On the louderspeaker at the gate, I heard “Boarding zones 1, 2 and 3. If you’re in a party of more than one, please use the lowest zone number.”

“Are we in a party?” I asked my friend. My zone number was 4 and his was 3.

“No, I think we’re in our own party,” he replied and walked away, boarding the plane.

Later when I passed him going to my seat, he apologized realizing…what I meant by a party…