“Thank you,” Maya said.
She walked to 1B.
The seat was the same kind she had occupied that night.
Wide leather.
Polished armrest.
Small tray table.
Window to her left.
For a moment, her body remembered before her mind could stop it.
The missing coffee cup.
Clare’s voice.
Ethan’s tablet.
Victoria’s fork.
The peanut packet beside her medical confirmation.
Maya placed her bag beneath the seat slowly.
Then she sat down.
A young flight attendant approached a minute later.
She was Black, perhaps 24 or 25, with neat braids pulled into a low bun and a name badge that read Ariel Johnson.
She carried a tablet in one hand and a sealed service pouch in the other.
“Miss Williams?” Ariel asked.
“Yes.”
Ariel smiled, but her eyes were serious.
“I’m Ariel. I’ll be taking care of you today.”
“Before we depart, I need to confirm your medical-meal accommodation.”
Maya looked up.
Ariel turned the tablet so Maya could see the screen.
Seat 1B.
Maya Williams.
Medical meal.
Low sugar.
No seafood.
No peanuts.
No substitutions.
Locked in system.
Only passenger may accept.
No crew member may reassign.
Any attempted change triggers supervisor review.
Maya read the screen.
The words were ordinary policy language.
System language.
But her throat tightened anyway.
“That’s correct,” she said.
Ariel placed the sealed pouch gently on the tray table.
The label was printed in bold letters.
Maya Williams. Medical Meal. Protected Accommodation.
“No one can reassign it,” Ariel said.
Maya nodded.
“Good.”
Ariel hesitated, then reached for the service cart beside her and poured coffee into a paper cup with a lid.
She set it beside the sealed meal.
“Black coffee, no sugar. It’s in your preference profile, but I can change it if you’d like.”
“No,” Maya said. “That’s right.”
Ariel stepped back but did not leave.
Her hand rested lightly on the cart handle.
“Miss Williams,” she said, lowering her voice. “I know I’m supposed to keep this professional.”
Maya looked at her.
Ariel swallowed.
“But I wanted to say thank you.”
Maya did not answer at once.
Ariel glanced toward the galley, then back at Maya.
“I was hired through the new equity recruitment program.”
“Before this, I worked customer service at Hartsfield-Jackson.”
“I applied to Crestline twice and never got past the second interview.”
“After the reforms, they reopened applications, changed the review process, and brought in outside oversight.”
“I got a fair interview for the first time.”
Maya looked at the young woman’s badge again.