I’m not sure who this guy is or why he waved at me or why he’s sitting next to me or what he’s talking about. I just file it away as guys being weird, and try to read.

Soon the flight attendants come to our row with the drink cart, so I take out my earbuds and order a ginger ale. The guy orders a seltzer, which explodes all over the flight attendant and all over her cart as she opens it. She slams the drink down on his tray table, then pushes the cart to the back of the plane to dry off.

I can’t help laughing. “What’d you do to her?”

The guy blushes. “I think she’s having a tough flight,” he says. He looks at germ man, who is having another coughing fit. We both watch as he pulls himself up to stand. He’s leaning heavily on the seat in front of him.

“Not as tough as him,” I say.

The guy smiles, fidgets. “I have the worst luck when I travel.”

He looks at me, and I notice the green flecks in his blue eyes. His face is still a little red.

“I hope your luck isn’t contagious,” I finally say.

He laughs nervously. “I don’t know. It’s only bad luck if you’re alone with it, right?”

“Shared burdens are lighter, you mean?” I think about it for a moment. “I guess I disagree. I mean, say this plane went down right now. That’s bad luck all around, isn’t it?”

“Don’t,” he says. “Don’t even joke.”

I laugh a little, then my laughter stops in my throat. He’s pale and gripping the armrest and looks genuinely freaked out. “Hey, sorry, it’s all—”

But suddenly germ man loses his balance, and we watch as he falls into the aisle.

The guy next to me starts to move, like he wants to help or do something, but the flight attendant barks at him, “Please remain in your seat, sir!” before rushing over to help germ man. He’s already sitting up, muttering that he’s fine, and the attendant gets him back into his seat.

Germ man orders an orange juice, and I swear that when the flight attendant gives it to him, her hand is shaking.

The guy next to me looks horrified and embarrassed all over again. “It’s probably just Ebola,” I whisper.

I watch the flight attendant quickly walk up to the front of the plane and pick up the phone that connects with the cockpit. She has her back to the cabin, but she looks over her shoulder at the row in front of me. She nods a few times, hangs up, and disappears into the restroom.

The guy watches all this in stunned silence. He’s breathing really fast. “Um, are you okay?” I ask, feeling a little guilty about the Ebola joke.

He smiles weakly at me. His face is sweaty now too, and my overprotective older cousin instincts kick in. When my cousin Randy gets trapped in his own head, it helps if I get him talking about something, anything.

I twist the knob above the guy’s head to get some cool air blowing on him. “So, what were you doing in the DR, um … ?”

“Oliver,” the guy next to me chokes out.

Well, at least he’s talking.

“Oliver, do you live in Miami or are you going somewhere else?”

“Party tonight in Brooklyn.” He’s breathing even faster now.

Crap. I’m terrible at this today. “Hey, I live in Brooklyn too,” I say, trying another approach.

Oliver nods quickly and looks at me.

“Um, my name is Flora?”

He keeps nodding.

“I was visiting my dad and his lame wife?”

“Your stepmom?” he says, his breathing slowing a little.

I fight the urge to scowl. “Yep,” I say with gritted teeth.

He half smiles. “You don’t like her?”

“HA!” I pull my phone out and find the Instagram picture Goldy posted. “Is there any reason to like her?” I say, waving my phone.

Oliver studies the picture for a second, and I feel stupid. He probably thinks she’s hot, with her ridiculous Kardashian pose and glow-in-the-dark teeth. Straight guys are so predictable.

He looks away from the picture and up at me, takes a deep breath. “Ew,” he exhales.

I feel triumphant.

Oliver smiles a real smile. His breathing is almost back to normal. He clenches and unclenches his hands. “Thank you,” he says quietly.

“No worries,” I say, like I never even realized anything was the matter.

Oliver goes back to fiddling with his phone, so I slowly put my earbuds in again, watching him out of the corner of my eye.