Mandy Michelle's Blog - Posts Tagged "accusations"
The Accusation
I was pondering what to blog about today, when, lo and behold, the idea was handed to me... by a blood red hand. (Not mine, though. I'm innocent.)
Today, I popped into my local public library, and I won't name names to protect the identity of the accuser, to pick up "Beach Read" by Emily Henry, (I know, wrong season). I checked out the book at the self checkout to avoid human interaction and had to detour through the library to follow the directional COVID arrows, stopping to check out the blockbuster movie stand on my way out.
I then proceeded to pass two giggling employees, talking, not working, but who am I to call down someone who enjoys their job, before I passed the security guard and walked through the scanners to leave. (Scanners designed to sound an alarm if someone doesn't check out a book...remember this part.)
I just made it back to the vehicle when someone came running toward the car in a panic. Now, I must say our library is located on a sketchy side of town and that kind of behaviour is absolutely terrifying, but I digress. I rolled down the window a crack when the woman wouldn't leave, and was then accused of book theft.
Me.
The writer who has checked out thousands of books in her lifetime. The student who had to use a shopping cart to return the books she checked out of her university library for her thesis research. The woman who has never had an overdue book in her entire 30+ year life.
"Did you actually check out that book?" she asked, her nametag giving away that she was not trying to rob me, but was actually an employee.
"Yes," I said, a little stunned, because had she not been giggling earlier, she would have seen me check out the book in front of her. More stunned because I managed to pass through the security alarm without setting it off...because the book was checked out.
"Some people don't know you have to check them out," she said by way of an explanation for her dramatic chase.
Which people are these? I wondered to myself as I pressed my printed return slip to the frosted glass as proof that I do indeed know how a library works.
Once she caught her breath, she scuttled back inside, tail between her legs and I drove off, yet again surprised that easy Sunday errands are never truly easy after all.
I am Mandy Michelle, Library Card Holder, Book Checker Outer, and not a Book Thief after all.
Today, I popped into my local public library, and I won't name names to protect the identity of the accuser, to pick up "Beach Read" by Emily Henry, (I know, wrong season). I checked out the book at the self checkout to avoid human interaction and had to detour through the library to follow the directional COVID arrows, stopping to check out the blockbuster movie stand on my way out.
I then proceeded to pass two giggling employees, talking, not working, but who am I to call down someone who enjoys their job, before I passed the security guard and walked through the scanners to leave. (Scanners designed to sound an alarm if someone doesn't check out a book...remember this part.)
I just made it back to the vehicle when someone came running toward the car in a panic. Now, I must say our library is located on a sketchy side of town and that kind of behaviour is absolutely terrifying, but I digress. I rolled down the window a crack when the woman wouldn't leave, and was then accused of book theft.
Me.
The writer who has checked out thousands of books in her lifetime. The student who had to use a shopping cart to return the books she checked out of her university library for her thesis research. The woman who has never had an overdue book in her entire 30+ year life.
"Did you actually check out that book?" she asked, her nametag giving away that she was not trying to rob me, but was actually an employee.
"Yes," I said, a little stunned, because had she not been giggling earlier, she would have seen me check out the book in front of her. More stunned because I managed to pass through the security alarm without setting it off...because the book was checked out.
"Some people don't know you have to check them out," she said by way of an explanation for her dramatic chase.
Which people are these? I wondered to myself as I pressed my printed return slip to the frosted glass as proof that I do indeed know how a library works.
Once she caught her breath, she scuttled back inside, tail between her legs and I drove off, yet again surprised that easy Sunday errands are never truly easy after all.
I am Mandy Michelle, Library Card Holder, Book Checker Outer, and not a Book Thief after all.
