Just My Luck

God has been pretty kind to me a few days ago. In a flight to Brissy with many old folks, families and kids, He placed me next to a macho Aussie who reminded me a wee bit of Tobey Maguire. When i got to my seat, i wanted to smile at him but he looked unfriendly so i didn't.

With a few hours left to arrival, he asked if i could make way for him to get out of his window seat to go to the toilet. When he returned, he gave a friendly 'thank you' and that was when i thought, 'Hey, he ain't that scary after all.' So i started the conversation and found out that he was on his way home from South Africa. Like any other bloke, he was there to catch the World Cup and also found time to go cage-diving with the sharks. How amazingly awesome! After marvelling at his holiday, i didn't know what else to say and that was it. The end.

On my rather empty flight back to KL, i was hoping to get a seat in an unoccupied row so that i could stretch my legs. Approaching my window seat, i looked up and saw the person who was to sit next to me for the next eight hours: a tall, broad shoulder, slightly unshaven, brown-haired hottie! Immediately, i gave up my desire to sit in an empty row and prayed that he wouldn't move too. Hot flying companion trumps leg space any day!

Once i got seated, i noticed from the corner of my eye that he turned to look at me. Taking it as an invitation to strike a conversation, i smiled, and he introduced himself as Jack.

Turned out, he was on his way to what would probably be one of the best experiences of his life. Not wanting to work in bars like his friends, he decided to take the plunge and signed up for a job as an English teacher in a primary school in China...and he doesn't even speak Chinese! Then we talked about my job, Langkawi being a place where KL-ites go to get drunk, his sky-diving trip, and our wrecked necks - sleeping comfortably on airplanes is impossible!

The conversations (and his cute face) certainly made the flight less torturous. And then this happened:

Me: So, what were you doing before taking on this teaching job?
Jack: I just got out of school...
Me: *looks at him*
Jack: ...high school

Great. The one time i meet an amazing person on my flight and he turns out to be younger than me. Hai yah.