“Can you move it faster?” Andrew grumbled impatiently as he maneuvered past an older man being assisted by a young flight attendant. The man had trouble walking, but Andrew didn’t think twice before mocking him and rushed to his seat.
As the plane took off, Andrew, a frequent flyer since childhood, lifted the window shade, feeling bored and eager to return home after his first semester at boarding school. He eventually rose to retrieve his tablet but left his bag protruding from the overhead bin.
The flight attendant who’d been assisting the older man earlier approached him. “Your bag is popping out. You didn’t close the overhead bin properly, sir.”
“Then do it instead of just standing there. It’s not my job,” Andrew retorted rudely.
Despite the lad’s rude words, the stewardess, maintaining her composure, closed the bin and walked away. Andrew, still in a foul mood, began eating some peanuts but spat them out in disgust. He rudely summoned the attendant.
“These peanuts taste awful! Get me something better than these disgusting nuts!” he demanded, throwing the bag at her.
The attendant, visibly upset yet polite, responded, “Sir, please calm down and don’t throw things at me.”
“I’ll do what I like!” Andrew snapped. “You’re here to serve me. Just go and get me something nice to eat, not some crappy junk like these peanuts. Now, go!”
The passengers nearby looked on in disbelief at Andrew’s behavior towards the patient stewardess.
Andrew’s immediate co-passenger, the older man whom he’d mocked earlier, interrupted his rude behavior towards the flight attendant.
“Young man, don’t talk to her like that,” the older man chided. “Just because it’s her job to serve us doesn’t mean you can disrespect her. She’s here to do her work, and she’s doing it well so far. It would be nice if you were kind to her and stopped shouting at her.”
“Why should I be kind to someone who can’t do her job?” Andrew retorted, snapping his fingers at the stewardess. “Hurry up with my snack! Don’t just stand here and stare at me like a statue!”
The attendant, teary-eyed but composed, walked away.
“Your parents must be so disappointed in you,” the older man remarked, returning to his magazine.
“Mind your own business, old man!” Andrew replied dismissively. “I paid for this flight; I deserve good service.”
When the attendant returned with pretzels, Andrew, unimpressed, slapped the tray away. “I want something better!”
“That’s all we have, sir,” the attendant responded, tears in her eyes.
Andrew’s loud insults attracted the attention of another passenger, a woman who confronted him. “How dare you speak to her like that? Show some respect!”
“If she did her job well, I wouldn’t be complaining!” Andrew argued. “She’s just a terrible servant!”
Unable to bear the insults any longer, the attendant burst into tears. Andrew’s harsh words echoed through the cabin, shocking the passengers with his lack of empathy and respect.
“Somebody ought to give you a hiding, young man,” the elderly passenger in the seat beside Andrew scowled at him. “I’ve been watching you all along, and this is not how you talk to people.”
“I agree,” another passenger, a man in an expensive suit, chimed in from behind Andrew. “You’ve been so annoying and rude to her. She’s doing her job well, but I guess you don’t know how to be polite and respectful, boy.”
Andrew was pretty startled because that voice sounded so familiar. His forehead wrinkled in shock, and his mouth fell open when he turned around.
“DAD?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??” he gasped.
“ANDREW??” the lad’s dad, Steven, was equally startled, and a tingle rushed across his skin, sharp and cold, when he realized the young bully who was insulting the flight attendant was none other than his own son.
“I had to take this economy flight back to New York due to a last-minute delay in the booking. I thought I heard your voice, but I was busy checking the company’s annual report. I can’t believe it would be you making a scene here!” Steven fumed at Andrew, who stood frozen, his mouth clamped shut and eyes fixed on his father.
“But…dad…” Andrew stuttered.
“Shut up and APOLOGIZE TO HER right now!” added Steven. “I’ll teach you good manners first thing when we get home. Now say sorry to her!”
Andrew hunched his shoulders and mumbled an apology. “Sorry!” was all he told the stewardess. He didn’t see what the big deal was, and he didn’t like it at all when his father told him off in front of everyone.
After their flight, Andrew nervously followed his father, Steven, into their luxurious home, worried about the impending consequences of his behavior. Steven led him to his study and confronted him.
“You made me so proud today,” Steven began sarcastically. “Is this why I sent you to boarding school? To become irresponsible and disrespectful?
“I’m disappointed, Andrew. Your behavior must change,” Steven said sternly, slamming the study door and turning to face his son.
“I don’t see the big deal, Dad,” Andrew argued. “It’s not like she’s important or anything! She’s paid to serve us, and she wasn’t doing her job well!”
“How she does her job is not your problem, Andrew. Being wealthy doesn’t give you the right to mistreat others,” Steven retorted, crossing his arms. “And son, you’re nothing without my wealth and support! You need a reality check.”
“What does that mean now?!”
“You’re not returning to the boarding school. You’ll attend public school and work for a living during the break.”
