She Slammed Her Seat Into My Knees—So I Taught Her a Lesson She’ll Never Forget (3 of 3)

I waited. Five minutes of silence. Then came the movement. She shifted her weight, pushing back even further, and—splat!—the juice toppled, cascading onto her pristine white handbag and splashing the edge of her sweater.

She bolted upright, eyes wide. “What is this?!”

Feigning innocence, I widened mine. “Oh no! I’m so sorry. You moved so suddenly—the tray’s tiny, and, well… accidents happen.”

She flailed for tissues, outraged, summoning the flight attendant again. “They spilled juice all over me!”

The stewardess took one look at the situation and kept her expression neutral. “Here are some napkins. Ma’am, please keep your seat upright for the rest of the flight.”

And just like that, the battle was over. She dabbed at her bag, muttering under her breath, but her seat stayed upright all the way until landing.

I leaned back, stretched my legs with relief, and sipped what little juice was left. Courtesy might not be something you can enforce at 30,000 feet—but sometimes, gravity has a way of teaching the lesson for you.