I’m 16 years old and I’m quite tall compared to my age, over 180 cm. Every time I get on a plane, I know I’m going to have an uncomfortable trip. My legs are too long to sit comfortably and my knees often press against the back of the seat in front of me, which is really annoying. My last trip, which I took with my mother after visiting our grandparents, was even worse than the others. We had to sit in economy class, where the space was so tight it was like we were sitting in a small cage. I was already prepared for the inconvenience, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. The flight was delayed, so when we finally got on, everyone was tense. The plane was completely full, and the tension was palpable in the air. I sat down in my seat and tried to position my legs so that I didn’t feel like I was in a tin can, but then something happened. The man in front of me, a middle-aged businessman, decided to recline his seat all the way. I have no problem with someone reclining their seat, but it should be done with respect. Maybe one should take a look at the person behind one before doing so? Or maybe one should not press the seat into the other person’s knees so much when space is already tight? But he just reclined his seat until it almost landed in my knees!
To my amazement, my knees were completely trapped and I had to sit like that to avoid pain. Finally, I tried to politely address him: “Excuse me, sir, could you please move your seat up a little? I don’t have much space back here.” However, he didn’t even look at me, but replied: “I paid for this seat and I sit as I want.” My mother, seeing that the situation was not changing, called a flight attendant. The lady came, listened to our complaint and tried to explain the situation to the man. But she too refused the request. She said there was no rule that would prohibit him from reclining the seat and advised me to buy a first class ticket if I didn’t like the situation.
My mother tried to convince the flight attendant to do something, but she made it clear that she couldn’t help. That’s when I decided to handle the matter myself. I took a bag of pretzels out of my mother’s bag and started eating, making sure the crumbs were flying everywhere. Some crumbs fell on the guy’s head. At first he didn’t notice, but after a few minutes I saw him nervously trying to wipe the crumbs off his shoulder and neck. I continued, trying to eat each bite loudly and messily to annoy him further. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, turned around angrily and asked what I was doing. I replied with an innocent face, “Oh, sorry, these pretzels are pretty dry. It seems like they’re making quite a mess.” He immediately asked me to stop, but I just shrugged, “I’m just eating my snack. I paid for this seat too, you know.” His face immediately turned red, and finally, completely frustrated, he put his seat back up.
I immediately felt relief as my knees freed up and I could sit more comfortably. The flight attendant who passed me discreetly gave me a “well done” look. My mother smiled at me and said, “That was clever. Maybe a little mean, but clever.” I was proud of my “victory.” The man stopped trying to recline the seat, and I was able to enjoy my remaining pretzels in peace. When the plane finally landed, I felt like I had won. The man didn’t even try to say anything, he just stood up and left, disappointed. My mother looked at me and said with a smile, “You know, sometimes it’s important to stand up for yourself, even if it means causing a little trouble.” I nodded and we walked together to the baggage carousel, feeling that no matter what had happened, I had resolved the situation.