“Work? Are you kidding?” Andrew was shocked.
“No, I’m not kidding. You’ll work as a janitor in my cleaning services company!”
“A JANITOR? No way, Dad. I can’t do that!” Andrew protested.
“You don’t have a choice. I’m cutting off all your privileges – bank cards, laptop, car, phone, and even your branded clothes. You’ll wear simple clothes and earn your living,” Steven declared firmly.
“I should’ve spent time teaching you some manners instead of only making money after your mother died,” Steven continued. “It’s high time you learned how hard it is to survive in the world. It’s now or never…You must stop looking down upon others and learn to respect people.”
“But Dad, why a janitor? My friends will laugh at me,” Andrew protested, distressed.
“This is the consequence of your actions, Andrew. You need to learn respect,” Steven replied firmly. “And if you quit the job, you’ll lose all privileges!”
Defeated, Andrew began his job at the airport the next day, embarrassed about becoming a janitor for his dad’s cleaning company. He struggled with basic tasks and wasn’t familiar with even holding a mop.
“How silly! That’s not how you hold a mopstick,” laughed his supervisor, an older woman.
“Stop laughing! I’m not used to this,” Andrew snapped. “And do your job, or I’ll get you fired!”
“You won’t,” the woman retorted. “I know your dad well. He wants me to straighten you out. Now, work! These floors won’t mop themselves!”
Andrew sighed and began mopping clumsily and slowly.
“Even sloths are faster. Pick up the pace; there’s lots to do!” the woman instructed.
Andrew grumbled and cursed while sweeping and mopping the lounge. His hip ached, and he was exhausted from lifting heavy buckets of water. Constantly monitored by the older woman, he couldn’t even rest.
As he disposed of litter in the food court, a passer-by hit him with an empty plastic bottle.
“Hey, watch it, dude! How dare you throw that at me??” Andrew yelled.
The guy, wearing headphones, ignored him and walked away.
Andrew ran after him, demanding an explanation, but the man pushed him onto the floor, calling him a “filthy janitor.”
Embarrassed and surrounded by laughing onlookers, Andrew was then scolded by another man for not putting up a caution sign on the wet floor. Apologizing, Andrew promised to rectify his mistake.
Just as he thought he could finally rest, a woman with a young boy approached him. “Hey you, janitor, come here,” she snapped, demanding Andrew clean up her grandson’s vomit.
“WHAT??! Are you kidding me, lady? I cannot touch that…Eeewww! No way!” Andrew recoiled in disgust.
“It’s your job, and you must do it,” she insisted.
“Don’t tell me what my job is. I am not touching that thing! I feel like throwing up…it stinks….” Andrew protested.
“If you don’t clean it now, I’ll report you and get you fired!” she threatened.
How Andrew wished he’d never seen a day like this. He looked around for his assistant, but she was nowhere in sight.
Andrew wiped his tears and donned gloves to clean the vomit. He mopped the floor, feeling disgusted and helpless.
The rest of the day was no better. Whenever Andrew tried to rest, his assistant assigned him more tasks. “Give me a break, lady…I’m tired,” he begged. “I’m a human, not a robot. I need to breathe.”
“We are here to work, not rest,” the assistant insisted. “Clear the bins now…Up! Up!”
Exhausted, Andrew dragged the bins outside and hurriedly cleaned the lounge. Climbing stairs for escalator duty made him dizzy. Desperate for a break, he found a quiet spot and sat down, his head in his hands.
Suddenly, a woman kicked him in the back. “Get out of the way, you lazy fool,” she sneered. “I’m going to report you for sleeping on the job.”
“I was not sleeping,” Andrew retorted.
“I’ll make sure you get fired. How dare you back answer me?” she stormed off.
Tears gushed into Andrew’s eyes when he understood this was what his father had tried to teach him. He now understood how much it hurt to be mistreated by people who thought they were better than him.
Andrew cried into his palms and looked up at the crowd when a woman’s silhouette drew his attention. He rose and immediately ran after her when he recognized her.
“Hey there, wait a minute,” he shouted, tapping the woman’s arm.
She turned around and was stunned as he panted and puffed, holding his knees, looking up at the flight attendant he’d mocked on the plane the previous day.
“Hey!” he said.
“You? Oh god, not you again! What are you doing here in a cleaner’s uniform? You work here?” Her hand went up to her mouth in shock.
“I AM SORRY FOR MOCKING YOU YESTERDAY!” said Andrew. “I treated you so badly. I insulted you. But you still served me with a smile. I’m so ashamed of myself, and I promise I’ll not be rude to anybody again. Please forgive me, alright?”
The stewardess was stunned by the boy’s words and his sudden change of heart.
“I’m glad you’ve realized your mistake,” she said, smiling. “But I still don’t understand what you’re doing here.”
Andrew refused to reveal anything and smiled, disappearing from the flight attendant’s sight to finish the day’s pending work.
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