I ate lunch at Burger King today. Fast food is a once in a while
occurrence for me so I was feeling indulgent and stupid, to set the
tone of the story.
I noticed my fry package had three filled in checkboxes: fresh, hot,
and crispy. I suddenly and regretfully had the brilliant idea of
telling the cashier that I did not in fact order my fries hot, fresh,
and crispy. I would inform her that I had ordered them merely hot and
crispy, then angrily demand her to make new fries, let them sit out for
an hour, heat them up again, and deliver them to me.
Funny, right? Something you would laugh about with your friends, or dream about in the tub. Except I actually did it.
I walked up to the counter. A young, blond girl stood in front of
me. I executed my carefully planned dialogue flawlessly. My delivery
was impeccable! I was all sorts of proud of myself. Then I noticed the
tears. Yes, the tears. During the angry part of my monologue, the
girl had turned her head to the side and started crying like a baby. I
was floored. I stood in disbelief, holding my fries like an idiot. Two
employees swept to her side to comfort her and cast angry glares at me.
The manager came out from the back and asked me what exactly the
problem was. By this time I was frozen in shock, unable to think. I
managed to blurt out "my fries." I put the fries on the counter,
turned around, and walked out of the building. All I could think about
on the drive home was making that poor, sarcasm-impaired girl cry.
Looking back I'm not quite sure what I expected out of the exchange.
Some witty dialogue? Laughs all around? I can't honestly say I thought
too critically about what would actually transpire. One thing I can say
for certain, however: I severely overestimated those Burger King
Employees.