Lack-Of-Clothes Make The Lack-Of-A Man

(An older customer comes to my checkout. He has been staring at me a lot while he has been waiting for service. I am 17 at the time.)

Customer: “Are you from [area in my town]?”

Me: “Oh, no. I don’t live there.”

Customer: “Are you sure? I’ve seen you around there, at [address that is not mine].”

Me: “Oh, no. You must be mistaken.”

(The transaction continues, extremely awkward as he keeps insisting he ‘knows me from somewhere’ and has ‘seen my house’ and things to that effect. I brush him off as one of the harmless, odd customers that one sees in a day.)

Me: “Right, so that comes to £52.56.”

Customer: “Oh I only have £50 on me.”

Me: “Well, if you have no other means of paying, we’ll have to take something off.”

Customer: “Like your clothes?”

Me: “…no.”

Customer: “Like my clothes?”

(I am speechless and upset, and about to go into a rant and call a security guard over, when the next customer intervenes.)

Next Customer: “You are soooo creepy, mate.”

(The customer scuttles off after paying me the full amount, obviously embarrassed about being caught harassing a teenage girl!)