the setting : a 7-11 on a quiet Sunday afternoon
the players:
Me: TA-DAH! 26 year old curly chick.
C: 28 year old stiltwalker
G: 19 year old gymnast
J: 36 year old flatland BMX biker
NOB: nasty old bitch, cashier at the 7-11
(note that their vocations have nothing to do with this post, i just love the random jobs my friends have)
so, we had just finished eating at Denny's, and discovered thet C, my boyfriend, had locked my keys in my car. We found this more amusing than irritating, and G and J had a car with them to take us home to get my spares, so it was no big deal. We were all chuckling at his brainfart as we walked into the 7-11. Our goal was cigarettes. We went straight to the counter and approached NOB, who looked sort of like The Storyteller* from last year's Halloween Horror Nights ; she was ancient, tiny, and appeared to be extraordinarily frail. and meeeaaaan.
C: hi there! we'd like 2 packs of Marlboro Lights in a box, please!
NOB: are they all with you?
C: yup!
(we all prepared to get out our ID's, as we did have one person in our group who looked too young to purchase cigs. No big whoop, right?)
NOB: YOU ALL NEED TO SHOW ME ID. I AIN'T SERVIN' YOU UNLESS YOU ALL SHOW ME ID. SHOW ME ALL YOUR ID'S!
(we all sort of exchanged WTF faces at her sudden shouting, but handed her our ID's nonetheless)
almost as soon as C handed her his ID, she grabbed it and threw it back at him in almost the exact same motion. Same thing with my ID; she snatched it from my hands, glared at it, then glared at me. I get this occassionally, because my DL photo is 2 years old and i have shorter hair now, plus i've lost about 20 pounds or so.
NOB: THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE YOU I CAN'T SERVE YOU CIGARETTES.
Me: Uhm. it is me. That's just an older picture. I can show you-
NOB: IT LOOKS LIKE A FAKE. HOW OLD ARE YOU?
Me: (i'm getting angry at this point) I'm 26 years old and I can show you other ID.
NOB: LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THOSE FAKE ID'S.
Me: I can assure you it isn't.
I showed her 2 other forms of ID and she finally threw my Driver's License back across the counter to me. My friend G has been traveling in a Cirque tour and was in town visiting for C's birthday, so he had only a Passport as ID. He handed her the passport and she took it firmly from his hand, and glared at him.
NOB: WHERE IS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE?
G: uh.... i don't drive. I'm a performer and I travel the country. I only have my passport on me right now.
NOB: YOU REALLY NEED ID. IT TAKES A VERY LONG TIME TO PROCESS THIS. I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!
G: .... sorry?
and she muttered to herself as she typed something (his date of birth, i'm assuming?) into her register. At this point a line is forming in the 7-11. Finally, she throws G's passport back at him. J slid a Driver's License and an ID card across the counter to her. She picked them up and tossed both back at him without really checking them. We all looked back at her with our O__________O faces.
NOB: THESE ARE EXPIRED. I AIN'T ACCEPTING THESE. YOU ALL NEED ID. I'M VOIDING THIS SALE. THESE ARE EXPIRED.
J: no they aren't! Just look at the dates at the bottom!
NOB: THEN WHY DO YOU HAVE 2 OF THEM. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TURN IN THE OLD ONES. I'M VOIDING YOUR SALE THESE ARE EXPIRED.
J: what? I have an identification card and a license, both of which are still valid! check the dates!
NOB: THESE MUST BE FAKES. THEY MAKE YOU TURN THEM IN.
at this point J turns and looks at us helplessly. The rest of the customers in the now 5 person deep line look just as shocked as he does. J carefully slid both ID's back across the counter.
J: ma'am these aren't fakes, and they are both valid. They expire in 2009, see?
the tiny, mean NOB puts the cards right up under her nose, and snorts. She glared up at J again.
NOB: THIS DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU! IS THIS A FAKE?
at this point, we are all about to lose it.
J: ma'am, i shaved my head. See? same person.
NOB: YOU NEED TO GET THIS UPDATED. IT DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU. I COULD REFUSE SERVICE TO YOU. YOU ALL NEED VALID ID.
finally, C receives the cigarettes, pays her, and we all stalk out in disgust. The attitude we received was not warranted. We walked in having a good time, and were quite pleasant. not rowdy or rude in the least. we didn't resist when she asked for all of our ID's because that was her job to do, and we expected as much! But the accusations? What the hell! Should i contact someone about this? NOB looked too fragile to be walking, much less be the only cashier in a busy gas station.
* the Storyteller was our figurehead character for last year's Halloween Horror Nights and you can see her pictured in the top left corner here:
http://www.nocturnalfriends.com/ebay/hhnstand2.jpg
