I was deep into my work mid-flight, tray table down and laptop open, when the man in front of me suddenly shoved his seat all the way back. The impact jolted my screen so hard it cracked with a sharp snap. Startled, I leaned forward and asked as politely as I could, “Hey, could you not? My laptop was there.” Without even glancing back, he tossed out a dismissive, “Maybe don’t bring work if you can’t handle turbulence.”

Trying to stay calm, I flagged down a flight attendant, hoping for support. Instead, I was met with a sympathetic shrug and a statement that it was a “personal matter.” The man smirked like he’d won something. When I told him he needed to pay for the damage he’d caused, he laughed louder than necessary and sneered, “Good luck with that,” before leaning his seat back even further.

As he settled in, he closed his eyes like nothing had happened, snoring as if he owned the entire row. Meanwhile, I sat there with my cracked screen and a growing mix of disbelief and outrage, replaying the moment over in my mind. It wasn’t just the broken laptop—it was the arrogance, the entitlement, the complete lack of accountability.

There are people who treat the world as their personal space, confident they’ll never face consequences. But sometimes, karma flies coach too. What he didn’t know was that I wasn’t about to let it go. The flight wasn’t over, and neither was this story.