Saturday I was at a video game store at my local mall, which shall remain nameless. I always questioned the location of this store, because they had the exact same goddamned store across the street, but I digress. After bumming around for a little while, not finding anything in the mall, I decide to go across the street and try my luck over there for a copy of Resistance: Fall of Man.
I head into the store, and check it out. There's around six other people in there, including a small child that is crying, and a clerk that eyes me when I walk in. I move over to the X-box and start playing some Guitar Hero, and I can feel someone watching over my shoulder. Within 45 seconds, I see out of my periphery, the father carrying the small, crying child out of the store, reassuring the son that they will call the police.
The empolyees spring out from behind the counter, forcing everyone to the exit of the store. Everyone is kind of freaking out - we're all in the same boat. No idea what's going on.
I get out of the store, and see the employees bringing down the shutter, so I get on the phone. I have 2 missed calls - from the same guy, wanting to hang out. I tell him, "Something weird just happened at the gamestore I was in. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to head to the store in the city and try and find the game I was looking for." I hang up, get into my car, and as I'm pulling away, 3 squad cars show up with their lights on.
Scratching my head, I drive into the city, pull into the game store, and find a copy of Resistance, which I buy. But my inner-nag is getting the better of me, so I puropsefully hand them an expired gift card so I could stand at the counter longer.
"Hey, do you guys know what happened at the store on Midlothian?"
The first guy behind the counter kind of looks like Justin Long. He looks at me funny.
"I was in the store when it was evacuated. I just want to know what was going on in there."
"I dunno, man. Ask Scott."
So I turn to Scott and ask him the same question. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to discuss it."
I sigh. "By the way, your gift card is expired."
I pay with cash and decide that maybe it's not worth chasing.
-
The friend comes over with his girlfriend, and I'm recounting the situation, and we're all running possible scenarios, but we're blanking pretty hard. So we decide to head back to the mall location, and have me ask them - I work for one of the guys there, reviewing games for a website, so I have an in.
When I get there, they're packed dealing with the flood of customers from across the street. I see my contact, but he's dealing with a mob, so I'm forced to talk to another employee.
"Hey, could you tell me what happened across the street earlier?"
"Sorry, I can't."
"I was in the store when it went on lock-down..."
"The store is going to be fine."
"To be honest, I'm not worried about the store. I just want to know what was going on."
"Well, sometimes we get an overzealous customer, and sometimes the cashiers overreact. Someone may have mentioned a knife, and that's why the cops were called."
"Are you telling me, with a wink, that that's the most likely reason?"
The guy shakes his head. Deadpan. "No. I can't discuss it."
I go back to my friend and his girlfriend and tell them that wherever I go for information, I'm being stonewalled.
We head across the street, and the other gamestore is still closed with the shutter down. There are a few cop cars parked in the lot, but the scene seems to have cooled off a bit. We go into Panera and get some food, all the while still talking about what happened at the store.
We head out after about an hour, and see that the store is open, so I head inside. There's been a shift change - the clerks that were there during the event had since gone home, so I begin pestering one of the clerks.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell. Company policy."
A friend I went to high school with is working there, and I ask him. Same old song and dance.
I overhear that he's running across the street to go on a snack run, so I leave ahead of him and head to the restaurant where he's picking up the food.
"What happened earlier," I ask.
"The store got held up," he said. "The guy got away with around $300, but there were a bunch of customers in the store, so no one was in any real danger."
I paused. "I was in the store. I was playing Guitar Hero."
My friend looked up. "Really? The guy had a gun and he was about a foot behind you. The clerks said that he kept eyeing you after you came in."
"That's no good."
My friend nodded, grabbed the food, and left.
I walked back out to my friends, who were waiting by the car. I told them that I walked into the middle of a hostage situation - effectively becoming a hostage myself - and that I had been less than a foot from a gun that was being weilded in anger. After telling them exactly what happened, my friend just paused and went.
"Well, ****."
