I stood up for someone.
I got balls after all! I'm going to try to tell this story in perfect detail with quotes and all because I need to remember it for work tomorrow. It's a good work story.
I'm usually the little wuss who doesn't stand up for himself and keeps quiet about the things that piss me off. But not tonight. No way.
I was walking home from work tonight at like, 10:30 or so. I was passing the Shell station and thought, "hey, I could use an energy drink right now!" So I crossed the street ad went into the empty store. Twas just me and the cashier, a young guy from some place that's not Canada. Possibly India or Pakistan but anyway. I grab my drink and this older, middle-class white guy comes in as I'm browsing for chocolate and candy. I go to the cash and see there's a basket of Reese cups. The older guy asks for a pack of smokes. The cashier gets them and points to the basket and says, "Two for a dollar." The older guy laughs in a sarcastic way and says, "Did I ask for a chocolate bar?" The cashier says, "I ask every customer, it's part of my job." The older guy says, "No, your job is to give me what I ask for. Did I ask for a ->-bleeped-<-ing chocolate bar?" This dialogue continues and I thought at first the guy was a regular who was joking around. Then the room got tense and the older guy starts swearing and making aggressive movements. He looks at me and says "Look, this girl's waiting to pay, learn to do your job right and we can get through much faster." I say "Dude, I'm a guy." He ignores me and keeps bitching and throws his pack of cigarettes at the cashier. My heart starts racing a bit and I start to speak up, try to tell him to hurry up and leave. He ignores me and keeps going. Finally I put my ->-bleeped-<- on the counter and tell him to get the ->-bleeped-<- out. He squares in on me, says "Who the hell are you? What are you, a girl or a boy?" I say it's none of his business and he needs to leave. He steps closer, less than a foot away, like he's about to shove me. I do the same and say "What, you gonna hit me? You gonna ->-bleeped-<-ing hit me, go ahead!" I'm looking him square in the eyes - I'm about a foot shorter, a hundred pounds lighter, and have a thin, airy voice. I could be killed by this guy. I tell him to get the ->-bleeped-<- out before I call the cops. He says to go ahead and turns to leave, then turns back and says something stupid to the cashier. Iyell "get the ->-bleeped-<- out", he says "Are you a girl or a boy?" again and I say "Why do you care, you wanna ->-bleeped-<- me? Do you wanna ->-bleeped-<- me? It's none of your god dmn business." Then he's got the door open and I can hear a woman shouting "Get the ->-bleeped-<- in here! Get the ->-bleeped-<- in here!" and he says to me, pointing a finger, "You a girl or a boy? You pick one you littl ->-bleeped-<-got and grow the ->-bleeped-<- up."
Then I turned to the cashier and bought 4 Reese cup chocolate bars, smiled and told him to try and relax.
I know it's probably not a big deal. But I've never stepped up like that. I often imagine myself in a confrontation and how I'd react and I always picture myself doing exactly what I just did... Glad to know I'm not full of ->-bleeped-<- when I say I'd look someone in the eyes and dare them to hit me. And having my gender questioned ... kind of made me feel good. I guess I don't pass as well as I thought and now that I'm sort of ... detransitioning back to female, it's reassuring to know I can pass as both male and female.
What an interesting night.
