It was one of those beautiful Monday mornings in August. I had just come back home for a long vacation. That morning, everyone had to leave the house for their daily activities. My siblings were the first to leave as I woke up to notice that they were gone. My dad was the next to leave. Leaving only me and my mum, who was also preparing to leave the house.
I was still on my bed when she walked into the room holding a piece of paper.
“Since you’re the one staying home today, can you please go to the supermarket and get these things” she said as she handed me the long list.
She stood there, waiting to hear my response, as if I could ever refuse her request.
“Alright mom, I’ll do it” I said as I took the list.
Initially, I had planned to just stay indoors and lay down all day. That was my opportunity to rest after a very hectic academic session. My mom’s errand now would put a dent on my plans, but I was willing to do it.
Two hours later, I left the house, and took a bus to the supermarket. I hadn’t been in the city for up to a year, and now, everywhere looked a bit different. Most of the places I used to go to no longer looked the same. Some of the buildings were brought down and new ones erected, some of the old buildings were renovated. The streets also looked different. As I looked out the bus window, I was impressed by the changes I saw. However, one thing remained the same, the busy nature of the city on a typical Monday morning.
I arrived at the supermarket which was obviously busy with people going around picking what they wanted. Some stood confused on what to buy, and there were those who looked like they weren’t really there to buy anything, just lurking. However, one thing that caught my interest was the cashier’s countenance. She had a persistent frown that made her seem unapproachable. It was as if she had a lot of pent up anger and frustration, waiting for the one person she would unleash it all on.
“Sir, I said your card is not working. You’re stressing me” she said in a rude manner to a customer who was trying to pay for what he picked up.
“But I just used it a few minutes ago outside. Please try it again” the man said, in another attempt to pay with his card.
The next thing that happened is that they were involved in a heated exchange of words until she finally decided to try his card again and the transaction worked. One would think that after that heated exchange, she would have poured out all her anger and frustration, but it only made her mood worse.
I took a cart, and went on to pick the things my mom itemized on the list. When I was done, I approached the cashier. I didn’t go with enough cash to pay for the items I picked and I left my phone at home to charge, so my plan was to pay with my card. After presenting the items on the counter, I reached into my pocket to get my card, and I couldn’t find it.
“That’s odd” I said to myself.
I checked my pockets again, vigorously this time. My card wasn’t in any of my pockets. At that point, I was already breaking a sweat.
“Sorry Ma’am, It seems I lost my card or forgot it, let me just check around to be sure it didn’t fall off here” I said to her, trying to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of gaining her sympathy.
She looked at me like that’s a load of balderdash. I knew that I was about to get some verbal bashing from her because she was visibly getting angrier.
I checked around the supermarket and I couldn’t find my card. It was then I knew I was in a mess. I wasn’t with my phone or enough cash to pay.
“What am I going to tell this lady now? She will probably think I’m a fraud or something” I pondered to myself.
“Excuse me young man, if you’re not ready to buy anything, just take the items back to where you took them from” she said.
I was really disappointed by the fact that I may have forgotten my card at home because I had no memory of taking it in the first place. It would mean that all my efforts to go to the supermarket were wasted.
As I stood, confused on what to do next, I saw Tony who was a very good friend of mine.
“Hey man, what’s the matter, you look disturbed” he said.
“I think I forgot my card at home and I’m neither with my phone nor enough cash” I replied.
“Oh, I could pay for you, and when you get home, you can just pay me back” he said.
“That would be wonderful” I said as my face lit up.
Tony came to my rescue and probably saved me from a lot of stress and embarrassment.
