The store was a real madhouse that Saturday, like a beehive that got knocked over and all the bees just swarmed out. It was one of them big electronics places, and they had a sale on, so folks was pushin and shovin to get their hands on whatever new gadget they was after. I was mostly just watchin, ain’t really needin nothin, just enjoyin the show, you know? It’s kinda my thing, just observin people. You can learn a lot if you just pay attention.
Then this girl comes pushin through the crowd, like she owned the place. She was in her early twenties, I’d guess, maybe nineteen or twenty at the oldest. She had this kinda look, like she knew she was the best thing since sliced bread, but honestly, she was just kinda average. A little soft around the edges, maybe, and a face that was more ‘resting annoyed’ than ‘model material’. Her hair was all done up fancy, and she had on too much makeup, like she was tryin too hard. She was draggin this fella behind her, her boyfriend or husband probably, who looked like he hadn’t slept in a week and was mostly just tryin to keep up. He was kinda scrawny and had that same look in his eyes, like the world owed him a favor too, but mostly he just looked tired.
I caught somethin she was sayin as she brushed past me. She had this thing, she told anyone who’d listen, about her blood type. Super rare, she said, like one in a million or somethin. Acted like it made her royalty, like her veins ran with liquid gold instead of blood. I dunno, it was just a weird thing to brag about, but she said it with such a straight face, like it was the most important fact about her.
They made a beeline for the special pickup counter, the one for stuff folks had already ordered online. My gut told me this wasn’t gonna end good. She had that kinda energy that just vibrated with ‘I want it, and I’m gonna get it, no matter what’. She pointed a long, painted finger at a box on the shelf behind the counter. It was a new, limited edition game console, the kind that sells out in five minutes flat. It had a big red ‘RESERVED’ sticker right on it.
A young fella, no older than her, was behind the counter, lookin all flustered. He was probly new. She just slammed her hand on the counter. “I want that one,” she said, her voice kinda high and whiny. “The one with the red sticker. Get it for me.”
The young fella blinked at her, his eyes kinda wide. “Ma’am, that’s reserved,” he said, his voice quiet. “It’s already been paid for by another customer. It’s just waitin for them to come pick it up.”
She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. “Reserved? That’s ridiculous. I’m here now. I need it. My husband wants it.” She gestured to the tired fella behind her, who just kinda nodded dumbly.
The employee tried to explain again, real patient like, about how reserved items work. How you pay for them online, and they hold it for you. It was like he was talkin to a brick wall. She wasn’t listenin. She just kept interruptin him, her voice gettin louder and louder, talkin about how she drove all the way out here and she deserved it and how her rare blood type meant she couldn’t be stressed out like this. It was wild, like her blood type gave her special powers to just take stuff.
Right then, a man walked up, a real quiet lookin fella. He was kinda small, wore glasses, and had a gentle way about him. He had a printout in his hand. “Excuse me,” he said, real soft. “I believe that’s my console.” He showed the young employee his paper. The employee looked relieved, like help had finally arrived.
The girl, she just glared at the quiet man. “No it’s not,” she snapped. “I’m gettin it.”
The quiet man kinda flinched. He looked a little scared, honestly. “But I paid for it,” he said, even softer than before. “I pre-ordered it months ago.”
Her boyfriend, the tired one, stepped up. “Look, buddy,” he said, but his voice was more like a mumble, “she wants it. You can get another one.”
“There aren’t any other ones,” the quiet man whispered, lookin at the employee for help. The employee just looked trapped. He didn’t know what to do. My chest started to get tight. I could feel the quiet man’s worry like a hum in the air, and it made me mad. He was clearly in the right, and these two jokers were just tryin to bully him.
“I’m not leaving without that console,” the girl declared, louder now, drawing more stares. A few people were lookin over, whisperin, but nobody was doin nothin. “It’s unfair! I’m a good customer! I have a rare blood type, I need special treatment!”
I couldn’t stand it no more. I took a deep breath. “Hey!” I said, my voice probably louder than I meant it to be. “He reserved it! That means it’s his! It’s not a suggestion, it’s a purchase!”
She whipped her head around and glared at me, like I was some kinda bug she was about to step on. “Mind your own business!” she screeched. “This doesn’t concern you!”
“It concerns everyone when someone tries to just steal somethin that ain’t theirs!” I shot back, my own voice gettin a little heated. I could feel my face gettin red. My intuitive side, the one that tries to make sense of things, just screamed that this kinda behavior couldn’t be allowed to just slide. She acted like she lived in a world where rules didn’t apply to her, and it just made my blood boil. The quiet man was lookin at me now, a little surprised, a little hopeful.
Her boyfriend finally spoke up again, tryin to sound tough. “Yeah, leave us alone! We ain’t talkin to you!”
Just then, the quiet man’s phone, which he’d been clutchin in his hand, slipped. It hit the edge of a display table with a clatter and bounced to the floor. And then, it started playin the most annoying ringtone you ever heard. It was this high-pitched, goofy laugh, over and over, like some cartoon character gone crazy. It was so loud and sudden, it made everyone jump, even the entitled girl. She paused her rant for a second, lookin startled, then she just glared at the phone, like it was personally insultin her.
“Can someone get a manager?” the quiet man asked, finally finding his voice a little more, though it was almost drowned out by the phone laughin away on the floor.
The young employee nodded eagerly and grabbed the store phone. He tried to call, but all I could hear was a busy signal or maybe he just couldn’t get through to anyone. He tried a couple more times, lookin more and more defeated. No manager was comin. It was just us, and them, and that ridiculous laughin phone.
The entitled girl didn’t miss a beat. She pushed past the quiet man, who was bendin down to grab his phone, still laughin, and reached over the counter. She grabbed the box, the one with the big red ‘RESERVED’ sticker, right off the shelf. The employee gasped, but she didn’t care. She clutched it to her chest like a prize, a sneer on her face.
“See?” she said, triumfantly, lookin at me and then at the quiet man. “I got it. I always get what I want.” Her boyfriend gave her a weak smile, like he was proud or somethin.
She turned around, the box held tight, and pushed her way back through the crowd, her head held high, like she’d just won the Olympics or somethin. Her boyfriend shuffled behind her, already seemin tired again.
I just stood there, watchin them go. My anger was still there, a hot knot in my stomach, but mostly, I just felt somethin else. I looked at the quiet man. He was standin there, his phone finally silenced, lookin at the empty spot on the shelf where his console had been. His shoulders were slumped, and he just looked so small, so completely defeated. He had paid for it. He had waited for it. And she just took it. And got away with it. My heart just broke for him. It was a real shame, a real, raw shame.
