Too Expensive
Emily was exhausted and speechless. She couldn’t believe that she had to deal with this right now. The cashier was clearly annoyed, saying, “Don’t you know the rules, madam? and on top of that you’re also traveling with a baby, do you know how much this is going to cost you? ”
Emily tried to speak, but not a single word came out. She stared at her, speechless. She couldn’t afford this right now. The entire trip was a living nightmare. How was she supposed to pay for this?
Traveling With A Baby
With urgent work hanging over her head, Emily had to take a flight to Greece with her 12-month-old baby. The flight back to Australia felt like it lasted a lifetime and she knew how tough it would be traveling with a plus-sized baby.
She absolutely adored her chubby son. He had a lot of baby fat, and she thought it was adorable. Walking up to the flight check-in counter, Emily started feeling rather apprehensive about the journey ahead. She’d heard horror stories about traveling with babies, and she was dreading the flight.
Another Seat
The flight attendant eyed Emily and her baby, then looked down at her computer screen, “Ma’am, I see that you have a lap infant with you. Did you know that you can purchase a seat for him at a discounted rate?”
Emily was surprised by the flight attendant’s words. She’d seen online that lap infants were allowed and that she didn’t have to book a seat for her baby. Were they trying to get more money out of her? She hesitated, then asked how much another seat would cost. When the flight attendant quoted the price, Emily’s eyes widened. She couldn’t afford that. She politely declined and made her way to the gate.
The Cashier
Her baby, Coby, didn’t need his own seat. He was perfectly fine sitting on his mother’s lap. The first flight was a nightmare because there was no space. Emily and her baby were crushed between two big people because the flight was full. There were no other seats available. They were complaining about Coby for the entire duration of the flight, despite him being on his best behavior.
On their connecting flight to Singapore, Emily decided to order a footlong sandwich. She stood in line for over thirty minutes before she finally got to the cashier. When she got to the front, a beautiful blonde girl took her order. She smiled sweetly and said, “I can see why you need such a big sandwich with a baby like that.” Emily was taken aback by her comment. Was she trying to insult her?
She Was Starving
Emily couldn’t help but wonder why the young woman thought it was appropriate to insult a little baby. Was her insult aimed at Emily instead? She certainly wasn’t as friendly as she looked.
She continued shooting Emily strange looks, making her feel rather uncomfortable. She just hoped the rude woman hadn’t sabotaged her sandwich. Emily wanted to leave without the sandwich, but she couldn’t. She was starving.
Walking Away
Emily quickly paid for her order. “Have a good day ma’am,” the girl’s smile was anything but genuine. Emily thought the girl was quite strange and quickly made her way toward her boarding gate.
She ate her sandwich as she walked, not thinking much of it. She had no idea that there was something in the sandwich that would cost her in the end.
Losing Track Of Time
She tore off a small piece of cheese and handed it over to Coby to nibble on. He was happily munching away as they sat outside their boarding gate, waiting. Emily was enjoying her sandwich so much that she didn’t realize the time.
The people around them began waking up and moving about. Emily felt uncomfortable. The line at the sandwich shop had been so long that she completely lost track of time. It was time for them to board their plane. She shoved the sandwich into her bag and asked the flight check-in if it was okay to bring it on the flight, and she said yes.
Relief
It was time for their connecting flight. As Emily sat down in her seat, she let out a relieving sigh. She was on the plane and she’d made it without incident. All she had to do now was get through the long flight.
She got her footlong sandwich out and started eating it again, grateful for something to eat. Enjoying her meal, she didn’t notice the devouring eyes around her.
They Were Staring
As the flight wore on, Emily became increasingly aware of the stares from her fellow passengers. They all seemed annoyed by Coby’s presence, even though he was on his best behavior.
Emily decided to ignore the stares and kept entertaining her baby. Why were they even staring?
Dread
When they finally landed in Australia, Emily quickly headed to the customs line. She was approaching the officer when a sudden wave of dread overwhelmed her. She had forgotten her sandwich in the bag.
She prayed that it wouldn’t be a problem and tried to act as casually as possible. The officer had no sympathy. He took his job seriously and stopped anyone that didn’t follow the rules. “Is that your baby madam?” he said sternly.
Hey You There
Emily’s heart sank as she heard the officer call her out. She couldn’t believe that she had to waste more time for no reason. The airport was too tight and caused her a lot of stress.
The airport border control continued to question her. “What do you have in the bag madam?” “Nothing at all,” Emily said, “just a tired baby who needs to get home urgently”. “The border control looked at her and said, “open your bag ma’am”
What Do We Have Here
When he looked inside Emily’s bag, he got a surprise. He opened his eyes wide and said “what the heck is this?” Emily got a fright and tried to calm Cory down. He was starting to cry.
What was inside Emily’s bag that was so bad? Why was the border control giving her such a hard time? The exhausted woman just wanted to go home.
Requesting Back-Up
Just then, a flight check-in agent walked over to her and said, “Ma’am, I’m sorry to inform you that you’ll have to pay extra for your baby. He’s taking up one of the seats.” Emily was taken aback.
She had never heard of such a thing before. She tried to argue with the agent, but the agent was insistent.
New Rules
Emily was confused. She didn’t understand how her baby could be the reason for such an exorbitant fine. She asked the cashier to explain, but the cashier simply repeated herself. Emily felt frustrated and helpless.
As she walked towards the counter to pay the fine, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was some sort of conspiracy going on.
Doesn’t Make Sense
As she reached the counter, the cashier looked at her with a smirk on her face. Emily could feel her blood boiling. She decided to ask the cashier what the problem was, but the cashier just replied with a shrug.
Emily knew that there was something more to this, and she decided to investigate it herself.
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