“Then why wouldn’t anybody tell me whose ticket actually said 2A?”
Karen said nothing.
Maya continued.
“Why did you write REASSIGNED on my boarding pass?”
“It documents the seat change.”
“After I boarded?”
“Yes.”
“After you had already accepted my ticket for 2A?”
Karen’s jaw tightened.
“You’re seventeen.”
Maya stared at her.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You don’t understand how complicated boarding operations can become.”
Maya almost laughed.
There it was again.
Not an answer.
A dismissal.
“You’re right,” Maya said.
Karen relaxed slightly.
“I’m seventeen.”
The relief disappeared when Maya continued.
“But I understand when someone avoids a question.”
Karen crossed her arms.
“You need to return to your seat.”
“I was trying to.”
“Then do that.”
“You stopped me.”
Karen looked toward the phone again.
“Delete anything you sent about the crew.”
Maya’s heartbeat jumped.
She heard her father’s warning again.
DON’T DELETE ANYTHING.
“No.”
Karen stared at her.
“I’m asking you to cooperate.”
“You already used that word.”
“Maya.”
“And I already cooperated.”
Karen took one step closer.
“You should think carefully.”
Maya did.
That was exactly what she was doing.
“If I delete something now,” Maya said, “there will still be a record that it existed.”
Karen froze.
Only for a second.
But Maya saw it.
The strange reaction told her more than any confession could have.
“Return to 14E.”
Maya reached for the curtain.
Karen spoke again.
“Keep your phone put away.”
Maya stopped.
“Is that a safety instruction?”
Karen’s face reddened.
“Go sit down.”
Maya stepped through the curtain.
She returned to 14E.
The woman beside her shifted to let her through.
“Everything okay?”
Maya buckled her seat belt.
“I don’t know.”
The aircraft remained at the gate.
Minutes passed.
The cabin lights dimmed slightly.
Then brightened again.
Passengers began checking watches.
A businessman across the aisle muttered about missing a connection.
Maya watched the curtain toward first class.
Nobody made a departure announcement.
Nobody explained the delay.
Then Sarah appeared beyond the curtain.
She was speaking with Karen.
Maya could not hear everything.
She caught only fragments.
“…minor…”
“…alone…”
“…threatening…”
Karen pointed toward Sarah’s seat.
Sarah did not move.
Captain Davies emerged from the cockpit.
His expression was different now.
The exhaustion remained.
The authority did not.
He spoke quietly with Karen.
Karen whispered something.
Davies looked toward row 14.
Their eyes met.
Maya felt her stomach tighten.
Davies disappeared back into the cockpit.
Another minute passed.
Then the aircraft door reopened.
Passengers began murmuring.
Maya looked toward the front.
Two airline supervisors boarded.
Neither wore a flight uniform.
One carried a tablet.
The other carried a radio.
Karen intercepted them immediately.
They spoke near the forward galley.
Henderson remained in Seat 2A.
He had opened a laptop.
He looked annoyed rather than concerned.
Maya wondered whether he understood what had happened.
Perhaps he believed the airline had simply honored his status.
Perhaps that was all he cared to know.
One supervisor looked toward Maya.
Then toward Sarah.
Then toward Karen.
Karen began speaking quickly.
Maya could not hear the words.
Sarah could.
Her expression hardened.
She raised one hand.
“Excuse me.”
Karen ignored her.
Sarah stood.
“I witnessed the entire thing.”
One supervisor turned.
“Ma’am, please remain seated.”
“I will after you hear this.”
Davies emerged again.
“Professor Jenkins.”
Sarah looked surprised.
“You know my name now?”
“We have the passenger manifest.”
“Wonderful.”
Davies lowered his voice.
“Please don’t escalate this.”
Sarah stared at him.
“I’m not the person who escalated it.”
The cabin became quieter.
Davies noticed.
He motioned toward the galley.
Sarah followed him.
Maya remained in 14E.
That was the strangest part.
Everything suddenly concerned her, yet everyone was speaking somewhere else.
She felt powerless again.
She looked at her backpack.
Her Baldwin book rested inside.
Between its pages sat the altered boarding pass.
Inside her phone sat the message to her father.
Two records.
One physical.
One digital.
Her father’s warning made sense now.
Keep everything.