Show not Tell Exercise – It had been a long journey

Smack! Anita’s head collided sharply against the corrugated plastic sending a dull ache through the side of her head. As she looked around with watering eyes, she struggled to get her bearings and tried to remember where she was. She stiffly stretched her muscles in her cramped seat, frowning at the cluttered mess she’d made during the flight. A few crushed plastic cups and crumpled napkins lay discarded on the floor. The adjoining seat next to hers, thankfully vacant, was littered with half-read newspapers, coffee-stained magazines and torn wrappers all jumbled together with her crinkly blanket.

She pulled out her compact and critically appraised her appearance, frowning at her dishevelled dark hair sticking all over the place like a witch’s broom. Despite sleeping through most of the flight, she looked exhausted and withdrawn as if the elixir of life had been sucked out of her. She took out her blush and feebly dabbed some colour on her cheeks, desperately hoping it would transform her back to a living being.