Snob-less Not Jobless

(I’ve just taken an order from a well-dressed woman and her daughter, who is wearing a uniform from a private school. The woman is berating her daughter about her grades.)

Woman: “If your grades don’t improve, you won’t get into college. You’ll end up in some dead-end job like her.”

(The woman gestures towards me.)

Me: “Actually, I’m a college graduate.”

Woman: “Yes, well I mean a real college.”

Me: “I graduated from the University of Texas with two degrees, and my teacher’s certification.”

Woman: “You evidently didn’t do too well if you wound up here now, did you?”

Me: “I wound up here after our state legislature cut funding for public education. My husband also holds a Master’s in engineering, but has been laid off for similar reasons. We’ve taken these jobs to survive so we wouldn’t have to depend on public assistance.”

(I hand them their drinks.)

Me: “Never judge a book by its cover.”

(The woman goes over to the condiment bar without another word, but her daughter smiles and fist-bumps me.)