[cecil]
FLIGHT
by trixie_chick
He was squeezed between an old grandmother who kept anxiously leaning across the aisle to talk to her daughter and a younger woman who was dressed like a lawyer. The younger woman looked him over as he stepped aside to let her into her seat, categorized him generally as 'Useless,' sat down, opened her laptop, and entered her own world, one that didn't involve anyone else, especially flight attendants who tried to plead the case for tray tables in the upright position during takeoff. Once they were underway, the grandmother kept turning to him to complain about the lack of comfort on airplanes, once even going so far as to reminisce about the time that she was on a plane like this, but the middle seat was unoccupied. Since he could hardly cease to exist to ease her suffering, he just nodded politely, and turned his attention back to his notebook. He had to keep his elbows in so he wasn't taking up any space on either armrest, since neither of the females next to him were proponents of the concept of sharing.
Thank the heavens the flight from Seoul to Tokyo was relatively short.
There was a match next week. It was a bad time to have been away, but. He put together ranking matches. He wrote some practice problems. He recreated Touya Akira's last dan match. The old woman elbowed him in the ribs, and then glared at him. He tried to shrivel up even smaller, which earned him a disdainful look from his lawyer friend.
He hated traveling. For a two hour flight, they did come by to offer drinks, but the flight attendants looked a bit put out when he accepted, and then, he had absolutely no place for his elbows. If only he had no arms, but then, he couldn't drink, or do his lesson plans. Or play go.
What would a first class ticket have cost, he wondered? Was that something a normal pro and teacher like himself could dream about? Touya Akira had once been his student, but he could probably afford first class tickets. Of course, his father was rich.
Shindou could probably afford it soon.
That was depressing to think about, even though he generally felt more excited than jealous of the younger generation coming up in the go world. He was glad, too, that there was more and more contact between the Korean go players and the Japanese and the Chinese go players. The more that they played together, the better all of their games would get, he felt. He even lectured his students about it. He would still like to fly first class someday in his life, though.
Someday... but he might not be going back and forth from Korea as much anymore, now that he thought about it.
While landing, the old woman grabbed his arm and dug her two centimeter long nails in, gasping. "Oh, I hate landings!" she complained to her daughter. He was the one with the wounds, though. As soon as they landed, the lawyer crawled over him and opened the overhead bin, oblivious to the glare of the flight attendant. Chaos ensued upon deplaning, and she was still stuck behind the crowd, so it was pointless. He waited in his seat, letting everyone get out before him as he rearranged his briefcase. He wasn't in a hurry because school was already out for the day. He was, in fact, the last person off the plane, and the flight attendant, with a bit more force than totally necessary, bid him farewell with a, "Hope you enjoyed your trip!"
He smiled banally back at her, but he didn't think this sort of trip really conjured the word enjoyment. Still, he wasn't under the delusion that the flight attendant cared about his dead mother, so he didn't correct her and got off her plane as quickly as possible. As he waited for his luggage in baggage claim, he turned his phone back on, holding it carelessly while it connected to the network. He had two voicemails, and a text message. The text was from one of the girls in the go club. Yun-sensei so sorry to hear about your mother! Plz let me know if you need anything!
She was a bright girl, the co-captain of the team. He had tried to encourage her to become an insei two years ago, but she insisted that she wanted to stay in the club. This year, she would take the pro exam. He offered to give her some private coaching... He probably shouldn't have given her his cell number. Or his email. He just wasn't sure. Her go was interesting. That was all; her go. He wanted her to become pro. A student of his that made pro without the benefit of the insei program. That would be something. Touya Akira, after all, could have become pro before meeting him. This girl...
He nearly missed his luggage as it rolled around the corner. Once he had that, he had to go out and catch the train... He checked his voice mail while he waited, but neither were anything important. The train was a bit busy, so he had to stand next to his suitcase, his briefcase hanging a bit uncomfortably from his shoulder. He watched the scenery whiz by outside as the train flew, a feeling that penetrated into him more than when he was on the plane. He felt numb. He hadn't really slept last night. His sister had berated him after the funeral, but in the car as she was dropping him at the airport, she hugged him and kissed his cheek. She was pregnant. Their father had died two years earlier. Both of his parents were too young to die. He still had a reason, though, to go back home. He'd forgotten, but he was going to be an uncle. His sister's last words to him were to get married to some nice Korean girl when he next came home. That was sort of funny...
