“Answer”

It was just a simple question.

It was the kind of question that drilled a hole in my stomach, filling it with fear, anxiousness, and insecurity. You know, the kind that leaves you speechless, even though you know exactly what to say. It makes you afraid to answer and you can’t explain why.

I knew I didn’t have much time. They were all waiting for a response – no - secretly demanding me to respond.

I noticed the glares of everyone surrounding me. One of them was tapping her foot and checking her watch every two seconds. She was frowning at me, as if she was saying, “What’s taking you so long?”

The truth was, I couldn’t think of an answer to the question. You could say that it was on the tip of my tongue, but that wouldn’t be accurate. I sighed, hoping I could just pull out a random thought out of my head and blurt it back out.

The man was ready to explode. “I’m not going to ask you again, woman. Do you want the receipt with you or in the bag?”

I stayed quiet, still not able to find an answer.

“Fine, here. Just take it. Have a nice day.” The cashier slammed the receipt into my hand and shoved me out the door.

Note to self: Start shopping online so you don’t have to deal with snotty cashiers.