A Lost & Found Apple AirPods Case Tracking Debacle

So I’m arriving in Southampton aboard a Hampton Jitney Ambassador around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and by the time I gather up all my things, I am the last person to get off. Even behind my wife. But then I see, on an empty seat across from where we were sitting, a small white shiny object. Something left behind.

It’s an Apple earbud case. Inside must be the earbuds, which they call “AirPods.” It’s probably worth about $150.

We call out to people as we get off, but nobody hears. So the easy thing to do now is just bring it in and give it to the receptionist for the lost and found. We get our bags and carry them to the car and we are off. And that’s when I remembered I still had the AirPods. Well, the next day, we’ll be back in Southampton again.

Halfway home, though, three short beeps come from my pocket. They stop. Then three more. What’s going on? It’s the AirPods.

My wife is driving. I open the case. There are no AirPods inside. Whoever left them left the bus with the AirPods in their ears. So, of course, they never heard.

Now the beeping’s stopped. But my iPhone blinks. There’s a message.

“You are being tracked,” it reads. There’s a map. The displayed location moves closer to our house.

“Uh-oh,” I say.

At home the beeping starts up again. On the map, the dot showing my house blinks. And there’s the dotted lines showing the route we took from the Jitney.

This is terrible! They’re coming for me. Any moment now there will be a group of angry men with torches banging on the front door. My heart is racing.

I get up and lock the front door. And then, back at the desk, I look up what an AirPods case costs. I’m being ridiculous. It’s $18.

What to do? Phone says I have three options. 1. Ignore it. 2. Contact them. 3. Delete it.

I’m panicking. I press delete.

“What’s the matter?” my wife asks.

“They’re never gonna get me,” I say.

For more of Dan Rattiner’s stories, go to DansPapers.com/voices/dan-rattiners-stories.