He was an orphan. He wasn't prepared for that, it seemed. Maybe when he was finally home, he'd be able to cry at last. He wasn't too optimistic, though.
by trixie_chick
He was squeezed between an old grandmother who kept anxiously leaning across the aisle to talk to her daughter and a younger woman who was dressed like a lawyer. The younger woman looked him over as he stepped aside to let her into her seat, categorized him generally as 'Useless,' sat down, opened her laptop, and entered her own world, one that didn't involve anyone else, especially flight attendants who tried to plead the case for tray tables in the upright position during takeoff. Once they were underway, the grandmother kept turning to him to complain about the lack of comfort on airplanes, once even going so far as to reminisce about the time that she was on a plane like this, but the middle seat was unoccupied. Since he could hardly cease to exist to ease her suffering, he just nodded politely, and turned his attention back to his notebook. He had to keep his elbows in so he wasn't taking up any space on either armrest, since neither of the females next to him were proponents of the concept of sharing.
Thank the heavens the flight from Seoul to Tokyo was relatively short.
There was a match next week. It was a bad time to have been away, but. He put together ranking matches. He wrote some practice problems. He recreated Touya Akira's last dan match. The old woman elbowed him in the ribs, and then glared at him. He tried to shrivel up even smaller, which earned him a disdainful look from his lawyer friend.
He hated traveling. For a two hour flight, they did come by to offer drinks, but the flight attendants looked a bit put out when he accepted, and then, he had absolutely no place for his elbows. If only he had no arms, but then, he couldn't drink, or do his lesson plans. Or play go.
What would a first class ticket have cost, he wondered? Was that something a normal pro and teacher like himself could dream about? Touya Akira had once been his student, but he could probably afford first class tickets. Of course, his father was rich.
Shindou could probably afford it soon.
That was depressing to think about, even though he generally felt more excited than jealous of the younger generation coming up in the go world. He was glad, too, that there was more and more contact between the Korean go players and the Japanese and the Chinese go players. The more that they played together, the better all of their games would get, he felt. He even lectured his students about it. He would still like to fly first class someday in his life, though.
Someday... but he might not be going back and forth from Korea as much anymore, now that he thought about it.
While landing, the old woman grabbed his arm and dug her two centimeter long nails in, gasping. "Oh, I hate landings!" she complained to her daughter. He was the one with the wounds, though. As soon as they landed, the lawyer crawled over him and opened the overhead bin, oblivious to the glare of the flight attendant. Chaos ensued upon deplaning, and she was still stuck behind the crowd, so it was pointless. He waited in his seat, letting everyone get out before him as he rearranged his briefcase. He wasn't in a hurry because school was already out for the day. He was, in fact, the last person off the plane, and the flight attendant, with a bit more force than totally necessary, bid him farewell with a, "Hope you enjoyed your trip!"
He smiled banally back at her, but he didn't think this sort of trip really conjured the word enjoyment. Still, he wasn't under the delusion that the flight attendant cared about his dead mother, so he didn't correct her and got off her plane as quickly as possible. As he waited for his luggage in baggage claim, he turned his phone back on, holding it carelessly while it connected to the network. He had two voicemails, and a text message. The text was from one of the girls in the go club. Yun-sensei so sorry to hear about your mother! Plz let me know if you need anything!
She was a bright girl, the co-captain of the team. He had tried to encourage her to become an insei two years ago, but she insisted that she wanted to stay in the club. This year, she would take the pro exam. He offered to give her some private coaching... He probably shouldn't have given her his cell number. Or his email. He just wasn't sure. Her go was interesting. That was all; her go. He wanted her to become pro. A student of his that made pro without the benefit of the insei program. That would be something. Touya Akira, after all, could have become pro before meeting him. This girl...
He nearly missed his luggage as it rolled around the corner. Once he had that, he had to go out and catch the train... He checked his voice mail while he waited, but neither were anything important. The train was a bit busy, so he had to stand next to his suitcase, his briefcase hanging a bit uncomfortably from his shoulder. He watched the scenery whiz by outside as the train flew, a feeling that penetrated into him more than when he was on the plane. He felt numb. He hadn't really slept last night. His sister had berated him after the funeral, but in the car as she was dropping him at the airport, she hugged him and kissed his cheek. She was pregnant. Their father had died two years earlier. Both of his parents were too young to die. He still had a reason, though, to go back home. He'd forgotten, but he was going to be an uncle. His sister's last words to him were to get married to some nice Korean girl when he next came home. That was sort of funny...
He was an orphan. He wasn't prepared for that, it seemed. Maybe when he was finally home, he'd be able to cry at last. He wasn't too optimistic, though.