The museum was quiet. It was one of those day where not so many people. I like that. I was standing near big skeleton. A real one. From long long time ago. It was very big. I was thinking how amazing it is to see such old bones. My mind was calm, just watching the shape, the size. Then a voice, very loud, come from behind me. It was a woman voice.
“Excuse me! You! Help me!” she said. My shoulders pulled up a little. I turned slow. She was standing very close. Too close. I felt little startled. I did not expect to be spoken to so sharp.
I looked at her. She had a bag, a big one. And she was holding small child hand. Child looked bored. The woman was not looking at skeleton. She was looking at me, straight into my eye, like I owed her something. I blinked. I did not know what to say. Why she was talking to me like this?
“Where is the gift shop?” she demand. Her voice had a sharp edge. It was like a knife sound in the quiet space. “I need to find a toy. My child wants a toy. Now.”
I just stood there. My hand was in my pocket. I did not say nothing for a moment. This was strange. I was just customer. Like her. I had my own ticket. I paid to be here. My eyebrows went up. I tried to make my voice calm, very polite. “I am sorry,” I told her. “I do not work here. I am just visiting. Like you.”
She made a noise. A scoff. Like a horse, almost. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. Her face started to turn color. A little bit red on her cheek. “Of course you work here. You are standing right next to the display. You look like you work here.”
I was confused. How I look like I work here? I wear normal clothes. I had no uniform. I had no badge. I just wear my jacket, dark color. And my pants. Like many people wear. “No, really,” I try again. My voice was little firmer this time. I did not like to be told what I am. “I do not. I have a ticket. I am a guest.”
She shook her head. Her hair moved. “Oh, so you are just going to stand there and not help a paying customer? This is terrible service. Truly awful. My child is getting fussy. I need a dinosaur toy. Where are the good ones? Not the cheap plastic. The nice ones.”
My mouth opened little bit. How could she not understand? It was like the words I said did not make sense to her ear. I felt a pressure building in my head. Like a drum starting to beat very slow. “Ma’am,” I said. I try again. “I cannot help you. I do not know where is the shop. I do not work for museum.”
She put her hand on her hip. “Are you deaf? Or just stupid? I told you I need help! Are you just refusing? Because if you are refusing, I will speak to your manager. This is unacceptable. I spend good money to come here and I expect good service.” She pointed her finger at my chest. It was too close. My muscles started to get tight. I wanted to step back, but I did not want to show her I was bothered. But I was bothered very much. This was making me angry. A hot feeling started in my stomach.
“I am not working here,” I say again. My words were slow. I tried to make them very clear, one by one. “I cannot help you find toy. I do not know where. You must find someone who works here.”
“I am talking to someone who works here!” she yell. Her voice was louder now. Other people walking past, they look. I hate when people look. I just want to be quiet. “Stop being lazy! Just tell me where the gift shop is! What is so hard about that? It’s your job!”
My jaw felt stiff. I could feel my face getting warm. This was not right. This woman was not hearing me. She was just hearing what she wanted to hear. She was living in her own world. I looked around for real employee. I saw a young man in dark blue shirt and badge walking far away. He was pushing cart. This was my chance. I would go get him. He can deal with this. Not me.
I started to walk away, toward the young man. I was moving fast. I did not want to look back. I just wanted to get away from her and this conversation. My legs felt long. I hear her voice behind me. “Hey! Where are you going? Get back here! You are not dismissed! You have not helped me yet!”
I kept walking. My heart was beating faster now. This was truly frustrating. My head started to ache. I got to the young man. He was putting some papers in a box. I tried to catch his eye. “Excuse me,” I said. My voice was a little shaky. “Can you help this woman? She needs to find gift shop. She thinks I work here.”
The young man looked at me, then over my shoulder. He saw the woman. She was striding toward us, her face even more red now. The little child was dragging behind her, almost falling. Her eyes were very wide. Like a furious bird. “What do you think you are doing?” she shouted at me. Her voice was shrill, like glass breaking. “You are trying to pawn me off on someone else? This is despicable! This is how you treat customers? I want your name! I want to report you! You are fired!”
The young man, the real employee, looked confused. He looked at me, then at her, then at my normal clothes. “Ma’am, is there a problem?” he asked her. He was trying to be calm. But she was not calm. Not one little bit.
“The problem,” she yell, pointing at me with a hand that was shaking, “is this lazy, disrespectful employee! She refused to help me! She wouldn’t tell me where the gift shop is! She tried to walk away from me! And now she’s trying to get you to do her job! She needs to be disciplined! She needs to be fired right now!”
My blood was boiling. It was truly boiling now. I could feel it in my veins. My hands were shaking too, but not from fear. It was from a deep, deep anger. This woman. She would not listen. She would not understand. She was making a huge scene. She was calling me employee. She was trying to get me fired. Me! A visitor! Who paid my own money! She was so sure. So absolutely, completely wrong. And so rude. My vision started to get blurry around the edges. A red mist. I felt so insulted. So disrespected. All the patience I had, all of it, just snapped. It was gone. Like a rubber band broke. There was nothing left in me but the heat of my anger.
She was still talking. Still shouting. About how I need to be fired. About how rude I am. About how she will speak to manager. Her voice was just noise now. It was a buzzing sound in my ear. I did not think. Not one little bit. My hand just moved. Very fast. My open palm, it connect with her face. A loud smack sound. Like a whip.
The sound echoed in the museum. Her head snapped back. Her mouth was open. The child started to cry very loud. The real employee gasped. His eyes were wide like saucers. My hand, it still sting. But the feeling in my chest, it was almost calm. For one second. A quiet peace after so much noise.
Then everything was happening very fast. The young man, he grab my arm. Other people were running. I could hear shouting. “Security! Call security!” A man in a uniform, a museum security guard, was suddenly there. He was big. He took my other arm. They were pulling me. Away. Away from the woman who was now holding her face and crying very loud, much louder than her child. Away from the exhibit. Out of the museum. I did not say a word. There was nothing left to say. Only the cold air on my face when they push me through the door and the sound of police sirens coming close. So very close.
