After a long and exhausting swimming competition in London, James was looking forward to getting some rest on his flight home. All he wanted to do was sleep for the entire eight-hour trip from London to New York. He was fully prepared—he had his earplugs, sleeping pills, and a few snacks to get through the journey.

As he boarded the plane, he knew the middle seat wouldn’t be the most comfortable, especially given his height, but he was too tired to care. The woman sitting next to him by the window seemed just as worn out as he was, her eyes already drooping before the plane had even taken off. They exchanged a tired smile before settling into their seats. James reassured himself that he’d sleep through the entire flight.

A man standing in an airport | Source: Midjourney

Unfortunately, sitting next to James on the aisle was a woman who was about to make the next eight hours a living nightmare. From the moment she sat down, James sensed trouble. She was huffing, puffing, and shifting in her seat, acting as if she’d been assigned to the luggage compartment rather than economy class.

The window-seat woman sighed, seemingly sensing what was to come as well. Let’s call the aisle-seat woman “Karen,” James thought. She kept glaring at him, her lips twisting into a frown. At six-foot-two, James was used to getting annoyed looks on airplanes because of his height, but he wasn’t prepared for what was about to unfold.

A woman sitting in an airplane | Source: Midjourney

The first sign of trouble came when the plane took off. Instead of pressing the call button once, like most people would, Karen pressed it three times in quick succession, as if she was trying to sound an alarm. James braced himself.

A flight attendant soon arrived, asking how she could help. Karen didn’t waste any time launching into her complaints.

An annoyed woman sitting in an airplane | Source: Midjourney

“This seat is unacceptable!” she snapped, loud enough for the passengers around them to hear. “I’m cramped, and these two people are spilling into my space!” she said, pointing at James and the woman by the window.

The flight attendant explained that the plane was fully booked and that there were no available seats, not even in business class. But Karen wasn’t satisfied. “I paid for this seat like everyone else, and I shouldn’t have to be squished like this,” she declared. She elbowed James for emphasis, making him wince.

A smiling flight attendant | Source: Midjourney

James exchanged a glance with the woman at the window, who looked like she was on the verge of tears. His patience was wearing thin too. He spoke up, trying to stay calm. “Ma’am, we’re all just trying to get through this flight. There’s nothing wrong with the seating arrangement here.”

Karen wasn’t having it. “Are you kidding me? Are you blind?” she barked, continuing her rant about how unfair her situation was. She shifted in her seat, kicking James’s legs and elbowing him repeatedly, adding to his frustration.

An annoyed flight attendant | Source: Midjourney

By the fourth hour of the flight, James had reached his breaking point. Exhausted and cranky, he tried one last time to diffuse the situation. “Look,” he said, turning to her, “we can either keep this up for the rest of the flight, or we can try to make the best of it. Why don’t you watch something on the screen? There are some good movies.”

Karen ignored his suggestion. Instead, she fired off more insults. “Why don’t you tell her to go on a diet? And why don’t you learn to book seats that fit your gigantic legs?” she hissed, all while continuing to press the call button.

A close up of a woman | Source: Midjourney

The flight attendants, who had been watching her behavior closely, finally intervened. One of them approached, looking as frustrated as James felt. “Ma’am, if you don’t calm down, we’re going to have to ask you to stop pressing the call button unless it’s an emergency.”

But Karen wasn’t ready to back down. “This is an emergency!” she shouted, calling the situation a violation of her human rights. The rest of the flight continued in this way—Karen sighing dramatically, muttering under her breath, and making everyone around her miserable. James did his best to ignore her and focus on the tiny screen in front of him, watching the plane inch closer to New York.

A tired man holding his head | Source: Midjourney

When they finally landed, James couldn’t have been happier. He thought the nightmare was over, but Karen had one more trick up her sleeve. As soon as the wheels touched down, she jumped out of her seat and darted up the aisle, completely ignoring the seatbelt sign. She stood by the curtain separating business class from economy, paying no attention to the flight attendants calling her back.

That’s when the captain’s voice came over the intercom: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New York! We have a special guest onboard today.” James and the other passengers groaned in unison, wondering what was coming next.

A screen at the back of an airplane seat | Source: Midjourney

The captain continued, asking everyone to remain seated as he made his way through the cabin to greet the “special guest.” Karen perked up, her shoulders straightening as she looked around with a smug smile. She clearly thought the announcement was for her.

To everyone’s surprise, the captain exited the cockpit and calmly walked down the aisle. When he reached Karen, he politely asked her to step aside. Confused but compliant, she moved out of the way, and the captain continued down the aisle toward James’s row.

A flight full of annoyed people | Source: Midjourney

“Here we are,” the captain said, stopping by James and Karen’s seats. He looked up at the seat numbers and grinned. “Ladies and gentlemen, our special guest is sitting right here in seat 42C. Can we give her a round of applause?”

For a moment, the plane was silent. Then, slowly, clapping began. Laughter and applause filled the cabin as Karen’s face turned beet red. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Embarrassed, she slumped back into her seat as the captain took a slight bow and returned to the front of the plane.

A woman standing in a crowded plane | Source: Midjourney

James leaned back in his seat, grinning. “That,” he thought, “was worth eight hours of torture.”

As they filed off the plane, the woman at the window turned to James and said, “I’m so glad this is over. I hope I never see that woman again. Maybe next time we’ll be seated next to each other without a Karen.”

A smiling couple at an airport | Source: Midjourney

“Here’s hoping,” James replied, laughing for the first time since the flight had started.