You’d Betta Get In There RIGHT NOW!

I used to work in a pretty nice pet store that, like many others, sold betta fish. Once a week or so, we’d switch all the bettas from their old, dirty cups into clean new ones. As anyone who’s had fish or worked in a pet store can tell you, catching a slippery little fish in a three-inch-by-three-inch cube is surprisingly challenging.

One evening, I’m moving the fish into their new cups, and one is being just PARTICULARLY difficult. At this point, I think it’s only my coworker and me in the store. I’m muttering to myself as I chase the fish with the little net scoop.

Me: “Get in the net… in the net… in the net… in the— I AM YOUR GOD, FISH!”

I hear unfamiliar laughter behind me and freeze. Slowly, I turn around and see a customer I hadn’t noticed standing at the cash register, obviously amused by my little outburst. My coworker is grinning at me. I’m a little embarrassed, but I laugh.

Me: “Well, it’s true!”

Customer: “No, no, I get it. it’s just really funny!”

All bettas were eventually successfully transferred to clean cups without further incident.