Calm down, kid!” I said.I hate confrontation, but I wasn’t about to let some teenager treat me like a target practice dummy. Dean turned around, smirking as if he’d just won the lottery. “Calm down, kid! Calm down!” he mocked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. And then, he threw another handful of chips right at my face. I was stunned. Who acts like this? I looked at his father, hoping he’d step in and say something, but no. The man was laughing so hard he was practically in tears.“Excuse me, are you this kid’s father?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, though I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “Hold on,” the man said, his voice full of amusement.
“I’m recording this! Can you say ‘Calm down, kid!’ one more time?” I couldn’t believe it. I felt the anger bubbling up inside me, but instead of snapping — which, believe me, I was close to doing — I just pressed the call button for the flight attendant.When she arrived, I explained the situation as calmly as I could, and she was a godsend. She moved me to another seat without making a fuss. But I couldn’t stop thinking about that kid and his father. How could people act like that? So entitled, so cruel, just because they could. I’m not naive; I know the world isn’t always fair, but this was something else. It was like they didn’t see me as a person, just an object to be ridiculed.When the plane finally landed, I grabbed my bag and headed straight for the taxi stand. I was exhausted from the flight and trying to keep my emotions in check. All I could think about was getting to the lawyer’s office and getting this over with. As the taxi weaved through the traffic, a knot of nerves formed in my stomach. What if this inheritance wasn’t real? What if it was just some cruel joke? I didn’t know what to expect, and that scared me more than I cared to admit.I arrived at the lawyer’s office and walked inside.
