I like to keep to myself most of the time. Working at the grocery store is okay. It is not my favorite job, but it is a job. I like that the shelves are always full of different things. Sometimes, I look at all the cereal boxes and wonder what it would be like to try every kind. Today was a normal day. The sun was shining outside, and inside, the air conditioning was making things cool. People were walking up and down the aisles, putting food in their baskets. I was standing at my checkout lane, scanning items and putting them in bags. It is a careful job, and I like to do it right. I do not like making mistakes.
Then she came. She was a young woman, maybe not much older than me. She had bright clothes and hair that looked like it took a lot of effort. She was walking like she owned the place, and her nose was up in the air. In her arms, she was holding a small, fluffy cat. The cat looked a little unhappy, like it wanted to be somewhere else. I have a cat too, a big orange one named Marmalade. He likes to sleep on my homework. He never seems to mind when I pet him, but this cat in the woman’s arms looked tense.
She walked right up to the front of the line. There were maybe five people in front of her. They were all waiting patiently, like normal people. The woman with the cat did not even pause. She just stepped in front of the person who was second to last. The man in front of her turned around. He was a kind-looking man with a beard. He looked confused. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then he closed it. He seemed like he did not want trouble. The woman with the cat did not look at him. She just put her items on the belt.
My job is to check people out. I am supposed to be fair. I looked at the man with the beard. He looked a little sad now. I did not like seeing that. I took a deep breath. My hands started to feel a little cold, like they do when I am nervous. I looked at the woman with the cat. She was looking at her phone, not paying attention to anyone. Her cat blinked slowly.
I started to scan her items. The man with the beard shifted his weight. The woman behind him, a older woman with glasses, sighed loudly. The line behind them was getting longer. I could feel my heart beating a little faster. I do not like making people upset. It makes me feel like I have failed at something. I just want everyone to be calm.
The woman with the cat finally looked up from her phone. She saw me scanning her things. She smiled, but it was not a nice smile. It was like she knew she was getting her way. She put her purse on the counter. It was a very fancy purse, with shiny metal parts. I noticed a small tag hanging from it. It had a picture of a very detailed map of the London Underground. I thought that was a strange thing to have on a purse. I once got lost trying to find the bus station near my house, so I thought maybe she was very good with directions.
I finished scanning her items. The total came up on the screen. She reached into her purse, but not for money. She pulled out a small brush. She started to brush her cat. The cat did not seem to like it very much. It tried to pull away, but she held it tight. She was brushing the cat’s fur while looking at me. She was waiting for me to say something about the price. She did not say anything about the line. She did not say sorry to the people she cut in front of. She acted like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I looked at the people in line. They were all looking at her. Some looked angry, some looked tired. The man with the beard just stared at his shoes. I felt a knot in my stomach. I wanted to say something, but I did not know what to say. I am not good with arguments. I do not like making a scene. My voice feels too small when I try to be loud. I prefer to be quiet and do my work.
She tapped her fingers on the counter. She wanted me to hurry. Her cat let out a small, unhappy sound. I took another breath. I decided to try something. I looked at her and then looked at the people behind her. I tried to keep my voice even. I said that it was important to wait our turn. I said that everyone in line was waiting very long. I said that it was not fair to them. I was trying to make her understand, but I did not want to sound like I was scolding her. I just wanted her to be thoughtful.
She looked at me like I had grown a second head. Her eyes got a little wider. She put her brush down. Her cat seemed to relax a tiny bit. She opened her mouth, and I thought she was going to yell at me. I braced myself. I started to think about how I could explain that I was just doing my job. I thought about how I did not want to cause any trouble.
But she did not yell. Instead, she looked at the line again. She looked at the man with the beard. She looked at the woman with glasses. She looked at the other people. She paused for a long time. Her expression changed. It was like a light bulb turned on, but not a very bright one. She finally looked back at me. She picked up her purse and her cat.
She then took her items off the belt. She did not say a word. She walked away from the counter, back to the end of the line. She put her items back in her basket. The man with the beard looked surprised. The woman with glasses let out another sigh, but this one sounded a little more relieved. I watched her go. She walked to the back of the line and stood there, holding her cat. The cat seemed to be purring now, a soft rumble. Her fancy purse bumped against her leg.
I went back to scanning items. My hands were still a little shaky, but I felt a little better. I did not have to argue. I did not have to call a manager. The situation was fixed. I did not know why she decided to go to the back of the line. Maybe she realized it was better for everyone. Maybe she just did not want to deal with the looks from the other people. I will never know for sure. I just hope I do not see her again. Or her cat. I do not like when things are unpredictable like that. It makes me worry about what might happen next time.
