When James is on his way home after a swimming competition in London, all he wants is to sleep on the flight. But that’s the last thing on the agenda because sitting next to him is a woman who only wants to cause trouble. Eight hours later, the captain teaches her a lesson.
I was already prepared for the flight. I knew that it was going to be a long one. I mean, eight hours from London to New York was not going to be easy, but I had my earplugs, sleeping pills, and a few snacks to keep me going.
I had just wrapped up a grueling swimming competition, and every muscle in my body was crying for some much-needed rest. I was in the middle seat, which wasn’t ideal for my height, but I was too tired to care. The woman next to me, at the window, seemed just as wiped out as I was, and I could see her eyes drooping before we took off.
We exchanged a weary smile before settling into our seats.
It’s okay, James, I thought to myself. You’ll sleep through it all.
But then there was the woman who was going to be the cause of absolute mayhem and discomfort for the next eight hours.
From the moment she sat down next to me, I sensed that she was going to be trouble. She was huffing and puffing and shifting around like she’d been assigned to a seat in the luggage compartment instead of economy.
“Oh boy,” the window-seat woman sighed.
Aisle-seat woman, let’s call her Karen, kept eyeing me up and down, her mouth twisting into a frown.
Look, I’m a tall guy at six foot two. I was used to getting uncomfortable stares in airplanes, but it wasn’t my fault.
The first sign of trouble came when the plane took off. Karen pressed the call button, not once like any rational person, but three times in a row, like she was setting off an alarm.
I almost expected an alarm to sound off in the airplane.
“Ma’am,” the flight attendant asked when we had reached cruising altitude, “how can I help you?”
“This seat is unacceptable!” Karen snapped. Her voice was loud enough to draw attention from the rows around us.
“I’m cramped, and look at these two… people! They’re practically spilling over into my space.”
She shot a look at me, then at the woman at the window, who was staring straight ahead, pretending not to notice.
“I’m sorry, but we’re fully booked today,” the flight attendant replied. “There’s nowhere else for you to move.”
“You mean that there’s not one seat available on this flight? What about business class? Nothing?” she demanded.
“No, ma’am,” the flight attendant said. “There’s nothing available.”
“Then I want them moved,” Karen declared, louder this time. “I paid for this seat just like everyone else here, and it’s not fair that I have to be squished next to them. I can’t even open a packet of chips without bumping into this guy.”
For emphasis, she elbowed me in the arm.
I glanced over at the woman in the window seat, who looked on the verge of tears. My patience was wearing thin, too, and I couldn’t handle this woman when my energy tank was empty.
“Ma’am,” I said, keeping my voice as calm as I could, “we’re all just trying to get through this flight and get to our destinations. There’s really nothing wrong with the seating arrangements here.”
“Nothing wrong?” Karen barked. “Are you kidding me? Are you blind?”
She continued her rant for what felt like hours. And it was clear she wasn’t going to drop it. I tried to ignore her, but she kept shifting in her seat, kicking my legs, and continuously elbowing my arm.
By the fourth hour, I was cranky and exhausted beyond any other moment in my life. I was done.
“Look,” I said, turning to her as the flight attendant wheeled a cart down the aisle, “we can keep this up for the rest of the flight, or we can try and make the best of a bad situation. Why don’t you watch something on the screen? There are some pretty good movies here.”
But she wasn’t having it at all.
“Why don’t you tell her to go on a diet? And why don’t you learn to book seats that have space for your gigantic legs? Why do you both insist on making my life hell?” Karen hissed.
And the entire time we had been talking, Karen was busy pressing the call button.
I felt my blood boil and watched as the woman sitting next to the window tried to make herself as small as possible.
I could see the flight attendants murmuring amongst themselves, giving Karen dirty looks. If I’m being honest, I was just hoping that one of them would slip her a sedative or something. Finally, a flight attendant came over, looking as upset as I was.
“Ma’am, if you don’t calm down, we’re going to have to ask you to stay seated and not press the call button again, not unless it’s an actual emergency.”
“Oh, this is an emergency!” she shouted. “It’s a human rights violation! My rights are being violated, and everyone is just ignoring that!”
