CHAPTER 1

Evelyn

How do you stay different?

That's the question I asked myself every single day because I looked around me and Lord knows, I wanted to be nothing like the people surrounding me. Pretentious. Selfish. Greedy.

I've always wanted to be me.

So as I stared at the people surrounding me in first class; I decided I wasn't going to sit around with the snobby people. I stood up with a smile, catching the pilot off guard

“Miss Carson, we're about to take off. Could you take a seat? Or is there any way we can help?” The question was asked with a dazzling smile. Would he have been so polite if I had been in economy class?

Let's experiment.

“Oh, yes. I can take a seat. Just excuse me for a moment, will you?” I smiled at him as well and he nodded. He appeared willing to do whatever I asked so long as my dad kept doing business with this company.

Kiss ass.

I stood up and headed back to economy class where I saw everyone from families to little kids that were impatient to get off the airplane and older people conversing. My gaze fell on a small family, what I assumed to be a couple with their baby, perhaps four months old. They were the ones who would be taking my place. I glanced back where a flight attendant and the pilot waited, shaking their heads at the same thing I somehow always managed to pull off.

“Excuse me,” I said with a small smile. “Can I have your seats?”

The woman seemed confused, searching for a hint as to what to do from her husband.

“I'm sorry, but we paid for these seats,” the man replied with a frown.

“Oh,” I muttered. “I'm sorry. I don't think I explained myself. I always assume people know what I'm trying to say.”

It's true. My brain has never been able to make the connections clear.

“I meant, would you like to sit in first class? I'll take your seat.”

The pair widened their eyes, disbelief etched on both their faces. This was the best part of it all—watching how someone else's face changed from surprise to pure happiness.

“I'm sorry…we can't afford first class.” The woman's face fell as if there was something wrong with not being able to afford it.

“Oh, that won’t be an issue. It's covered.”

The pilot approached me as a reminder that I only had one seat in first class.

“I'm sure if I pull out my credit card and pay for the other seat, you won't have anything negative to say now, will you?” I glared at him.

He nodded, walking away. Interesting, the things money can do.

“Go on,” I told them. “Have fun and relax a bit. Order whatever you want. A glass of wine, food…it’s all covered.”

The family appeared to be on the verge of tears; my heart was full. Having money to spare, I'd seen the way people held on to it as if it's their saving grace. I wanted to be the furthest thing from that. I knew money didn’t mean a single thing, not if you were lonely. Not if you didn’t have a home.

I took the seat by the window and let the pilot know my tantrum was over.

Take off started and I made sure to keep my eyes open, looking down, taking in the beautiful view of the ground disappearing as we vanished into the clouds.

Finally, I sighed, dreading what awaited upon my return back in Pennsylvania. I wasn't looking forward to it. My family there wasn't very family-like. No one had the same interests as me, they were all too busy pretending to be happy in their fancy ass houses and their fancy ass cars.

Meanwhile, their children were out using drugs and instead of getting them into rehab, they pretended to know nothing so their “reputation” wouldn't be ruined. Men were out cheating on their wives with their secretaries, or whoever was the first to bat their eyelashes at them, and the women were too busy getting their nails done to give a damn.

Or they were too busy working on building a company they wouldn't be able to take to the grave when they died, like my sister.