smile

somehow i was upgraded. i was leaving india and smiled at the right person at check-in. sitting in first-class ruining the taste of apple juice with a mouthful of free toffee i became aware of a commotion. across the aisle and toward the back of the cabin a young child was kicking and stamping at the floor. somehow a cockroach had survived the sweet smelling kill-all spray. it was one of those big sorts, with yellowish wings that made a clicking sound as it attempted flight. the child was screaming that the bug had bitten her. the rest of us did what crowds always do. we looked at each other knowingly. that's not the kind of bug that bites. we rolled our eyes. true, that bug is ugly, but that kid just wants to make noise. no one got bitten, but still they had to scream. pretty soon the pilot came from the flight deck, he swooped in as if he were the only adult aboard. i don't know what happened to the bug, it must have been murdered. for 10 hours that little kid talked about her bite.