After a lot of long days of work and deadlines, I finally got on a plane. It was a moment I had been looking forward to: a few hours alone in the sky, a chance to relax, watch a movie, and just be. I didn’t want much. All I need is a little peace and quiet, a private screen, and maybe a bad action movie to help me forget about the noise of life.
I felt calm when I sat down and the plane taxied down the runway. But the peace didn’t last long. The young woman in front of me, who looked to be no older than twenty, threw her thick hair over my tray table and over her seat. Her hair covered my screen so much that it looked like I wasn’t even there.
I didn’t want to make a scene or start the flight off on a bad note, so I leaned forward and asked her respectfully to move her hair. When I told her to do anything, she turned around, smiled, and did it. I thanked her and hoped that would be the end of it.
It wasn’t.
About five minutes later, her hair came back and blocked my view again, like a curtain over my tray table. This time, I asked again, but with more vigor. She didn’t turn around. She didn’t do anything. She acted like I wasn’t there and didn’t even look at me.
In that moment, something changed in me. I didn’t shout. I didn’t press the call button. I decided to teach her a lesson in respect that she would never forget without saying anything. It worked, even if it was quiet.
I took three pieces of gum out of my bag very carefully. I chewed each one slowly and carefully. When the gum was the correct consistency, I began to carefully and quietly place small chunks of it into each strand of her hair. I took my time so I wouldn’t pull or bother her. She didn’t see it. At first, she didn’t see it.
She moved in her seat after about fifteen minutes. Her hand went back. She put her hand on something. Her body became tense.
“What’s this?” She gasped and began to pull at her hair, which was a mess. She turned around, her eyes wide and her face full of horror. “What did you do?”
I said softly, “This is what happens when you’re arrogant,” and I didn’t even pause the movie.
“You are crazy!” she cried.
I said, “And you’re rude.” ” You have two choices now: finish this flight with gum in your hair and deal with the consequences, which could involve cutting half of it off. But I can help you right now. I had a pair of manicure scissors in my bag.
Her face became pale.
I leaned forward and whispered, “If you throw your hair back like that again, I promise you’ll be bald next time.” I’m quite precise. “Even when things are hard.”
She stayed quite still during the whole flight, with her hair drawn back into a neat, tight bun. She didn’t speak, move, or turn. In the meantime, I put on my headphones and sat back in my seat, finally able to enjoy the movie and the tranquility I had worked so hard to get.
Was it little? Could be. But I would say it’s good for learning.