The rest of the flight went on like this, with Karen sighing dramatically, muttering under her breath, and generally making everyone around us miserable.
I just kept my head down and tried to focus on the tiny screen in front of me, tracking our progress home.
When we finally landed, I couldn’t have been any happier if I tried. This nightmare was almost over.
But then, as soon as the wheels touched down, Karen was out of her seat, darting up the aisle as if she was about to miss her connecting flight to Mars. The seatbelt sign was still on, and everyone was sitting patiently, waiting for it to turn off.
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’re not a fan of spring cleaning, these 10+ Amazon gems will do the job for you
Even those of us who don’t like cleaning can enjoy the process and admire picture-perfect results with these 11 household gems from Amazon. Dust, dirt, grime, rust, grease, and mold don’t stand a chance of survival with these powerful cleaning products and tools that act fast and are super easy to use. Buy them now and have a fuss-free start to your spring cleaning!
1. Say goodbye to dirt and grime in your toilet with this cleaning pumice stone. It scours away mineral deposits, rust, stains, and limescale from toilets, sinks, tubs, and showers. The item quickly shapes into curved or flat surfaces, thoroughly removing the dirt without damaging the surface. The usage is super simple. Wet the pumice stone in water and gently rub the stain away using back-and-forth movements until the stain disappears.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We have good water except for calcium content. Consequently we had a noticeable water ring in the most used toilet bowl. Happened to see this product on Amazon. I had my doubts it would work as any cleaner failed to have any affect at all on removing the water ring. I was pleasantly surprised how easily it removed the water ring without any scratches to the bowl and made the bowl look brand new. — Mike H.
2. This rust stain remover powder will eliminate rust stains from surfaces inside and outside of your house, thanks to its powerful formula. This heavy-duty cleaner was specially formulated to quickly and easily rinse away the toughest rust spots without scrubbing. This multi-purpose product works equally well on toilets, tubs, showers, white laundry, and exterior surfaces.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have iron in my water. It’s ruined a lot of things. It’s been hard to keep sinks, tubs and toilets white until now. I tested this on a piece of plastic out of my washing machine that turned orange. No more orange. Back to white. Great buy. — Teresa Shankle
3. Stubborn oven grease and burnt-on food don’t stand a chance of surviving when you use this oven cleaner. Its formula is safe for everyday oven cleaning. This powerful product is easy to use. Just spray it on the stain and wipe. You won’t recognize your oven once you use this wonder-working product!
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hands down the best oven cleaner ever! We’ve used this stuff to clean up heavily caked on parts of our smoker and BBQ. It works great! My wife just got through cleaning our oven and stove and was just again commenting on how good this stuff is compared to anything else we’ve ever used. This will be our go to cleaner! It’s just the best! — Richard C.
4. Amazon customers swear by this no-rinse evaporator coil cleaner. It will liquefy dirt, grease, oil, and other residues quickly and easily. The cleaner can be sprayed upside down for your ultimate convenience. Its powerful foam is completely self-rinsing and is safe to use on metals and other materials. The product leaves the area deodorized with a pleasant lemon scent, which is the cherry on top.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I could not believe how good this product works! My dryer repair guy looked at my fridge coils after finding out that I had dogs. I was shocked at the amount of dust on them. He recommended this product and it works within seconds! — heyb
5. Cleaning hard-to-reach areas will not be a problem if you have this dryer vent cleaning vacuum hose attachment by your side. It can help you remove lint that has been accumulating for many years in the dryer vents, helping your appliance work more efficiently. The tool can get into curved corners, which makes it perfect for cleaning appliances that you can’t move.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I honestly had no idea that so much lint was stuck when I removed my dryer lint screen. It was deep down in there. I figured let me give this a try. It’s not expensive so if it doesn’t work it wouldn’t be a big loss. I hooked it up to my small car vacuum which took about 2 seconds. There was so much lint that the little opening kept getting clogged. So I would pull the lint off and go in again, and repeat. Once all the big chunks were removed it finished the job. I highly recommend this. — Eileen L
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6. Put less elbow grease in cleaning your toilet tank with this powerful toilet tank cleaner. It removes hard-water deposits, rust, stains, and odor in the blink of an eye, eliminating the need for scrubbing. The product is safe for toilet tanks, bowls, and pipes. When you flush it, it leaves a pleasant citrus scent. Just look at the before and after photo collage below. It looks pretty impressive!
