I am turning to make one final bathroom run when the intercom crackles. Everyone around me looks up, boarding is supposed to begin any minute. We wait as the gate agent behind the microphone, a middle-aged woman with perfectly coiffed hair, speaks.

‘Could a passenger by the name of Andi Paxton please come see me at the counter?’

Heat rises in my cheeks. Is this about Millie switching the tickets? What if they don’t let me board? I feel like I’ve just been called to the principal’s office. I half expect someone next to me to say, ‘Ooo, Andi’s in trouble,’ but no one around me seems to care – everyone returns their attention to their phones. I make my way towards the gate agent, falling in line behind a young couple whispering to each other.

I all but gape at the woman in front of me, who has managed to tie a silk scarf around her hair flawlessly. She looks like an old Hollywood movie star. I think back to when I’ve practised tying a bandana around my hair and all I ended up doing was making myself look like I got lost on my way to shovel hay. The gate agent peers around the pair and motions for me to come forward.

‘Andi Paxton?’ she asks, as I skirt around them. They don’t move an inch to let me pass them by, the woman is too busy looking at her phone. The gate agent shoots me a sympathetic look as I wiggle around.

‘Don’t worry,’ she says kindly, ‘nothing’s wrong.’

‘Phew,’ I sigh out.

‘Passport?’ she asks.

I slide it over and she begins rapid-fire typing into her computer.

‘We have notes in the system when there’s a last-minute ticket change due to exceptional circumstances.’ She drops her voice to a whisper. ‘It says here that your sister had to cancel due to unexpected health issues.’

I feel my eyes start to fill with tears, a lump forming instantly in my throat. I nod.

‘My sister is my best friend.’ The gate agent smiles kindly. ‘And we had an extra seat in first class.’

‘First class?’ I gasp, I can’t help myself. I laugh as a tear spills onto my cheek. Wait until Millie hears about this.

She smiles at me and slides back my passport and a ticket. ‘I’m glad it seems like you’ll enjoy it.’

Dazed, I pull my luggage behind me and swerve around the couple. The scarved woman gives me a thorough up-down, appraising my haphazard outfit like she wants to stop me from being in first class on appearance alone. I hear them approach the table to ask if the gate agent has been able to complete their upgrade.

‘Unfortunately, not at this time,’ the gate agent replies calmly.