Age-Appropriate Little Victories

(I work in a movie theater. I have just come back from my lunch break and am signing into my till again, ready to help get the queue down. A middle-aged woman angrily approaches my till with a bunch of girls and proceeds to talk to me in a very harsh tone.)

Customer: “I understand there was an issue.”

Me: “An issue? I’m sorry, I’ve just come back off my lunch break, so I don’t understand—“

Customer: “Yes! My daughter and her friends want to watch [Film], and apparently, there is an issue with one of them being 11.”

Me: “Well, [Film] is rated a 12A, so if one of the girls is 11, there needs to be somebody over the age of 18 watching the film with them.”

Customer: “Why is that such a problem? For God’s sake, it’s just a film!”

Me: “It’s also the law. I’m sorry, I cannot sell a ticket if there is no adult to accompany her.”

(The woman makes a phone call to her husband in front of my till, holding up the queue even more because there is only one more till open.)

Customer: “Fine! I’ll go, as well. Just sell me five tickets.”

Me: “One adult, four children, yes?”

Customer: “Yes!”

(I sell the tickets to her. The fact that she so obviously does not want to watch the movie as well cheers me up a little after the way she spoke to me.)

Me: *handing over the tickets with a smile* “Enjoy the film!”