“Buzz buzz”. Her phone vibrated interrupting her daydreams. She reached for the phone with her eyes fixed on her laptop screen. Another weekly meeting – another boring meeting run by a guy who oozed charisma. “Charisma doesn’t make meetings less painful” she muttered checking if her microphone was on mute yet again. Her eyes glanced at the message blinking on her phone. The SMS set her cursing.

“Dang! I cannot afford to take the later flight” she muttered as she hung up on her conference call. A phone call and a few minutes later, she shut down her work laptop in a rush.  It was going to the usual last minute dash to airport and a sprint through immigration and security. These last minute flight cancellations and must attend client minutes were be getting to her. “Maybe it is time to slow down and find a job that doesn’t involve travel” she muttered as she texted her boss the change in itinerary.

“Airports and I don’t mix. We hate each other” she lamented as she ran around finishing up the packing. Laptop, chargers, work phone, personal phone, phone chargers, travel adaptors, passport, visa, tickets, credit cards, hotel reservations and more– she went down her to-do list. Frequent work trips had made her a pro at packing and travel. She hoped for a quiet flight with a chance to catch up some sleep and reading for the meetings.

“Any hopes of an upgrade?” she smiled as she handed her passport at the check-in counter. “Never hurts to ask” was her philosophy. Checked-in, immigration cleared, security done, boarded and settled in. “Not bad. Smooth ride so far. Turning off phone now. Will message when I check-in at the hotel” she texted as she turned off her phone. “Time for some zzzs “she muttered as she closed her eyes and trying to switch off.

Poke! Poke! Her sleep-engorged mind registered someone poking her left arm. She opened her eyes to see, two sets of green eyes starring at her with mischief. “Hello! I am Leo and this is my baby sister Lara. I am 6 and she is 4. We are going to meet our daddy in Dubai. Are you going to Dubai too?” Mia looked outside the window and realized they had just taken off and the little tyke had been using her as a pincushion.

Mia usually liked children and loved interacting with them. Their insatiable curiosity and out-of-the-box thinking had her in splits. “Not today. Not this flight” she groaned to herself as she flashed a “as fake as Barbie doll” smile at the tired mom and the two vocal kids. “Hmm! Hello Leo and Lara. Nice to meet you both” she greeted and closed her eyes hoping the kids got the message. “Aren’t you going to watch TV? It has Dora on it” pitched in Lara with a gracious smile. “Hmm na – not today. I am going to take a nap. You kids enjoy the show” Mia said closing her eyes with a smile. Kids are always fun.

“Mommy can we unbuckle NOW” a shrill screech right next to her ear pushed away the remnants of sleep. She sighed and tried to ignore the energetic kids seated next to her. “I need to go to the potty. Urgently”. “When will they serve us food? I am hungry” “No. I don’t want to eat a snack from my bag”. Mia could see herself in the meeting tomorrow, in her crisp power suit and pumps, jetlagged red-rimmed eyes and all. She pitied the mother who was traveling with the two dynamic kids.

“Kids were meant to be kids and not cooped up in cattle class with millions of others” she thought. A bit of drama, some TV time and some food before Mia settled in for another attempt at catching up some sleep. She pulled out her sleep mask and earplugs hoping that the aids with help her. She dozed off and was in her dreamland filled with presentations, numbers and projector problems. Plop! Something hit Mia’s hand and she pushed it aside. Plop! Plop! There seemed to be a sudden rain of something small hitting her. No not pebbles or anything that hurts. Just something irritating. She opened her eyes to see her lap filled with small paper balls. The inflight magazine torn into shreds and crushed were being targeted at her. Mia put on her sternest face and said, “Stop it. I am sleeping and I don’t want to be disturbed”

A bloodcurdling, earplug busting, low-pitched scream right next to her ear jolted her awake. “I must have dozed off after that paper attack” she thought debating if she should complain to the mum. She felt bad at the thought of complaining. She kept her eyes closed and tried to listen in to the whispering “We need to be louder. We need to wake her up but NOT disturb mom. Maybe we should try tickling? That should work. What do you say?” “The rambunctious collaborators on a mission. Good bye sleep” thought Mia as she pulled off her mask and plugs.

This post is a part of the April A to Z challenge. 26 days, 26 letters and 26 short stories. Come back tomorrow for more.