It was a real hot day, the kind where the air just hangs heavy and still, even the trees looked tired. I was waiting in a line for some ice cream, and it was a long one, winding all the way around the side of the building. My hand kept going to the little star birthmark on my left wrist, just rubbing it with my thumb, a habit I got when I’m just watching things. I guess I do that a lot. The line was moving slow, real slow, but everyone seemed to be okay with it, cause who don’t want a cold treat when it’s this hot out?
Then this girl comes up. She must of been about twenty, maybe twenty-one. She had on a real tight sundress that showed off her curves, and she was wearing a lot of makeup, like she thought she was going to a club insted of a ice cream shop. She walked with this kinda bounce, like she was on a runway or something, even though she was a little thick around the middle. She had a fella with her, a skinny dude who was kinda trailing behind her, looking at his phone. She stops at the very front of the line, just looks around at all of us with a kinda smirk. Her hair was all done up in a fancy bun, and she kept tossing her head a bit, like she was trying to get attention.
She seen the long line, definately, but she just kinda huffed and folded her arms across her chest. She looked back at her fella, and he just shrugged, not even looking up from his phone. She started tapping her foot, impatient like, and I could tell she thought she was too good to wait with the rest of us. I seen that look before, like the world owes them something. My grandpa used to say people like that just think their the main character in a movie and everyone else is just background noise.
Then, she just did it. She walked right past the first person in line, a older lady with a cane, and went strait to the order window. The older lady looked real surprised, kinda blinked a few times, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The girl, she just kinda smiled a fake smile, like she was being polite, but she wasn’t. Her fella finally looked up from his phone, and he had this smug look on his face, like he was proud of her or something.
The older lady didn’t say nothing, just shook her head a bit. But the fella right behind her, a big guy with a baseball cap on and a friendly face, he spoke up. He wasn’t yelling, but his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. He just said, “Hey now, there’s a line, miss. We’ve all been waiting.” The girl turned around real slow, like she was annoyed to even be bothered. She said something about how she had a real important appointment and couldn’t be late, and that she was in a hurry. She said it like that made it okay for her to just cut in front of everyone.
The big fella in the baseball cap, let’s call him Frank, he just kinda stared at her. He didn’t get mad, not really. He just had this real calm look on his face. He said that everyone was in a hurry on a hot day, but that’s why lines existed. He said it was only fair to wait your turn. The girl, she tossed her head again, like his words were just a fly she needed to swat away. She said that she was just going to order real quick, like that would make it better. Her fella, he just stood there with his phone, kinda nodding along with her, not helping at all.
Frank, he took a deep breath. Then he said, kinda thoughtful like, “You know, it’s funny, I was just thinking about how sometimes the fastest way to get what you want is to actually go along with the system. Like, if you just stepped back to where you belong in line, you’d probably surprise everyone. People might even feel bad for you, seeing how much of a hurry you’re in, and maybe they’d let you go ahead then. It would definately be faster than arguing with all of us, that’s for sure.” He said it real smooth, like he was just musing out loud, not telling her what to do.
The girl, she paused. Her eyes narrowed a little, like she was thinking real hard about what he just said. She looked at all the faces in the line, and I guess she seen that nobody was going to let her just get away with cutting. She looked at her fella, who was still just staring at his phone, not even paying attention anymore. You could almost see the gears turning in her head, like she was weighing her options. It was a real quiet moment, with everyone just watching her, waiting for her next move.
Just then, a kid, maybe three years old, who was in the line a few spots back, just started screaming. Not a little cry, but a full-on, ear-splitting tantrum. The kid wanted a specific flavor of sprinkles, and his mom had just told him no. He dropped to the ground, kicking and flailing, his face turning red. It was loud. Real loud. People started looking over, trying to see what was going on, some chuckling, some looking annoyed.
The noise was so sudden and so intense, it broke the spell. The girl, she flinched, looking over at the screaming child. She looked a little startled, then she glanced back at Frank, then at the line. She kinda mumbled something, I couldn’t really hear it over the kid’s screaming, and then, she just turned around and walked back to her fella. She didn’t go to the very end of the line, but she went a few spots back from Frank, like she decided that was a good spot for her. Her fella, he finally looked up, looking confused, and she kinda tugged his arm and pointed at the screaming kid, like that was the reason she moved. The kid was still screaming his head off, and his mom was bending over, trying to pick him up, looking all embarrassed.
I had to leave then, my friend was waiting for me down the street and I was already late. So I didn’t see if she ended up waiting, or if someone did let her go ahead like Frank suggested, or what. I just walked away from the chaos, rubbing that birthmark on my wrist. But I sure did feel bad for the older lady with the cane. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Nobody does.
