I was taken aback and instinctively looked at the owner of this hand. It was Vicky, the person I encountered at the clothing store earlier.
She confidently handed the receipt to Annika, saying, "Take mine, I'm in a hurry."
Annika glanced at her, wearing a gentle smile. "Miss, please wait a moment. She only has one bill, and she's been waiting for a while. I'll finish her payment immediately and deal with yours. Hers will take a shorter time.”
"Why should I wait? So what if she only has one bill? That’s because she can’t afford the things here!" Vicky’s face turned cold, her eyes looking even more disdainful. "I said I'm in a hurry. I'm a major customer of your store, so why can't I be prioritized?
“She’s just buying a few cheap scarves, and I have to wait here for her to be done. Doesn’t she feel embarrassed?”
I had been silently observing her, not getting angry, even though she deliberately belittled me. I wanted to see how Annika would handle the situation.
"Miss, please be patient. It will only take two minutes. We treat all customers equally, regardless of how much you've purchased. I'll be with you shortly." Annika said, taking my bill and card to start the transaction.
However, Vicky suddenly slammed her own bills and card in front of Annika. "I said I'm in a hurry. Don't you understand English? Why does a stinky cashier like you get to decide things here?”
My anger rose. When I saw Annika calmly cleaning up the woman's bills and putting them away, my anger subsided.
"I'm Vicky Mahone, a member of this store! Why don't I have priority? Why can everyone else pay before me? She can wait, can't she? It's just a few scarves. What's wrong with making her wait a bit?"
Annika looked somewhat embarrassed. "Ms. Vicky, this is a bit unreasonable. With your quarreling—"
"Who's being unreasonable? I dare you to say that again!" Vicky wagged a finger at Annika and shouted, "Get your manager."
"No matter who you call, I’m still the one handling payments and have the authority to decide how I do my work. Waiting in line is every customer's..."
Before Annika could finish her sentence, Vicky raised her hand, wanting to slap Annika. The latter instinctively recoiled.
I quickly grabbed Vicky’s wrist, stopping her.
I felt relieved, as it seemed Charlie was in good hands with her. At least Annika's moral compass appeared to be intact.
"Ms. Vicky, your payment is complete. You’re welcome back anytime." Annika smiled calmly and handed her the receipts.
Vicky seemed displeased, snatching the receipts with a disdainful eye-roll at me. "What are you looking at?"
I gave her a cold stare, silently cursing her in my mind. She was simply insufferable.
The man diverted his gaze from me, addressing Vicky, "Don't make a scene here."
Then, he turned back to me, offering a polite and friendly smile. "I'm sorry for the disturbance, Miss."
He appeared courteous, but something about his scrutinizing eyes was slightly off-putting.
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