But not Karen.
No, she was ignoring all the calls from the flight attendants, not even looking back. Soon, she was standing right next to the curtain separating the business-class seats from economy.
The rest of us just watched, too exhausted and frustrated to react.
Then came the captain’s voice over the intercom:
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York! We have a special guest onboard today.”
There was a collective groan.
What now? Were we supposed to sit there for longer?
“We ask that everyone remain seated as I make my way through the cabin to greet this very special passenger.”
Karen perked up for some reason, her shoulders straightening like she’d just been announced as Miss Universe. She looked around with a self-satisfied smile, as if expecting everyone to applaud her.
When the captain came out of the cockpit, we saw a middle-aged man with a calm demeanor and a tired smile.
As he saw Karen, he paused.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said. “I need to get past you to greet our special guest.”
“Oh,” she said, looking surprised. “Of course.”
He continued to make her step back down the aisle until they were almost to our row.
It was priceless because although she was complying with him, the confusion growing on her face was clear.
“Maybe you should sit down in your seat,” he said.
The rest of us were watching in stunned silence, catching on to what he was doing. I could feel a smile tugging at my lips. The woman next to me was grinning, too.
Finally, the captain stopped at our row, forcing Karen to move into the row and stand at her seat.
The captain looked up at the seat numbers and grinned to himself before speaking.
“Ah, here we are,” he said, his voice booming through the cabin.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our special guest is sitting right here in seat 42C. Can we all give her a round of applause?”
For a moment, there was silence. Then someone started clapping, followed by another, and another.
Before long, the whole plane erupted into laughter and applause.
The woman’s face turned bright red. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She just stood there, awkward and humiliated, as the captain took a slight bow and returned to the front.
“That,” I said, leaning back in my seat with a satisfied grin, “was worth the eight hours of this torture.”
The rest of us finally gathered our things and filed out, leaving her to stew in her own embarrassment.
“Jeez,” the woman next to me said.
“I’m so glad this is over. I don’t ever want to see that woman again. Maybe we’ll end up next to each other on another flight.
Without a Karen this time.”
“Here’s hoping,” I said, and for the first time since the flight started, I genuinely laughed.
What would you have done?
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one:
While Crystal and her husband, Alton, are on a flight home, they encounter an annoying passenger who continuously kicks against Alton’s seat. After asking her to stop numerous times, Crystal decides to take matters into her own hands.
I was on a flight with my husband last night. We were finally on our way back home after spending a week with his parents.
I couldn’t wait to be back in my own bed.
“I’ve missed our shower the most,” Alton said. “Mom and dad’s place is okay, but our water pressure is unbeatable.”
We boarded and everything seemed like it would be a smooth journey.
“Come, I’ll take your bags, Crystal,” Alton said, taking my backpack.
Finally, we settled into our seats, and soon after, the hum of the engines was the comforting white noise I needed to dose off on the flight.
But as I was pushing my seat back, I noticed something that immediately set my teeth on edge. The woman in the row behind us had her bare feet up on my husband’s seat.
“Why?” I muttered to myself at the same time the woman kicked Alton’s seat.
She was chatting animatedly with her friend, completely oblivious to how rude she was being.
I glanced at my husband, hoping that he’d do something. He’s usually so patient, but this was too much even for him.
Read the full story here.
