possible. Was she really so petty that she was going to spend the whole ten hours annoying me because I'd slightly delayed the flight with my predicament?

Her actually sticking her foot in my face was another issue entirely and was completely out of line. I was still trying to process it had actually happened, and therefore, I didn't know how to respond. I thought about turning and saying something; but what exactly could I say? I'd had the chance to bring things to an end, and in my panic, I'd ushered Marketa away, the one person, other than myself, that could have intervened.

I craned my neck to look ahead to the guy in front, still soundly asleep. The passengers across the aisle were also completely oblivious, and I was baffled that no one else had realised what had happened. Apparently, my humiliation had remained unseen, and in some ways, that justified my decision to keep quiet while it was happening. If I had yelled or screamed, everyone would have been aware that Kim's foot was in my face. Yes, it would have probably resulted in her getting in trouble, but everyone still would have seen her foot in my face in the first place. Regardless of any consequences being directed her way, my reputation would never have recovered.

I almost felt happy with my response after that consideration, but then, I felt a dread wash over me, as I recalled that Chrissy had stuck her phone in my face. She'd recorded a video and taken pictures. There was evidence of Kim's gross, chipped, toes sunken into my pampered skin. "Ugh," I said, while shuddering, and fearing what was going to happen with those. I thought about turning and saying something, demanding she delete them, but I felt completely powerless now that she had such evidence in her possession. I mean, what if she just wanted them to laugh about, and me pushing her resulted in her posting them online? Could I risk such a thing happening?

The next half hour or so was largely uneventful, and as they were no longer annoying me, their feet out of sight, I conned myself into believing that everything was now settled and over. Even though Chrissy had the evidence, she didn't say or do anything further, so, I figured, since she was the one constantly trying to convince Kim to stop, that she probably wouldn't do anything with that stuff. She appeared to be genuinely concerned of any consequences from the airline employees, so why would she expose me in such a way, knowing the trouble it would probably bring her?

I managed to put the awful humiliation out of mind, mostly, and distracted myself with the movie. When Marketa walked along the aisle another time, and paused while noting the girls' feet were now absent, I ordered a vodka and orange juice. She hesitated, as if wanting to ask me something, probably about why I had allowed such a ridiculous thing to happen. However, she remembered her place, and that she was working, before nodding, and heading off to get my drink. At least that was one thing I had going in my favour, since I was stuck in such a crappy seat; Marketa had kept her word, and alcoholic drinks were complimentary. I swigged it down quickly, as after everything that had happened so far, I needed a bloody drink.

The girls behind had been quiet, and I peeked through the gap to see that Kim was now asleep. With that, I almost thanked the heavens for such a turn of fortune. I adjusted my position and carefully lifted the armrests next to me, so that I could stretch out my legs across the empty seats and fully relax. It wasn't possible to sleep, but at least I could straighten my legs and not be all cramped up. For the first time in a while, I actually felt comfortable, and prayed that Kim and as I now knew, her sister, Chrissy, would sleep through the remainder of the flight. If they slept through to landing, I might even be able to grab my stuff and disappear before they realised what was happening. The mere thought of being away from them was so deliciously inviting.

While sampling my drink, and as my inhibitions were lowered, I considered that perhaps things weren't so bad in economy, you know, besides the childish actions of the sisters behind me. Maybe I'd overreacted earlier. I mean, now that the red mist had dissipated and I had a chance to think things through more clearly, I accepted that Marketa had actually offered me quite a good deal. I was getting a full refund, a voucher, had a whole row to myself, and had the same refreshment perks as I would have enjoyed in business class. If anything, I wasn't even getting the full economy experience that everyone else around me was suffering through, and I was now travelling for free!

Suddenly, I felt rather embarrassed about the tantrum I'd thrown and the scene I'd caused. If I'd just kept my mouth shut, and sat down, no one would have even been aware that I existed. I could have been sat right as I was at that moment, and Kim and Chrissy would never have even thought to bother me. After all, they had been quiet until, in my anger, I'd begun insulting the entire economy cabin. That is what I'd done, I realised, calling them rabble and mocking them for having never sat in business before. In some ways, as I quietly contemplated and reconsidered my actions, I accepted that what they'd put me through was perhaps a taste of my own medicine. I'd called them rabble after all, and they'd only acted within the standards I'd deemed them capable of. Therefore, I wrote off the humiliation as being somewhat deserved, though still immensely mortifying to my dignity. I mean, no one deserves a foot rubbed in their face, but then, no one deserves to be insulted for only being able to afford economy. Not everyone could afford the things I enjoyed in life, could they?

