I teach swimming to kids who already have their basic diplomas and just want to keep on swimming. Most of them are between the ages of twelve and nineteen, and it’s a complete mishmash. In my group, I have kids with ADHD, autism, physical disabilities, etc. I’ve known these kids for several years and we have a nice, balanced group. Honestly, the only trouble I have is with a girl in the midst of puberty. (I don’t wanna, I can’t do that, that’s too hard…)

The boys in this group are a bunch of rowdy ones. They are loud, they complain (and then start the exercise), and if anyone needs help, even for other groups, they jump out and help. One of the boys is quite shy and silent, never doing anything wrong. And the one time he decides to be “rough” (pulling another student backward), he causes a minor accident: a slight cut on three fingers.

The injured student calmly walks over to show me his wounds, and we go to the first aid post. (The lesson has already ended, so all kids are out of the water.) Bandage, done.

Me: “So, what happened?”

Boy #1: “Oh… eh… We were a bit rough. I was holding on to the side and I was pulled backward.”

Me: “I see. And who pulled you backward?”

Boy #1: “Oh, that was…” *Suddenly turns around* “Wait, where is [Boy #2]?”

Me: “I saw him heading to the showers.”

Boy #1: “I have to find him! I have to tell him I’m all right!”

Me: “Did [Boy #2] pull you?”

Boy #1: “Yes, but it was an accident! I have to let him know I’m fine! He must feel terrible!”

Together, we look for [Boy #2], but we’ve just missed him and he has already headed home. I tell the “victim” that I’ll ask if our administrator can call him. The administrator promises he will.

By chance, I see [Boy #2] on the street the next day. 

Me: “Hi, how are you? Hey, I talked to [Boy #1] and he is fine. He even made me promise to call you! He was really worried about you.”

Boy #2: “He was? Oh… Well, maybe my mom has been called…”

He looks down, but then he suddenly looks up with a smile.

Boy #2: “Thank you for letting me know he’s fine. I really appreciate that.”

Me: “Of course! And no one blames you, either; it was just an accident!” *Playfully* “Now, what have we learned?”

Boy #2: *Laughing* “Never pull someone backward!”

We just had our next lesson. [Boy #2] was teased about the accident for like three minutes and then the boys piled on top of each other again as if nothing had happened.

Related:
This Is What “Boys Will Be Boys” Should Mean

One of my coworkers was talking about wanting to get eye surgery done because she was fed up with wearing glasses and didn’t like the feel of contact lenses. However, she was a bit wary of the procedure; she found that it sounded kind of scary.

I told her about when I had it done. I too had been wary and thought that even with the thingy keeping my eye open, it would be difficult to keep my eye open, but the light didn’t actually look that bright and I didn’t realize the doctor had started until I could smell it. I told her how happy I was about the operation. 

Another coworker jumped into the discussion to scold me with a very harsh voice.

Coworker: “I can’t believe you would be so vain as to get your eyes done! I really didn’t think you were someone who was shallow enough to get a cosmetic operation!”

Me: “What do you mean ‘cosmetic’? I had minus ten on both eyes!”

My mother suffers from misophonia, a disorder that makes you very sensitive to certain sounds. We are all handling it the best we can, but sometimes it gets a little difficult. 

Mom: “Can you please stop doing that?! It’s driving me crazy!”

Me: “Doing what?”

Mom: “That sound you’re making. Please stop.”

Me: “Um… do you mean breathing?”

She eventually agreed that it was perhaps an unreasonable request.

My daughter has Asperger’s Syndrome. She doesn’t like walking around a public area without someone to talk to; otherwise, she will start to panic. She also has trouble working out people’s facial expressions; she’s told me that she understands that when people smile they are happy and when they frown they are sad, but she doesn’t know what it means for her if someone does this when talking to her. As you can expect, face masks have made this even more difficult for her.

[Daughter] also has problems understanding social situations and will, if she feels scared or threatened, start to react. We both feel bad about this, but the best way I can describe this is akin to a dog biting someone that provokes them. [Daughter] usually says the first thing that comes to her mind when she is frightened.

I am driving [Daughter] back to her house when we have to stop off at the local supermarket. She goes in by herself. I completely trust her to do this, as she knows not to push people out of the way and knows to go to the employees if she is stuck.

When she gets to the till, the cashier is wearing a mask. [Daughter] makes happy small talk with her until it is time to pay.

As [Daughter] has a lot of shopping and the plastic barriers are still up, she does not know where to place the money. She extends her arm over the top of the shopping, a good foot or more, placing the money as close as she can to the counter, perhaps a couple of inches away. I do not know how far it was. As soon as she places the money down, the cashier stares at [Daughter].

[Daughter] thinks that because the cashier is looking at her, she can’t see the money, so she innocently smiles and points.

Daughter: “It’s over there.”

Cashier: “You have some attitude, you know that?”

Daughter: *Getting tense and scared* “I don’t—”

Cashier: “You throw money at me and say, ‘It’s over there!’”

[Daughter] doesn’t quite remember exactly what happened next, but she defensively replies:

Daughter: “I wasn’t, p***head!”

The cashier shouted back at [Daughter], leading to another employee continuing the transaction. [Daughter] came back to the car almost in tears because, apart from swearing, she didn’t know what she had done wrong. She admits that it was wrong to swear, but she was confused and scared by this stranger shouting at her and, as I said, it was like an animal being provoked. [Daughter] was more upset by feeling as if she had angered someone.

Because of this incident, [Daughter] now has a special badge that tells people she is disabled.

The local grocery store puts out tasting displays and likes to showcase local products. Today, there are a few cans of locally-produced hot sauce. I’m shopping with my sister.

Sister: *Sniffing the air* “Woo… D****, that’s some spicy sauce!”

She LOVES spicy stuff, and she tries a huge spoonful of sauce on a cracker.

Sister: “Huh. Pretty mild.”

Me: “Mild?! The smell is killing me!”

Sister: “No, really! Try it!”

I try it, and she’s right. It’s mild and slightly smoky.

Me: “Wow, the smell is so much stronger than the taste.”

Employee: “Actually, some crazy guy pepper-sprayed the seafood counter guy because his fish was too heavy. We just put out the hot sauce as a cover.”

Related:
On The Need For Hazard Pay, Part 33
On The Need For Hazard Pay, Part 32
On The Need For Hazard Pay, Part 31
On The Need For Hazard Pay, Part 30
On The Need For Hazard Pay, Part 29

This isn’t the craziest thing to happen to a poor retail worker on this site? Check out these 10 Terrifying Stories About Employees Who Need Hazard Pay!