I Win, You Lose

I usually avoid confrontation. That's why today, when a harmless 30-something-year-old man gave me the once over and quietly cut in front of me in line at Trader Joe's, I stayed cool and collected. He observed that I was standing in a neutral location between two adjacent checkout lines, pegged me as the passive Asian girl, gingerly stepped out of his line, and budged right in front of me. It was clear that I was in the process of assessing which line was moving along quicker and hadn't made up my mind yet and that had he stayed in his original line and not cut in front of me, I would have been next. I didn't even blink as I stepped into his old line, effectively taking his place. And even though there was an extra person ahead of me and I had more items in my basket than he...

Guess who swiped her plastic through the machine first? Guess whose groceries were bagged first? And guess who walked out of the store first? That's right. Julia paid first, Julia received faster service, and Julia was hightailing it outta there with her pears, eggs, and spring water while you, my friend, were just beginning to unload your items from your basket.

It didn't have to be this way, but since you started it, I'll finish it for you: