The Rockstar Who Loves Me

Song 2 ♫ Never Fainted

If I had become a celebrity, would I have flown in first class all the time?

That was my pressing concern as I imprinted my shape into the plush seat on the return flight out of Seoul. Not having hit it big in the world of Latin American entertainment was probably a blessing in disguise. Knowing me, it would have gone to my head quick and I would have become one of those divas who threw their champagne glasses at the flight attendants' faces.

Meanwhile, when one of the airline employees walked by my aisle offering precisely that bubbly drink, I nearly wept as I thanked him profusely for offering.

While waiting at the airport, I gave Dawn a quick call to outline my new itinerary. As soon as she heard about my seat upgrade, she said, "Girl, who did you flash to get a perk like that?"

"If I'd flashed anyone I'd have got a ticket straight to jail," I said, chuckling even as a nearby businessman gave me an alarmed look. "Nah, I just acted out a real bitch. They must have thought I was rich."

"So long as it doesn't come with a bigger tab, enjoy it."

I had already checked and nope, it really was a freebie. All the more reason to sip some bubbly and relax.

I leaned back, propped up my feet on the footrest and closed my eyes, ready to pretend I was living the life I always wanted—surrounded by luxury and being tended to by someone else. Until somebody cleared their throat. I squeezed my eyes tighter, but once the sound came again, I realized it was really meant for me.

A Korean guy stood beside me, all dressed in black like some sort of grim reaper. A cap obscured his eyes even for my lower vantage, and the rest of his face was hidden by a cloth mask. With his plane ticket, he pointed at the seat beside me, by the window.

Normally, if this happened in economy class I'd have to perform acts of contortionist magic to extricate myself from my seat without bothering anyone. This time I enjoyed the amplitude only people with copious amounts of zeros in their bank accounts could afford. I gave the guy a wide berth as he walked past me and settled himself. Meanwhile, I sipped champagne.

"First class, huh? Pretty amazing," I said once I'd taken my seat again.

He cut a sharp glance but said nothing, which I took to mean I was either talking too much for someone who regularly flew in first, or he wasn't comfortable with English. In any case, I'd always found chatty seat mates annoying, so I focused on my drink until it was gone.

"Excuse me," I said to the flight attendant, pointing at my empty cup. "Could I have a refill?"

"We're almost ready to depart but I will be glad to fill your glass once we're in the air."

"Fantastic, thanks." The extra pep in my voice made my seat mate turn away from me.

Que sifrino...

I crossed myself as the plane took off and my heart leapt from the vertigo as much as for excitement at finally returning home, to where my bed was. And my mom.

And my boss, ugh.

After a couple more glasses of alcohol, I dozed off until I started drooling. A bump on the road woke me up, which was weird because there were no bumps in the air. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and looked around.

The cabin was dark, mostly illuminated by a few screens as people watched movies or read something from their electronic devices. My neighbor had finally removed his cap and replaced it by a humongous headset. He fiddled around with a MacBook but the privacy screen prevented me from seeing what he was doing.

The bump happened again. If we'd been riding a car, the drop that followed would've been caused by driving off a cliff. Someone yelped and I clawed at the arm rests.