GOOD DEED

Last May 14 evening, after my Bebe and I had dinner, I dropped by a neighborhood store to check if it sells Em Bee Tin hopia. It didn't so I moved around the cramped store and picked up a big bottle of Vaseline and quarter of a kilo of almonds. But before I could get my almonds, another customer wanted a hundred grams of mixed nuts. His request would not have been unusual or uneventful were it not for the fact that he was very hideous about the whole thing -- hurrying up the store minder, punctuating his comments with a rough "huh", speaking in a really loud voice. He exemplified the stereotype of the haughty and brass Arab. His uncouth behavior did not end there. He cut into the queue at the cashier's without ado. As no one wanted to pick a fight, and perhaps everyone knew how to pick his battles, no one in the queue minded. That included me. He he.

When it was my turn at the cashier, the cashier punched in the amounts of SR13 (for the Vaseline) and SR10 (for the nuts). I gave him SR50 for my purchase and he readily gave me back my change. I was about to go when I had a second thought because I thought I saw SR23 on the price tag of the Vaseline. I checked and indeed, it was so. So I spoke to the cashier in a low voice, informing him that he may have been mistaken in punching SR13, and not SR23 as per the item's price tag. It could have been the language barrier but he initially thought his mistake was in punching a higher price for he immediately took the defensive stance. But when I pointed out that he might end up paying SR10 from his own pocket because his register may not tally, all he did was take out SR10 from my change and proceeded to attend to the next customer in the queue.

So I went out of the store, feeling both happy but perturbed -- pleased with myself that I thought I did a good deed, but perplexed at the cashier's reaction or lack of it.