Betting on You

Bailey says goodbye to her father at the Fairbanks, Alaska, airport. Her parents have just separated, and her father is staying behind while Bailey flies alone to Omaha, Nebraska, where she will be living with her mother, Emily. In the security line, Bailey witnesses an uncomfortable display of public affection from two teens around her age.

Later, when queuing up to board, the boy who’d been making out in the security line tries to pretend to be Bailey’s boyfriend in order to skip the line. Bailey stresses the importance of playing by the rules and sends the boy to the back of the line, much to his annoyance. When she boards the plane, she discovers that, unfortunately, her seat neighbor is the same boy.

Charlie is as unhappy as Bailey is to be seat neighbors. While she is excited to fly, he hates it. After spending a summer with his father’s family in Alaska and dating a girl named Grace, he feels homesick about leaving it behind to go live with his mother and her new boyfriend.

While he longs to keep in contact with Grace, Charlie is a pessimist. After watching his own parents’ marriage fail, he has little hope that any relationship is successful—especially a long-distance one.