The Airport Prank That Almost Got Me Quarantined
Back when sneezing, in public, without a mask, without covering your face, would get you in deep trouble
It was back in March, one week before the government planned a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days. I was travelling for Holi, and after two weeks of fun, I came back to my work town on March 18.
My elder brother was worried about me travelling so much during such difficult times. He advised not to go back to my work town and stay at home for as long as possible. I had already booked the return ticket. It did not qualify for cancellation because I booked it way before the pandemic wave started in India.
One week before the first lockdown
As you know, many flights were getting cancelled, so my flight on 18th also got cancelled. I boarded the next flight on 19th. The flight was from Delhi to Bangalore. I landed around 8 AM.
At that time, the rules were lax about following social distancing while still being in the flight. Nowadays, some flights have even reduced their capacity to accommodate fewer passengers, but at that time it was packed.
I should have read about being asymptomatic
I was in ignorant phases about the chances of being asymptomatic. It is the case when the symptoms take very long to show in an infected person. By the time the asymptomatic person is diagnosed positive for a disease, he transfers it to many others while the pathogen was in the incubation stage in his body.
I am not saying I was asymptomatic. Nor do I know that I am asymptomatic now, because I haven’t got tested. I don’t show any symptoms as of now—same as back in March.
Risky prank doesn’t always pan out as expected
The panic was so real about the pandemic that making a prank about it will look like a mistake I’ll never forget.
When the flight landed, there was a bus service to take us from the landing spot to the airport entrance. It was nearly a 2-minute ride. The bus was crowded. You could stand, but not sit. Most people were wearing masks. The expression was difficult to judge based on just their eyes.
Fake sneezing
As I said I wanted to see the reaction of the passengers, I wanted to fake a loud sneeze. A sneeze that would shake everyone and eventually throw me out of the bus. I was not filming it. It was an immediately planned prank. The eye expression plays a significant role in this.
We generally tilt our head back when it is a strong sneeze, right? I also did. Here is where the game changed. As I was tilting back, I was scanning the expression of everyone based on just their eyes. And what did I see? All the eyes became wide. They were becoming bigger. I thought some would even pop out and shoot me.
Saving myself
I sensed the threat. When I tilted back completely, I made a snap and wise decision not to sneeze. I instead went with headrest on the sidewall of the bus. Then everyone calmed down and started using their phones again.
I just thought what a terrible idea that was actually to go through with it. Imagine if there was a police officer on the bus. He would have caught me. I was not even wearing a mask. Not even covering my face with my hand. This incident still amuses me.
Final words
This is the one and the only prank I tried during the pandemic and about the pandemic too. From now on, as long as it is not starting a negative reaction from the mob, I will continue to do pranks for fun. But predicting the level of danger and stopping it is a wise decision that we should consider whenever possible.
Now it is almost 10 months since the incident happened and it is still a funny story I mention to my friends. I hope you also laughed as I built up the story till the HEADREST.
You were expecting I would sneeze, right? But welcome to the real world people, where every happy ending is not that interesting. I did manage to make it funny when I scanned the eyes while tilting.
Imagine what would happen if there was no wall near me. Controlling a sneeze is hard. And controlling a fake sneeze! I don’t even know if anyone did that! Ever! As I am writing this, I am getting a sneeze. But don’t bother, you keep your eyes normal and have a good day!
I maintained a blogging streak of 125 days when I started on day 1 of nationwide lockdown on March 25 this year. While I broke the chain multiple times, now I am starting it again. Today is day 1 of my second streak, and my first target is making it till 21 days in the first phase.
Thank you for reading!
~ Sanjeev