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ According to the instructions I was supposed to use the whole bottle but being that it was so big and that I had 2 toilets needing to be cleaned I only used half. Other than that I followed the instructions, stirring to make sure it was dissolved and then letting it sit overnight. I used a cheap (new) toilet brush from the dollar store to scrub the rust off the sides before flushing. I took these before and after photos to compare and I was pleasantly surprised. The toilet tank is from the 1960’s and I doubt it’s been cleaned within the last few decades. — Nicole
7. This carpet cleaning machine will finally remove all those stubborn stains that other products failed to remove. The appliance works perfectly well on carpets and rugs where pet messes happen, lifting dirt and dust that an ordinary vacuum cleaner may leave behind. Its compact design makes cleaning easy and convenient. This is a must-have for households with pets.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This cleaner is really lightweight and easy to use. It’s also very powerful and effective for such a budget friendly and small machine. This is perfect for area rugs. I imagine it would be less suitable for large carpeted rooms as it does need emptying and refilling frequently due to the smaller tanks. In addition, this model lacks an upholstery brush, so consider that if you are looking for something more versatile. Overall I would recommend this machine, it’s effectively cleaned and refreshed our area rugs that had gotten dingy and were holding pet odors. — Sll1977
8. Don’t miss out on this heavy-duty cleaner specially designed for cleaning brick and stone fireplaces. This safe and non-abrasive gel swiftly removes soot, creosote, ash, and all sorts of grime from your fireplace. Its concentrated formula can break through the toughest spots and works great on surfaces such as brick, stone, tile, and rock.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It works really well, and it’s great that it’s non-toxic and non-abrasive. You can literally apply it with your bare hands. You do need to scrub it in pretty well after applying. And make sure to «rinse» the brick afterwards. It’s slow work, but it pays off. — Amazon Customer
9. If your hot tub needs cleaning, this hot tub cleaner is just what you need. It quickly and effectively removes residue from dirt, sweat, grime, and bath products. One bottle is enough for up to 2 cleaning sessions. Dirty filters and poor flow can negatively affect your hot tub. This product solves this problem, making your hot tub clean in about an hour.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Our hot tub was so much grosser than I could have imagined. The amount of ick that this stuff got out of the jets was surprising. Honestly, it’s so embarrassing. I drained and cleaned the tub a few months ago but did not think to get this jet cleaner. I will not make that mistake again. The hot tub smells so clean now. I will definitely use this again next time I drain the tub. — Kaerlia
10. This electric high-pressure washer is a real hit on Amazon with more than 56,000 ratings. The appliance tackles a variety of cleaning tasks: homes, buildings, RVs, cars, trucks, boats, decks, driveways, patios, and more. It automatically shuts off the pump when the trigger is not engaged to save energy and prolong pump life. Its long spray wand guarantees extended reach for your ultimate convenience.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This power washer was easy to use and did the job well. I used it on my driveway, paver path and patio. The attachments for soap and the various angle heads snap on quickly and are conveniently stored on the unit. Some assembly is required out of the box, but it is simple and only requires a screwdriver. — Michael
11. Get rid of mold in your house with this amazing mold cleaner. Its highly effective concentrated gel formula clings to tiles, silicone sealant (around windows, sinks, and baths), shower heads, and more. The usage is pretty simple. Just apply the gel evenly on the surface you want to clean, let sit for 3-5 hours, and then rinse with water or wipe with a towel.
Promising review:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was skeptical that this product would work because I have tried a lot of different things with no luck. After one application almost all of the staining is gone! I was also shocked that this product has no smell! No harsh chemical odor at all. I have a couple spots I want to treat again to see if I can get it completely clean, but my tub looks 100% better than it did before. It’s super easy to use. I’m so happy with the results. — Kerri
In this selection of Amazon best sellers you will find even more cleaning products that will help you get rid of stains and dirt in every corner of your house.
Bright Side gets commissions for purchases made through the links in this post. Reviews may have been edited for length and clarity.
Preview photo credit Haj / Amazon, Emojipedia
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