It was 6:30 a.m. at Las Vegas Airport, and I was barely awake, craving a strong cup of coffee to kickstart my day. As I made my way through the terminal, I noticed a woman with a small dog on a leash, completely absorbed in a FaceTime call. Her loud voice echoed through the airport as she gossiped with her friend, oblivious to her surroundings.

“Stacey, you won’t believe what happened last night!” she shrieked, her dog tugging at its leash.

I tried to ignore her, but something caught my eye. The dog had squatted down right there on the airport floor. Before I could react, a middle-aged man nearby tried to get her attention.

“Excuse me, miss? Your dog is…”

The woman shot him a glare so fierce it could have melted steel. “Some people are just so damned rude,” she snapped, returning to her call without a second thought.

I stood there, dumbfounded, as the dog finished its business. The woman didn’t even glance back as she started walking away, leaving the mess behind. Another bystander, shocked by what she’d seen, spoke up.

“You’re not going to clean that up?”

The woman turned, her face twisted with disgust. “They have people for that,” she barked. Then, spotting an airport cleaner nearby, she added with an air of entitlement, “Do your job! I’m not going to do it for you!”

The young cleaner, who looked like he was in his early twenties, seemed stunned. His face flushed as he stammered, “Ma’am, I… that’s not… you’re supposed to…”

But she was already gone, disappearing into the crowd as if nothing had happened. The cleaner stood there, looking utterly defeated. He glanced around, probably hoping someone would tell him this was all a bad joke.

I couldn’t stay silent any longer. I approached him and said, “Hey, are you okay? That woman was way out of line.”

He sighed, “Thanks. I just… I don’t even know how to handle that. It’s not even my department.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. “We all saw what happened. It’s not your fault.”

He nodded gratefully and hurried off, likely to find someone who could actually deal with the mess. My blood boiled. Who did this woman think she was?

Determined to do something, I warned people nearby to watch their step. A kind stranger went to find a maintenance worker to clean up the mess. As I waited, I struck up a conversation with the man who had tried to alert the woman earlier.

“Can you believe that?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Flying with pets is a privilege, not a right. Some people just don’t get it.”

“I’m Nora,” I said, extending my hand.

“Jasper,” he replied, shaking it. “Heading somewhere nice?”

“London, for work. You?”

“Tokyo. Business trip.”

We chatted for a few minutes before parting ways, but I couldn’t shake my anger as I continued towards my gate. And then, I saw her again.

The entitled woman was sitting near my gate, her dog now barking incessantly. As if that wasn’t enough, she was blasting music from her phone without headphones. Other passengers were moving away from her, but I had a different idea. I sat down right next to her.

“Are you going to Tokyo on business?” I asked, faking a friendly tone.

She barely glanced at me. “I’m going to London,” she snapped.

Feigning surprise, I said, “Oh no! Then you better hurry. That flight got moved to gate 53C. This is the flight to Tokyo.”

Her eyes widened in panic. Without even checking the monitor, she grabbed her bags and her dog and stormed off. I couldn’t help but grin. The gate monitor still clearly showed “London,” but she was too self-absorbed to notice.

As boarding time approached, I kept an eye out for her return. The final call came and went, but there was no sign of her or her yappy dog. I settled into my seat, feeling a strange mix of satisfaction and guilt. Had she really missed her flight because of me?

The woman next to me smiled. “First time flying to London?”

“No, I go for work pretty often. I’m Nora.”

“Mei,” she replied. “I noticed that commotion earlier with the woman and her dog. Did you see her get on?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think she made it back in time.”

Mei’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Wow, that’s… unfortunate.”

I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Yeah, well… karma, I guess.”

As we took off, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d done. Missing her flight wasn’t my original intention, but it felt like the universe had balanced the scales for her appalling behavior. Yet, Mei’s words lingered in my mind. Had I gone too far?

“You’re right,” I admitted. “I just got so angry seeing how she treated everyone.”

Mei patted my arm. “We all have our moments. The important thing is to learn from them.”

As the plane descended into London, I made a silent promise to myself. I’d use this experience as a lesson, a reminder to be better, even when faced with difficult people.

The plane touched down, and as we taxied to the gate, Mei turned to me one last time. “Remember, Nora, we’re all works in progress. The important thing is to keep trying to be better.”

I smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Mei. For listening and for the wisdom.”

As we disembarked, I couldn’t help but scan the faces in the airport, half expecting to see the woman from Vegas. She wasn’t there, of course, but the memory of her, and my actions, would stay with me for a long time.