I was out doing my fortnightly grocery shopping. In this shop, they had small tills for less than ten items and main ones with belts. Both types had cashiers. Usually, I go to the small ones, but they were unusually busy today, so I went to a normal one. 

There was a father and his two young children — probably around four to six years old — ahead of me, chatting away with the cashier about holiday plans. It was honestly pretty cute; a lot of the retail employees seemed to be in good cheer today.

As the cashier started to scan my stuff, the dad was busy packing his groceries and the kids were still talking with the cashier.

The daughter cheerfully piped up:

Daughter: “Our mum is gone!”

The cashier and I shared a startled look.

With an exhausted sigh that only a tired dad could muster, the kids’ father helpfully clarified:

Dad: “She is at work.”

The trio left, leaving the cashier and me. We shared another look and then burst into laughter. I couldn’t help but giggle about it for the rest of the transaction. Kids are so funny sometimes.

It’s the lunch rush at the cafeteria within the local grocery store. Being a small, senior town with only one grocery store, it gets quite busy during mealtimes. What can I say? Old people love a $5 soup and sandwich deal!

I’m nineteen and working the cash register near the area where the condiments, napkins, cutlery, etc., are. I’ve just rung through [Customer #1] and passed him his soup and sandwich. I move on to [Customer #2], and then [Customer #1] stomps up, interrupting.

Customer #1: “THERE ARE NO SOUP SPOONS!”

Me: “Oh, I’m sure more spoons will be out momentarily; I know the dishwashers just put a load of cutlery in.”

Customer #1: “Not acceptable! My soup is getting cold!”

I look over his shoulder and see the soup at his table, still steaming.

Me: “I assure you that we keep our soup as hot as possible, so it’ll stay hot for a bit. However, if you can’t wait, I see plenty of smaller coffee spoons available.”

He is outraged; I may as well have insulted his mother.

Customer #1: “I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. EAT. WITH. A. SMALL. SPOON. BRING ME A SOUP SPOON!”

Me: “As I said, they are being washed, and I’m sure by now they’ll be out any second.” *Turning back to [Customer #2]* “So sorry for the interruption. You had the BLT, correct?”

Customer #1: *Interrupting [Customer #2] again* “I’m not leaving until you personally hand me a soup spoon.”

Customer #2: *Fed up* “Well, where do you expect her to get it from, her a**?!”

Just that moment, the dishwasher brought out a tray of sparkling clean cutlery, including a heap of soup spoons. [Customer #1] looked between me, [Customer #2], and the spoons. I could tell he wanted to be angry, but perhaps by some miracle he realized he was being unreasonable, and he sulked away.

I gave [Customer #2] my staff discount on her meal.

It’s still mandatory to wear a mask in every public place during the time of this story. I am waiting in line at the register with only a woman and a little boy in front of me.

The cashier is a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab. The boy is staring at the cashier with the biggest eyes possible.

Boy: “Are you a ninja?”

I realise that the cashier is wearing a hijab the same colour as her face mask, making her look indeed like a ninja in movies.

We can hear giggles from everyone around, and the cashier looks at the little boy and simply winks at him before resuming her grocery scanning.

The little boy is ecstatic, smiling back and just being the most joyful child around. The mother pays and thanks her, and they go on their way.

It’s my turn.

Me: “Don’t worry; your secret is safe with me.”

It was just magical, especially in the middle of that stressful moment.

I am training a new coworker on how to use our checkout.

Me: “This is the POS. It’s where the customers have the most interaction, so naturally, it’s also what breaks down the most.”

Coworker: “Hah. I get it.”

Manager: *Walking up* “Getting up to speed on the Point Of Sale system? Careful, it’s temperamental.”

Coworker: “POS means Point Of Sale? I always thought you called it a POS because it never works?”

Manager: “I don’t understand.”

Me: “Piece of s***.”

Manager: “Oh… to be fair, it is that, too.”

When I was pregnant, my brain started working in very mysterious ways. According to my midwife, it was a normal thing. I could go to the fridge, open it to get something, and as I had my phone in hand, I placed it on a shelf, forgetting it there as I closed the fridge. During two pregnancies, in total, I have lost two ID cards, one passport, and one credit card, all of which were found a couple of weeks later — after blocking them or alerting the police so they would not be valid any longer.

I also lost three pairs of gloves. I had expected the cost of new clothes, etc., but pregnancy turned out to be much more expensive than I had thought. That is just to give you an idea of how forgetful and confused I was at this time. This story happened during my first pregnancy.

I went into the grocery store, just to get something quick to eat. I wasn’t very good at walking due to my hips not faring too well with my pregnancy, and despite only being halfway through it, I was already quite big. I had a small backpack instead of a purse, to ease the strain on my back. Since I was only going to get that small thing, I did not bring any cart or basket to put it in; I could hold it in my hand… I thought.

Pregnancy cravings took over, and it became just a little more than I could carry, so I thought it was a really good idea to put one of the items in the backpack. Now, technically, it wasn’t forbidden, but it was frowned upon to do so before it was paid for; however, I was pregnant and thought I had good reason.

I went to the self-checkout and scanned my items. Then, I got flagged for a check. The employee came over and started looking through the items, scanning them again. He went on routine and didn’t seem to think anything about it.

I, though, had just remembered the item in my backpack! I had forgotten it in there! On top of this, I have this annoying fear of being accused of bad things, so I must admit, I thought about just leaving it there. However, my good side prevailed.

Me: “Oh, um, I forgot this one.”

I pulled the item out of the bag, and he stared at me for a moment.

Me: “I’m sorry, I just realised it now.”

Employee: “No worries. It happens.”

He scanned it, and I got to pay and be on my way.

After that, I ALWAYS double-checked everything — my bags, pockets, and whatever else could hide anything I might’ve taken on the way. I always checked it several times! And it was lucky I did, because every time I went into that store for the next months, I got flagged for a check. Realising someone was keeping an eye on me, I also started waving to the camera every time I went in.

It felt nice somehow, strangely enough, like greeting a friend.