As I boarded the aeroplane, ready for my long-haul flight, I noticed a boy about the age of 12 sitting next to me. He was wearing earbuds and chewing gum. Now, gum doesn’t bother me, but one thing that does is when people chew gum with their mouths open.

The boy looked over at me with a smirk. “What?” I said, angry at him, my face growing hot.

“You look upset at me.”

“I am.” That was true, I wanted to strangle him. He laughed, then went back to smacking his gum. A few minutes later, he put his legs across my lap and started kicking the chair in front of me, making the person turn around and glare at me. “Keep your little brother away from my chair. First class is no place for children.” I glared at the boy.

“Sorry. He’s not my brother. The only reason we are sitting together in first class is because we are flying alone and both our parents probably thought we would be safer up here.” The woman rolled her eyes and turned back around. The boy laughed at me and started jiggling MY chair. Ooooh, I was about to strangle him.

“You’re making that face again.”

I glared at the boy. “Stop talking to me.” Even his VOICE was getting on my nerves. He shrugged and proceeded to spit his gum out in a paper bag and throw it in my seat. As I was about to throw it back, a lady walked up and said, “Would you want anything to drink, sweeties?” I shook my head. “No thank you.”

The boy nodded. “Water.” She smiled at him and left, then returned with a glass of water. He GULPED it down, aahing after every gulp. Then, he put his glass in my cup holder and ordered another. I glared at him. This was the last straw. As I was about to lean over and strangle his neck, we landed. Aah, much better.

As we got off, I leaned over and whispered, “You’re a brat.” He smiled, bowed, then walked off the plane, but not before splashing me with the second glass of water, which resulted in a slap across his face. I grinned as he glared daggers at me.

“Bye bye, have funnnn,” I said in a sing-song voice. “And next time you fly, sit next to someone who actually appreciates you.”