And that was one of the strangest Saturdays I've had in a long time.
Also, when I was at the mall the first time, I was hunkered down looking at games and a lady with Asperger's farted right in my face.
I head into the store, and check it out. There's around six other people in there, including a small child that is crying, and a clerk that eyes me when I walk in. I move over to the X-box and start playing some Guitar Hero, and I can feel someone watching over my shoulder. Within 45 seconds, I see out of my periphery, the father carrying the small, crying child out of the store, reassuring the son that they will call the police.
The empolyees spring out from behind the counter, forcing everyone to the exit of the store. Everyone is kind of freaking out - we're all in the same boat. No idea what's going on.
I get out of the store, and see the employees bringing down the shutter, so I get on the phone. I have 2 missed calls - from the same guy, wanting to hang out. I tell him, "Something weird just happened at the gamestore I was in. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to head to the store in the city and try and find the game I was looking for." I hang up, get into my car, and as I'm pulling away, 3 squad cars show up with their lights on.
Scratching my head, I drive into the city, pull into the game store, and find a copy of Resistance, which I buy. But my inner-nag is getting the better of me, so I puropsefully hand them an expired gift card so I could stand at the counter longer.
"Hey, do you guys know what happened at the store on Midlothian?"
The first guy behind the counter kind of looks like Justin Long. He looks at me funny.
"I was in the store when it was evacuated. I just want to know what was going on in there."
"I dunno, man. Ask Scott."
So I turn to Scott and ask him the same question. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to discuss it."
I sigh. "By the way, your gift card is expired."
I pay with cash and decide that maybe it's not worth chasing.
-
The friend comes over with his girlfriend, and I'm recounting the situation, and we're all running possible scenarios, but we're blanking pretty hard. So we decide to head back to the mall location, and have me ask them - I work for one of the guys there, reviewing games for a website, so I have an in.
When I get there, they're packed dealing with the flood of customers from across the street. I see my contact, but he's dealing with a mob, so I'm forced to talk to another employee.
"Hey, could you tell me what happened across the street earlier?"
"Sorry, I can't."
"I was in the store when it went on lock-down..."
"The store is going to be fine."
"To be honest, I'm not worried about the store. I just want to know what was going on."
"Well, sometimes we get an overzealous customer, and sometimes the cashiers overreact. Someone may have mentioned a knife, and that's why the cops were called."
"Are you telling me, with a wink, that that's the most likely reason?"
The guy shakes his head. Deadpan. "No. I can't discuss it."
I go back to my friend and his girlfriend and tell them that wherever I go for information, I'm being stonewalled.
We head across the street, and the other gamestore is still closed with the shutter down. There are a few cop cars parked in the lot, but the scene seems to have cooled off a bit. We go into Panera and get some food, all the while still talking about what happened at the store.
We head out after about an hour, and see that the store is open, so I head inside. There's been a shift change - the clerks that were there during the event had since gone home, so I begin pestering one of the clerks.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell. Company policy."
A friend I went to high school with is working there, and I ask him. Same old song and dance.
I overhear that he's running across the street to go on a snack run, so I leave ahead of him and head to the restaurant where he's picking up the food.
"What happened earlier," I ask.
"The store got held up," he said. "The guy got away with around $300, but there were a bunch of customers in the store, so no one was in any real danger."
I paused. "I was in the store. I was playing Guitar Hero."
My friend looked up. "Really? The guy had a gun and he was about a foot behind you. The clerks said that he kept eyeing you after you came in."
"That's no good."
My friend nodded, grabbed the food, and left.
I walked back out to my friends, who were waiting by the car. I told them that I walked into the middle of a hostage situation - effectively becoming a hostage myself - and that I had been less than a foot from a gun that was being weilded in anger. After telling them exactly what happened, my friend just paused and went.
"Well, ****."
And that was one of the strangest Saturdays I've had in a long time.
Also, when I was at the mall the first time, I was hunkered down looking at games and a lady with Asperger's farted right in my face.
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