a short story "in the wrong flight"
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The girl appeared to be representative of the new generation – young, smart, independent and confident. She must have been around sixteen or seventeen. She made her way through the aisle, looking for her seat on board the Chicago – London flight. I had boarded the flight some time earlier, on my way back home to Bangalore after a business visit to St. Louis.
As I settled down into my window seat, I noticed the girl coming towards my row, check her boarding pass, and then stop at the row right in front of me. In a matter of a few moments, she smartly put up her cabin bag into the overhead compartment, and settled down in the aisle seat in the row just ahead of mine. Like a lot of young people these days, she got busy on her phone almost immediately, tapping away at the screen.
One interesting part of traveling is the variety of people you get to see. A few minutes later, I noticed an elderly couple making their way through the aisle. The lady appeared friendly and kind, her husband dignified and quiet. They too appeared headed for my row. They stopped near the young girl, who was busy looking at her phone, and checked their boarding passes. Aware of the need to settle down quickly due to the long queue of people in the aisle behind them, the gentleman said to his wife, “You take this middle seat, and I’ll take the one behind”.
As he took his seat next to me, he smiled and nodded. His wife settled down in the row ahead next to the young girl, who was still on the phone. I realized that this old couple probably were among the last to check in, and had been given middle seats one behind the other. I felt sorry for them; however, they appeared to be taking it in their stride. The boarding continued, with the other passengers coming in and taking their seats.
The gentleman asked his wife in the seat ahead if she was comfortable, to which she nodded and replied in the affirmative. Meanwhile, the young girl next to the lady continued to stare at her phone, probably texting her friends. She appeared lost in her own world and least concerned about the elderly couple or anybody else in the flight.
This annoyed me a bit – I felt that if I was in her place, I would have given up my seat so that the elderly couple could sit together. However, it appeared that she had not even noticed them. Teenagers today, I thought gloomily, needed to be a bit more sensitive. Also, these new smart phones were resulting in the generation getting sucked into the virtual world of a four-inch screen, oblivious to the real world around them.
The couple’s plight had ignited the spark of chivalry in me that most of us carry with us. I momentarily considered leaning over, and suggesting to the young girl, that she give up her seat so that the elderly couple could sit together.
On second thought though, I felt there was nothing stopping her from looking at me and retorting, “None of your business”. Every moment was increasing my resolve to do something about the situation. I finally decided that though it would be complicated, I would get up and exchange seats with the elderly lady in the front row. She could take my window seat next to her husband and I would occupy the middle seat, next to the young girl. Yes it would be uncomfortable, but I would have done my good deed for the day. Feeling increasingly proud of my altruistic intentions, I got ready to make the suggestion to the elderly couple. “Excuse me”, I started – and was then interrupted by an announcement by the flight attendant.
“We have completed boarding and are getting ready for take-off. Please settle down, put on your seat belts, and switch off your mobile phones and all electronic devices”. I noticed the young girl switch off her phone and put it into her purse. And then, I saw the unthinkable happen. She got up, came to our row, looked straight at the elderly man, shrugged towards the elderly lady, and said “Let’s exchange seats”. The elderly man smiled, nodded his appreciation to her, and got up. He moved ahead and sat down in the aisle seat just vacated by the young girl, and next to his wife. The young girl came over and sat in his middle seat in my row, next to me.
All this had happened so quickly that I had no time to complete my earlier sentence. I was also stunned at having misjudged this very sweet young girl, and the entire generation. She confirmed this by leaning over and asking the couple in the front row, “Are you comfortable?” to which the elderly lady nodded and said, “Yes dear, thank you.” As we sat there waiting for the take-off, my thoughts now veered to the other extreme. I felt that teenagers today were not only smart and independent, but also very well behaved.
As I settled down into my window seat, I noticed the girl coming towards my row, check her boarding pass, and then stop at the row right in front of me. In a matter of a few moments, she smartly put up her cabin bag into the overhead compartment, and settled down in the aisle seat in the row just ahead of mine. Like a lot of young people these days, she got busy on her phone almost immediately, tapping away at the screen.
One interesting part of traveling is the variety of people you get to see. A few minutes later, I noticed an elderly couple making their way through the aisle. The lady appeared friendly and kind, her husband dignified and quiet. They too appeared headed for my row. They stopped near the young girl, who was busy looking at her phone, and checked their boarding passes. Aware of the need to settle down quickly due to the long queue of people in the aisle behind them, the gentleman said to his wife, “You take this middle seat, and I’ll take the one behind”.
As he took his seat next to me, he smiled and nodded. His wife settled down in the row ahead next to the young girl, who was still on the phone. I realized that this old couple probably were among the last to check in, and had been given middle seats one behind the other. I felt sorry for them; however, they appeared to be taking it in their stride. The boarding continued, with the other passengers coming in and taking their seats.
The gentleman asked his wife in the seat ahead if she was comfortable, to which she nodded and replied in the affirmative. Meanwhile, the young girl next to the lady continued to stare at her phone, probably texting her friends. She appeared lost in her own world and least concerned about the elderly couple or anybody else in the flight.
This annoyed me a bit – I felt that if I was in her place, I would have given up my seat so that the elderly couple could sit together. However, it appeared that she had not even noticed them. Teenagers today, I thought gloomily, needed to be a bit more sensitive. Also, these new smart phones were resulting in the generation getting sucked into the virtual world of a four-inch screen, oblivious to the real world around them.
The couple’s plight had ignited the spark of chivalry in me that most of us carry with us. I momentarily considered leaning over, and suggesting to the young girl, that she give up her seat so that the elderly couple could sit together.
On second thought though, I felt there was nothing stopping her from looking at me and retorting, “None of your business”. Every moment was increasing my resolve to do something about the situation. I finally decided that though it would be complicated, I would get up and exchange seats with the elderly lady in the front row. She could take my window seat next to her husband and I would occupy the middle seat, next to the young girl. Yes it would be uncomfortable, but I would have done my good deed for the day. Feeling increasingly proud of my altruistic intentions, I got ready to make the suggestion to the elderly couple. “Excuse me”, I started – and was then interrupted by an announcement by the flight attendant.
“We have completed boarding and are getting ready for take-off. Please settle down, put on your seat belts, and switch off your mobile phones and all electronic devices”. I noticed the young girl switch off her phone and put it into her purse. And then, I saw the unthinkable happen. She got up, came to our row, looked straight at the elderly man, shrugged towards the elderly lady, and said “Let’s exchange seats”. The elderly man smiled, nodded his appreciation to her, and got up. He moved ahead and sat down in the aisle seat just vacated by the young girl, and next to his wife. The young girl came over and sat in his middle seat in my row, next to me.
All this had happened so quickly that I had no time to complete my earlier sentence. I was also stunned at having misjudged this very sweet young girl, and the entire generation. She confirmed this by leaning over and asking the couple in the front row, “Are you comfortable?” to which the elderly lady nodded and said, “Yes dear, thank you.” As we sat there waiting for the take-off, my thoughts now veered to the other extreme. I felt that teenagers today were not only smart and independent, but also very well behaved.
Anonymous:
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