Amac Productions

We Can Leave!

Welcome to Listen To This!

If you’re new here, welcome! Every month, I’ll drop a new wild story from all my years working in retail! Names and other identifiers have been changed so everyone may remain anonymous. All terrible customers will be referred to as Karen.

On with the show!

Which, we’re going with something truly silly this month. No Karens here.

For context this week, at the General Nonsense we used to do story time twice a week before the world shut down. A coworker and I, Sara did them every week. We each had a story time, unless one of us was on vacation. Every week we had the same day as well. I always did story time on Thursdays, and she did Tuesdays.

Except, well, one week I took my vacation.

When I returned to work the following Monday, I stumbled into one of our regulars who attends story time on Thursdays with me. This little one was with his grandmother, as he typically is while his parents’ work.

She’s the one who brings him every Thursday.

I said hello to them and Charlie, the little boy who was about two years old, almost three at the time was overjoyed to see me after missing me on Thursday. Since Sara and I have covered each other’s vacations before, we’ve never told our regulars we’ll be out for a week.

But a toddler, well, he has no clue it won’t be forever.

He was so excited to see me, he ended up giving me a big hug, and his grandmother asked if I was alright.

I kindly explained I was on vacation.

Then she says, I have to tell you something that happened on Thursday. And I thought, what on earth could that be?

I mean, it was a story time. The worst thing that happens is one of the babies starts crying in the middle of the book and you wonder if you’re so awful at reading that you make babies cry. Usually it’s a soiled diaper, but still.

Sometimes, you just wonder.

But the grandmother goes on to tell me a wonderful story about Thursday.

On Thursday, she and Charlie attended story time like always. Sitting in their usual spot, waiting for the story to begin.

Except, Thursday didn’t go normally because it wasn’t me.

It was Sara reading to cover for me.

Sara comes out and I’ve seen her do story time, we almost do it the exact same way. We’re very goofy with the kids and act super silly.

However, Sara came out with the book and activity for the kids. Took her place on the stage we have for story time and announced the book for the morning.

Well, Charlie, he wasn’t thrilled with this information.

He promptly stands up, pointing at Sara, and decrees loudly for all to hear, “You’re not Ashley, we can leave!”

Then he turns and marches out of the story time.

Yeah, let that sink in for a moment. He just declared that because it wasn’t me, he didn’t want to hear a story from Sara. He just wanted to go.

Confused and flabbergasted the grandmother was forced to follow him out of the story time and he refused to go back in.

Ouch.

I was torn, between that being totally sweet and feeling awful for Sara.

I mean, how would you feel if you sat down to do story time and one of the kids just dropped that bomb and left. Just walked out. A toddler with that much opinion on your skills to read a story properly.

Mind you, Sara had also been working there longer than me and reading story time long before I arrived.

It’s not like she didn’t know what she was doing.

Poor Sara.

Well, the grandmother and I had a good laugh.

Then I worked my next shift with Sara, crossing over for the first time since my vacation. And the first thing out of her mouth is, “You’re not going to believe what happened to me on Thursday last week.”

No, I’m sure I will Sara.

Very sure.

Sara goes on to relay the same story of Charlie standing up and decreeing that she wasn’t me and they could leave, then storming out. Except, now I have her point of view after Charlie and his grandmother leave.

She said she was frozen for a moment in absolute disbelief because that’s never happened before. She didn’t even know what to do.

Then she told me, she honestly thought for a moment the entire group was going to get up and march out.

Sara honestly thought for a moment there was going to be a rebellion at story time from my Thursday regulars because it wasn’t me.

And I couldn’t get the imagine of a bunch of kids just storming out and demanding it be me. Or taking Sara hostage and demanding my story time as ransom.

Like that phone call from my store manager would have been hilarious. I would have been woken up and been told that a bunch of kids have taken Sara hostage and will only give her back if I do story time that morning.

Yikes.

Sara went on to say she thought there might be riot in the store while children just chant for me over her.

Safe to say her ego was bruised by the entire endeavor and she was teasingly mad at me for winning over the regulars so much they give her shit when I’m not there.

It was still to this day one of the funniest things that’s ever happened.

Poor Sara.

See you next time!

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