Marketa was just about to pass down the aisle again, and I suddenly felt apologetic. "Excuse me," I said, while leaning back against the window. "I'm so sorry about earlier." I'd slipped my shoes off, and my socked feet were pressed up against the far armrest. I wiggled my toes while enjoying the space, feeling the same way that Kim must have.

"It's fine," she said, somewhat dismissively, and with that, she'd already continued along down the aisle. I was rather taken aback, as I'd expected her to be grateful for the apology, but maybe I'd made her job more difficult and she'd ran out of patience with me. She almost seemed like she was uncomfortable talking to me, despite having brought a number of drinks my way. Maybe that whole incident with Kim's foot in my face had rattled her too, and she wasn't sure how to talk with someone that would allow such a thing to happen. My response had been pitiful, and I was embarrassed just recalling the way in which I had allowed it to happen.

Thankfully, the next two hours were a dream, and I was largely left to my own devices, laying across the seats and watching another movie. There was only a bit of kerfuffle when Kim must have woken behind me, and for a second, my body went rigid as I braced for another invasion of my personal space. However, she simply stepped into the aisle, then scooted off towards the restroom without even paying me any attention.

I enjoyed another minute of the movie, when Kim scampered back to her seat. She was just about to turn into her row, when she paused at the end of mine, stopping to look me up and down. After a moment of her awkwardly standing there, I hesitantly looked from the screen. Seeing her stood up, I realised she must have been around eighteen or nineteen, and had a kind of chilled-out boho look to her, almost as if she could be categorised as a cross between a surfer and a stoner. She was wearing a loose, pink vest, with a black bra offensively visible through it. Her thighs were obscenely exposed beneath her cut-off jean shorts; looking as if she hadn't put a single thought into her outfit that morning. There was a similarly pretentious leather headband at the top of her forehead, disappearing back into her brunette hair framing her face. I hadn't noticed it earlier, as it was somewhat equally coloured to her hair, however, under the light of the aisle, it was jarringly evident. Her feet were bare, except for the chipped blue polish and that string anklet I instantly recognised. I shivered at the recollection of her tormenting me earlier with her foot on the armrest, and I immediately felt embarrassed. Her toes were splayed out on the floor as she stood, and it was rather humbling to consider they'd been similarly spread over my own cheek. Now, she was stood here, having suffered no consequences at all for such a grave insult. I wanted her to just go away, but she remained in place, staring at me, and I realised that I was going to have to do something.

She then said something, but I didn't hear as I was wearing the earphones still. I was hoping she'd just roll her eyes and leave me alone, however, her mouth moved again, and again. She raised a hand impatiently, so I muted the movie and asked, "What was that?"

"I said I didn't realise you were sat here," she said with a massive smirk. "Why didn't you say something about my foot?" She cocked her head and poked her tongue out; that awful piercing twinkling amongst its moist pinkness. "Sorry if I was bothering you."

Obviously, I knew she'd been doing it on purpose; she'd shoved her bloody foot in my face after all. Now she was going to play it off like it was an accident? The brass neck of her annoyed me somewhat, but suddenly, I was seduced by the possibility of pretending I too was ignorant of the whole thing. Even though it was absurd, it was just way too tempting. It was almost as if she had presented me with a get out of jail free card, and now I could move on from the whole thing without losing face. Even though I'd squirmed and whimpered beneath her foo as it danced all over my face, could I actually pretend, in an almost ignorant way, that I hadn't noticed? Was this some agreement between us? Maybe while in the restroom, she'd felt bad about her behaviour and thought better to brush it under the carpet. Still, I was lured in by the mere suggestion that all of this disappearing from memory was a possibility. "Oh, it's fine," I said. "No bother at all." If anything, I was thankful that she'd realised the error in her ways and was quite apologetic about it. "I barely even noticed anything." I let out a light chuckle and rolled my eyes. "You know, completely engrossed in the movie." I freed another chuckle, thankful we were now both playing this game where we pretended like nothing had happened.

I expected her to return to her seat, however, she crossed her arms and instead leaned against the back of the seat in front. "That whole scene you caused earlier was embarrassing though, huh? Why would you put yourself through that?"

"I...uh...." I was left kind of speechless by her talking so openly about that whole thing that had happened earlier.

"Have you even apologised to anyone?"

"Actually, I did," I said somewhat proudly. "I apologise to Marketa."

She momentarily wrinkled her forehead. "Ohhhh, Marketa, huh?" she mocked. "You're buddies now, are ya?"

"No, it's not like—"

"You going to apologise to everyone else for being so selfish and delaying our flight?"

"Oh," I said, while kind of sinking into the seat. I swallowed shamefully. "Yes, I'm sorry about that."

Kim stared at me, her expression blank and unmoved by my limp apology. She raised an eyebrow, a subtle tut emitting from her plump lips. There was almost an intense suggestive prod within her expression, and my composure wilted.