Einstein Bagels in Palatine

“Give me your dozen of bagels.”
“Okay, what kind of bagels would you like?” I asked as I began opening up a bag.
“Umm… get me five plain, four sesame, three pumpernickel, and a everything bagel.”
My eye twitched at the words. “A everything bagel,” I thought. It seemed that everyone had been saying these words to me for the past two years. Either that or they had been asking for donuts, hash-browns, and various other things that we didn’t carry without even bothering to look at the menu or the giant display of food in front of them. Just the same, I forced a smile upon my face, handed the person the bag and said in my most cheerful voice, “Have a great day.” To this, he merely grunted and then began to pick his nose as he waited to pay at the register.
I shook my head and quietly muttered things to myself as I put on new gloves and looked up to the line with a wide grin. “Can I help whoever’s next?” I asked in a tone that would suggest I had just witnessed the Cubs winning the World Series. No one moved. No one answered. In fact, no one even acknowledged my voice. I stood, looked around, watched some customers chat on cell phones as others looked at the cream cheeses in the cooler. After thirty seconds or so, I tried again. A couple that was obviously next in line stared at me. They looked confused, a bit like they were in a foreign country and they didn’t speak the language. I waited, assuming that they would say something that would remotely qualify as a response but, once again, nothing happened. I began to drum on the counter and think about being on stage. In my head a random metal song played on and just as the singer began with the opening lines-
“Hello? Are you going to help us?” A nasally voice asked in a very displeased and somewhat offended tone. For a moment I thought it was my imagination but then the woman began to shake her head, scraggly black hair shook back and forth furiously. “We’ve been in line for ten minutes and we just want some coffee, are you on drugs or something?” She snarled and began to stare at my eyes checking to see if they were bloodshot. “You should at least use Visine to cover it up!”
All I could do was stand there, mouth wide open and blink. I felt like a fish that was struggling to breathe after his aquarium had been knocked over. How do you explain that you have allergies and live with a beagle, a dog that sheds its coat like a snake would its skin?
“This is ridiculous, we’re leaving,” she grabbed her husband by the arm, he looked just as confused and stupefied as ever. “We’re calling your corporate office,” a pause as the witch leaned in to read my nametag, “Ryan!” In my head I heard The Wicked Witch of the West laughing hysterically as the women nearly ripped her husband’s arm out of the socket, dragging him out of the store.
“Have a nice day. Can I help the next person in line?” The cycle continued. You should create your own MySpace Layouts like me by using nUCLEArcENTURy .COM's MySpace Profile Editor !