The cabin lights were dimmed as the 19-hour flight from Florida to China took off, the hum of the engines blending with the quiet shuffle of passengers settling in. Jake, 14, plopped down into his window seat, grinning the moment he saw who he’d be sitting next to.

Gaby, his 18-year-old sister fresh off her first semester at Kentucky, sighed dramatically as she tossed her carry-on into the overhead bin and slid into the middle seat. “Of course I get stuck next to you for nineteen hours,” she said, already pulling out her noise-canceling headphones.

Jake leaned over and smirked. “It’s gonna be a long flight, sis. Might as well make it fun.”

Their parents sat in the row directly across the aisle, pretending not to notice the energy already building. Gaby gave them a pleading look. “Trade seats with me?”

“Nope,” their mom said without even looking up from her book. “Bond with your brother.”

Jake took full advantage.

First, he kept fake-sneezing on Gaby’s arm. Then he started tilting his water cup suspiciously close to her lap. At one point, he slowly inched her tray table down, whispering, “Incoming turbulence…” every few minutes.

“Jake!” she whisper-yelled. “Stop touching my elbow! What are you even doing?!”

“Checking for international pressure differences,” he said, completely straight-faced.

She narrowed her eyes. “If you don’t let me sleep, I swear I’ll make you eat airplane tofu.”

He grinned. “Worth it.”

Ten hours in, Gaby had finally knocked out with a hoodie pulled over her head and one earbud dangling. Jake snapped a picture and sent it to their family group chat with the caption: She’s out cold. Flight score: Jake 1, Gaby 0.

From across the aisle, their dad chuckled quietly while their mom just shook her head.