Thank You for
Your Cooperation
by Joel Shulkin
“Excuse
me, Ma’am.” Julia leaned across the
aisle to catch the attention of the woman in 3A
chatting on her cell phone. The flight was ready
for take-off and Julia had already asked everyone
to shut off their cell phones and pagers. That
apparently didn’t apply to 3A, who continued
to twirl her silver-white hair while she talked,
reminding Julia of Meryl Streep in “The
Devil Wears Prada.”
“Excuse
me.” Julia waved again. When 3A glanced at
her, she said, “You need to turn off your
cell phone."
3A covered the
mouthpiece. "This is an important call."
"I'm
sorry, but you need to hang up. We're ready for
departure."
Looking around
the cabin, 3A said, "We're not moving yet."
Julia
struggled to stay calm. First-class passenger or
not, she was not about to let anyone break the
rules. "We'll pull away from the gate as
soon as everything is secure and all cell phones
are shut off."
3A stared at
her as if she had three heads.
Julia took a
deep breath and gave the woman a pointed look.
"Perhaps you'd like to explain to the rest
of the passengers how important your call is. I'm
sure they won't mind sitting here until you're
finished."
For another
second 3A held Julia's gaze. Into the phone, she
said, "I'll call you when we land." She
shut down the phone and snapped it shut. Placing
it in her pocket, she turned to Julia and said,
"Happy?"
"Quite."
Flashing her airline-approved smile, Julia said,
"Thank you for your cooperation."
3A sneered and
turned to the window.
Julia returned
to the front of the cabin and confirmed that all
overheads were closed, seat belts fastened, seats
upright, and tray tables stowed. Was she
forgetting something? She ran through her list
again. No, everything was good.
After making
one final announcement to prepare for take-off,
Julia took her seat and strapped herself in. As
she checked the cabin, she caught 3A glaring at
her. Julia shrugged and looked away. She didn't
make the rules, but she was damned well going to
make sure they were followed.
The plane
taxied to the runway. After a few minutes, the
pilot announced they were clear for departure.
Julia leaned back and closed her eyes. She could
relax until they were airborne.
As the engines
roared to life, the plane hurtled down the runway.
From somewhere
overhead sounded a cell phone.
Julia's eyes
snapped open. How many times had she reminded
everyone to shut off their phones? Who hadn’t
listened to her?
Julia looked
around, triangulating the ringing sound. Her eyes
drifted to the storage bin directly across from
her seat.
Her eyes
widened. Oh, no...
It was the
storage bin where she had stowed her own luggage,
including her cell phone.
Her gaze
connected with 3A's. One corner of the woman's
mouth crept upward in a smirk.
Julia hung her
head. It was going to be a long flight.
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