Transfixed

"Ma'am, please have some water and tissues."

"Oh, thanks !!!"

It was then that Akira realized that she was making herself too obvious.

She was a self-made woman and hated when people pitied her. She had to regain herself somehow. She gave the attendant a faint smile and gulped the entire water bottle. Then she took a wet wipe from her purse and cleaned her entire face. Next, she frantically started searching for a mirror in her purse and finally found it. The moment she held the mirror in front of her face, she went in shock and that very instant she squealed- "No way!!!"

Meanwhile, Raymond was watching her activities. Suddenly his whole focus was on her. The moment he heard her squealing, he couldn't help but chuckle. Yes, there was a smile on his face, God knows after how many days.

Akira took a deep breath and picked up a couple of things from her bag. A comb, a scrunchie, and a lip balm and rushed to the washroom. She fixed her hair into a neat ponytail and just dabbed a bit of lip balm on her lips. She was a no makeup girl. Her go-to item was always a lip balm or lip tint. After applying the lip balm she felt she looked manageable, so she came out of the washroom and started walking towards her seat.

While walking back Akira noticed someone looking at her. She looked up and met his gaze but the very next moment she stood transfixed, unable to move an inch further. There was something about his gaze. The strange look in his eyes trying to demand thousands of answers from her. For a moment she felt like she knew him somehow, but she couldn't figure out how. His cufflink looked familiar but she wasn't able to connect the dots. She gave a weak smile and returned to her seat without even caring if her smile was returned or not.

Raymond still continued looking at her transfixed. Her gentle smile was generating hundreds of myriad emotions in his heart which he was so unaware of before. He felt emotions which were unexplored by him like she had touched the zones of his feelings which had never been unearthed. She looked so surreal after fixing her hair. There was a sense of calmness and gentleness about her.

After taking her seat Akira took out her Ipad and started her "Things to do" app.

She was a planner. She had to sort out her life now. Her career choices, her internship program. Her life revolved around Anthony and she had to get a hold of it. She started noting down her goals one by one -

1. Pay return flight credit card bill – 3700 USD

2. Get a new internship

As Anthony was in Infineon, she didn't even bother to apply for other companies based in the US. It was too late to apply but nevertheless. She really started worrying about her internship and her pending bills. In a rush she booked a business class ticket but now that reality was dawning on her, she instantly regretted her decision.

Before Akira's parents died, they had left some money for her and Mike. She did odd jobs during her school days, tutored others and got into the University of Cincinnati on a full scholarship but Mike was still in school and she had to run the house. Her credit card bill was like a tight slap on her face. But she was determined. She knew she had to power steer through all of this. So she knew obtaining an internship was the first thing that she had to do.

She was totally immersed in her thoughts and just then she heard the flight attendant.

"Hello, ma'am !!! Some chocolates please."