Julia scanned her boarding pass and paused.
SSSS.
She frowned. “What is this?”
The gate agent gave a polite smile. “You’ve been selected for additional screening. Just routine.”
Minutes later, she stood in a separate lane, shoes off, laptop pulled, hands swabbed. Her heart thudded—not because she had something to hide, but because it felt… unsettling.
Back home, she googled: SSSS – Secondary Security Screening Selection. Random. Harmless. Just security doing its job.
The next morning, she laughed over coffee with her husband.
“Well,” she said, “I guess I was special yesterday.”
He grinned. “You’ve always been a high-security risk—with that heart of gold.”
They clinked mugs.
She still triple-checked her boarding pass—but now, with a little smirk.
