It began innocently enough. Kaylee had insisted on spending her break from college at an exotic vacation spot. She'd also been desperate to pull her father out of the house and away from his hectic work schedule as a lawyer so he could finally relax for once.
After a few days on the trip, it was finally time to head home. They were both tanned and rested. But things were about to take a turn for the worst.
They took their seats in the back of the 737. Coach seats. It was the best they could do since the trip was relatively last minute. And since the islands were hot, Kaylee was still wearing leggings and a tightly fit tshirt. She wore flips-flops over her bare feet. Sure, it made her father slightly uncomfortable, and she knew it. But hey, they were on vacation in a beautiful area. So dressing like that was par for the course.
They buckled into their seats and her father instantly closed his eyes and leaned back. Although fun, the trip was totally exhausting for him, and he still had plenty of work back home too. Kaylee, on the other hand, was still a bundle of joy. She was a thin, petite little energizer bunny. She had spent much of the trip swimming along the shore and working on her tan, and even then, she couldn't wait to get back home so she could run track for the college team.
Their moment of pre-flight relaxation came to a crashing halt when a flight attendant came to deliver some crushing news.
"Excuse me, ma'am, sir," the flight attendant said to them. "We apologize deeply for the inconvenience, but unfortunately we're overbooked and we need an extra seat in the back."
"What?" he asked in shock.
The flight attendant remained calm. "Our deepest apologies. We need an extra seat in the back of the plane. We understand that you're a father and daughter, so we'll book you on the next flight together, and even upgrade you to first class, along with a yet-to-be determined cash reward."
"We can't," he said adamantly. "I'm an attorney and I have to prepare for a courtroom trial in a few days. I need to be on this flight."
"Then maybe you can remain on the flight and your daughter can stay behind."
The father and daughter were both in a state of total shock over the flight attendant's request. Questions and answers went back and forth as he challenged the legality and ethics of such a request.
"But I don't understand," he said. "We paid for these seats."
"Yes, and you will be compensated. Right now, we need an extra seat in the back. So either one of you will have to move, or both of you will be escorted off the flight."
The mood turned incredibly tense, and only became worse when his daughter interjected:
"This is bullshit!" Kaylee fired off. "We paid for these seats! Both of them!"
The flight attendant remained cold and calm. "Ma'am. We will not tolerate your erratic behavior. If you don't cooperate, we'll be forced to call security and have you removed from this flight in handcuffs."
"Alright, alright," he said in defeat. "You win. We'll leave. Kaylee, let's get our things."
She turned to her father, distraught. "Dad, no. Fuck this. They don't have the right to do this to us. This is bullying!"
"We don't have a choice."
"Your job though..."
"I'll just have to call the office and let them know that a different lawyer will need to take over oral arguments in court."
As he unbuckled his seatbelt, Kaylee grabbed his wrist to stop him.
Then she turned to the flight attendant. "This flight is three hours, right?"
"Correct ma'am," the flight attendant said, still un-phased by this whole ordeal.
"Well, you can take my seat. I'll sit on my dad's lap."
The flight attendant politely shook her head. "I'm afraid that's against company policy and government regulation."
"What about child-lap policies? I know that flights allow children to sit on their parents' lap for the duration of a flight."
"How old are you?"
"I'm 19," Kaylee replied.
"Then the policy doesn't apply to you."
"Yeah, but I'm barely 110 pounds," Kaylee replied sweetly. "Besides, who's going to know? Either you let me sit on my dad's lap, or I'll put this shit all over the internet. I have a few hundred followers on twitter. You think I can't form an online army against you and your airline? I'll even take a picture of you on my phone and post it everywhere."
Apparently the threat worked and it looked like they were headed towards a compromise. With all the controversy surrounding airlines lately, this was the last thing any of them needed.
The flight attendant gave a fake smile. "Only because you can fit on his lap. I'll check back from time to time. The seat belt better fit around both of you."
"Deal."
With a compromise reached, the flight attendant returned to her duties, hiding her contempt for the petite, mouthy college girl.
Kaylee undid her seatbelt and prepared to sit on her father's lap.
"Kay, what the hell are you doing?" he asked.
"Saving our asses. That's what I'm doing."
"You're actually going to sit on my lap?"
She nodded. "The flight is only 3 hours and I barely weigh 110 pounds. You're a strong guy. You can handle it."
"This whole situation is insane," he said, still dumbfounded by everything.
"Either we had to get off the flight or security would come and kick our asses. I mean, we could have been fucked up."
"Watch your language please. We're in public and you shouldn't talk to your father like that."
"Fine. But aren't you at least going to thank me?"
"For what?" he asked incredulously.