Oxford University's History class were pouring their way into a Boeing 747, ready to make their long homeward journey. They had been visiting the American Capital as part of a trip to supplement their studies on US history. It had been an exciting and engaging week-long visit for most, although, for one girl, it had been even more alienating and lonely than her time spent on campus.
This girl was Jane, 19 years old, currently in her first year as an undergraduate. She had grown up in a working class town where most of the people were poor, but warm and friendly. She had a ravenous appetite for knowledge and had spent most of her time in the library growing up. As she got older, historical figures like Henry VIII, Napoleon, Caesar and Genghis Khan had started to fascinate her and she almost always had her head buried in a thick tome throughout her teenage years.
While her parents had not had a lot of money, they knew that the opportunities for Jane would be limited if she was to stay in the place she was born and so they had encouraged her at every step of the way. It hadn't been easy, but after years of late nights, hard work and endless studying, Jane achieved her dream. A prestigious scholarship to one of the most highly respected universities in the world, Oxford.
She had excitedly said goodbye to her friends and family, packed up her things and headed down south to start her new life. It hadn't taken her long to realize that she was completely out of place in her new surroundings. Her tatty clothes and northern accent made her stick out like a sore thumb amongst her wealthy peers with their posh accents and parents that were involved in investment banking or politics or stock trading. She was a "normal person" amongst a sea of silver spoon trust fund babies who hadn't lived a day of their lives in the real world that Jane had come from.
The first few weeks had been very rough, with her being ostracized and being mocked in hushed tones by her fellow students. The only ray of sunlight had been her roommate, Annie. The two had quickly become friends, but now, as Jane took her seat on the plane, she was left to the buzzards, with Annie hundreds of miles away. She had spent almost the whole trip alone, save for a few moments with her kindly lecturer, Mr Bell. He had come from a similar background as Jane, meaning he had quickly warmed up to her and while he wouldn't ever admit it, she was his favorite student.
Unfortunately, this had been obvious to the other students, further making Jane persona non grata around campus. Eleanor and Astrid, the quote unquote "popular girls," had made it their personal mission to make Jane miserable, regularly insulting and belittling her, mocking her clothes and accent. Jane hated them with every fiber of her being, but she knew that fighting back wasn't an option, at least not a good one. It was why she had been horrified to learn that she was meant to be sitting with both girls on the flight home.
Jane tucked her long brown hair behind her ear, adjusting her thick rimmed glasses to make sure they didn't slip from her nose. She opened the overhead locker, lifting in her case and taking her place in the aisle seat. She saw her tormentors heading towards her, anxiety kicked in as she envisioned a whole flight of unending mockery and cruelty. She wrung her hands nervously as they came up to her, Prada and Gucci suitcases in tow, designer handbags slung over their shoulders.
They both smiled at Laura wickedly as Astrid spoke up, venom dripping from every word. "Oh look Eleanor, it's the poor girl!" They both laughed heartily before she continued. "We heard that we were going to have to sit with such riff raff and to be honest Jane, it made us feel sick to our stomachs; we'd probably catch something!" They both pantomimed throwing up violently. "So I called Daddy and he got our tickets bumped up to first class!"
"That's right Astrid!" Eleanor chimed in, "So while we are up front, enjoying champagne and a gourmet meal, you'll be sat back here, where you belong, with all the commoners!" They both laughed again, seemingly thinking they were both absolutely hilarious. "Enjoy your peanuts, scum!" She shouted as they both headed further along the plane, giggling with each other as they went.
Jane clenched her fists in anger while relief simultaneously washed over her knowing that she would actually have a largely bullying free journey. One day Astrid and Eleanor would get what was coming to them and she couldn't wait for that day to come. She allowed herself to relax in her seat, stretching her legs as much as she could in the cramped space. Her row was now entirely empty and she wondered if she would end up with strangers sitting next to her. She picked up the airline magazine and started flicking through the pages as those around her loaded up luggage, took their seats, and talked, the murmur and hubbub of life filling the plane.
Jane's absent minded perusing was interrupted by a thick, rugged, Scottish accent and as she looked up from her magazine, her face lit up as she looked into Mr Bell's kind brown eyes.
"How're you doing Jane lass, excited to get back home I bet?" He asked, smiling warmly, Jane nodding in response. "Aren't you meant to be sat with Astrid and Eleanor?" He asked, eyebrows raised inquisitively, "Where are they?"
"Daddy bumped them up to first class!" Jane replied, in the most posh, over the top accent she could manage, causing Mr Bell to laugh heartily.
"They're not like us, are they Jane?" He asked as he hauled his heavy case up into the overhead compartment opposite where Jane's own case was deposited. "They haven't had to work for everything like we have." He took a seat across the aisle from his student. "Looks like we're going to be row buddies, isn't that fun!" He smiled at Jane warmly, "I hope you don't mind, but I am a pretty loud snorer!"
Jane smiled, she couldn't help it, Mr Bell was just so lovely, and she truly appreciated how kind he had always been to her. "That's ok sir," she replied, pulling out her earphones from her pocket, "I can always use these if you get too loud!" The two laughed together as the plane continued to fill up.
Eventually, everyone was boarded, the pilots completed their pre-flight checks, the stewardesses went through the safety information, and take-off was underway. The seats beside Jane and Mr Bell remained vacant and it was apparent they would have a more comfortable flight thanks to the additional space. Despite this Jane still had butterflies in her stomach as she felt the tires leave the tarmac and as the plane began its gradual climb. Eventually they leveled out and everyone settled in for the long journey.
Jane, of course, pulled out a thick book on the American Civil War that she had purchased while on the trip, sliding in her headphones and pouring over the pages hungrily. She loved the written word, how these squiggles and symbols allowed her to learn about anything she wanted, if only she gave it the time and attention. She was so engrossed in her reading that when she finally set the book down, she looked round the cabin to realize that night had fallen, the lights had been dimmed and most of the passengers were sleeping.
She pulled out one of her earbuds and heard a loud, rattling snore, turning to her professor across the aisle. He was passed out, head slumped against the wall of the plane, mouth hanging open and a spot of drool running down his chin. Jane couldn't help but smile at the scene before her. She may have only been 19, but she couldn't deny, but Mr Bell was certainly attractive, even in his late 40's. His brown hair speckled with spots of gray, and his warm kind eyes along with his short, scraggly beard made for a very handsome package.
Jane returned her ear bud and tore her eyes away from her slumbering lecturer as she picked up her phone, opening up twitter and starting to absent-mindedly scroll through her feed. After a few minutes, a notification popped up, a new follower! She smiled with delight, maybe her pictures of her trip had enticed someone to keep up with her posts? She clicked on the users profile and what she was greeted with absolutely shocked her. It was a gif of a large, no, a monstrous phallus pounding into a petite woman's stretched and wet vagina.
She scrambled to cover up her screen, very aware that she was literally surrounded by people right now. She turned her head to look through the gap in the chairs to the row behind her. All three of them were sleeping, clueless as to what she had just been looking at. She glanced over at Mr Bell who was still sleeping deeply, a wave of relief washing over her. She removed her hand from the screen, the light from it illuminating her face in the darkness of the cabin.
Her eyes returned to the offending gif, watching these faceless people having sex; hard, fast and intense sex. The woman's vagina was pink, swollen and glistening with arousal and the man's penis was so hard you could make out each individual vein on his shaft in between thrusts.