Less Than A Fifty-Fifty Chance That Would Have Worked

(I’m alone in the small shop where I work when a customer comes in. Right away I get a bad feeling from him; he’s avoiding eye contact and acting nervous. After a few minutes he comes up to the counter with a couple of random items. I ring up his purchases, keeping an eye on him. I give him his total and he gives me a twenty-dollar bill. With my left hand, I reach into the cash drawer, take out his change, and hand it to him.)

Customer: “Hey! I gave you a fift…”

(He trails off when he notices that I’m still holding up the twenty in my right hand.)

Customer: “Oh.”

Me: “Yeah.”

(I have never seen anyone leave a store so quickly in all my life.)