After an absolutely exhausting week at work, I was more than ready for a break. All I wanted on that flight was a few hours of peace, maybe a good movie, and if I was lucky, a nap.

But that plan didn’t last long.

The girl sitting in front of me—she couldn’t have been older than her early twenties—leaned her seat back, flipped her long hair over the headrest… and let it fall right onto my tray table. Her hair completely covered my screen.

Trying to be polite, I tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey, sorry—would you mind moving your hair?”

She gave a quick, half-hearted “Oh, sorry,” and flipped it back to her side. Cool. Problem solved.

Or so I thought.

Not even ten minutes later, her hair was back—draped right across my tray like before, like nothing had happened.

I spoke up again. Nothing. She just sat there scrolling on her phone like I wasn’t even there.

And that’s when I realized: some people won’t change unless they feel the consequences.

So I got a little creative.

I pulled out some gum, chewed it slowly, and—without a word—pressed it gently into the strands hanging in front of me. One by one.

About fifteen minutes later, she reached back, felt her hair… and froze.

She whipped around, eyes wide. “What the…?!”

Still watching my movie, I calmly said,
“That’s what happens when you ignore other people’s space.”

She shouted, “You’re insane!”