Chapter 2No Makeup, No Problem

The drone of the hairdryer couldn't drown out my embarrassment. Maybe I was just so on edge that everything seemed like an attack. I took a few deep breaths, silently calming myself down.

Once my hair was dry, the mud on my blouse had hardened into an ugly cement-gray. I handed the hairdryer back to Angela, apologizing again for the misunderstanding, then picked up the blouse and headed for the fitting room.

But once again, Angela grabbed my wrist.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am, but store policy prohibits trying on white garments with makeup on."

My heart sank, and my expression hardened.

Angela seemed not to notice, continuing with a cheerful explanation. "It's a store rule, there's nothing I can do. This blouse is a hundred dollars. As a simple sales associate, I can't afford to take that risk. I hope you can understand."

Fine. I exhaled slowly. For the sake of the hairdryer, I'd let it go.

I pushed the blouse toward her. "Okay, I'll pay for it first. Can you please hurry? I'm in a rush."

"Of course."

Angela agreed sweetly, took the blouse, swiftly snipped the tag, and started to put it in a shopping bag.

"Wait, don't bag it. I'm going to change into it now."

"Of course."

I raised my phone to scan the QR code for payment. A hand suddenly covered it.

Angela smiled. "I'm so sorry, ma'am, that code is no longer in use. We're currently only accepting credit cards via the POS terminal."

"...Fine." I pulled out my credit card and held it out.

But Angela didn't take it. She just kept fiddling with the computer.

A minute passed.

"Is there a problem?" I asked. "Is your internet always this slow?"

She gave a weak smile. "Yes, it can be a little sluggish."

Two more minutes passed. Angela remained glued to the screen, the sound of her mouse clicking away like a time bomb in my head.

I had run out of patience. I reached for the blouse. "You keep working on that, I'm just going to go change…"

"You can't."

Angela's hand shot out, pressing down on the blouse. She looked up, her eyes locking with mine. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. You haven't paid yet."

A vein throbbed in my temple. I waved the credit card I'd been holding for the last five minutes. "Well, then maybe you could actually take my money?!"

"I've been standing here this entire time with my card out! Am I the one who's not paying?!"

Her voice remained infuriatingly calm. "If you could just be patient for a few more moments, ma'am."

More frantic clicking.

Fine. I'd wait. I watched the second hand on my watch go around, and around, and around.

Finally, I snapped.

I spun the computer monitor around to face me. "Let me see this. What kind of ancient computer and dial-up internet are you running that it takes this long to process a simple—"

The moment I saw the screen, I almost choked on my own rage.

It was covered in the classic, green-felt background of a game of Spider Solitaire.

I stared at Angela, dumbfounded. "You've just been sitting here, clicking away, playing a game this whole time?! Are you messing with me?"

Unfazed, Angela maintained her polite smile. "I do apologize, ma'am. I truly don't have the authorization to process payments. You'll have to wait for the store manager to return to assist you."