He fought hard to hold his temper back, his mind full of angry retorts. But he remembered the older woman’s words, and with great effort, he stayed silent, focusing all his energy on calming his frayed nerves. Just as he started to relax again—another loud thud hit his back. The kicking had started right back up.
Carl took a deep breath, feeling another kick hit his seat. He knew he had to handle this calmly, for his own sake and for the other passengers around him. He turned around and gave the boy a gentle smile. “Hey buddy, could you stop kicking my seat? I can’t relax at all with all the kicking,” he said nicely.
The boy stared at him curiously. Carl kept going, “I know sitting still on a plane is boring. I have a pencil and a notebook in my bag—you can borrow them to draw if you want.” As Carl reached for his bag to get the supplies, the boy’s mother leaned over sharply.
