#books&covers

Today I had an encounter with a tall handsome man, whose good lucks were, unfortunately, ruined by his rudeness. A bank teller. He has a degree in surliness. Oh!

(I hate the formalities of filling out forms, and not knowing how to, and then looking for someone to help me, and the person shows you unwillingness from the time you open your mouth; this unwilling look of, “at your age, and you don’t know, really??”.
Truth be told, whenever I have to go to the bank, or to the passport office, or the hospital, or wherever it is that requires formalities like those, that thought of filling out forms nauseates me. But I summon the courage... and go…)

I approached the bank counter with a cheery “Hello!”.
He didn't answer.
“I’d like to withdraw some money please.”
Mr. Handsome didn't even look at me. Just reached for a form behind him and handed it to me, then returned to his work, head leaning on left hand.
Hmmmm… this was going to be a hard paper. I scribbled my details, trying my best not to make a mistake so that I didn't have to ask him for another form. Then I scrawled my signature and handed the paper back.

Mr. High and Mighty then spoke. “Is this your signature?”
I looked at him. Baffled. What the **** did he think?
“I asked if this is your signature?” Was that a question or a statement?
“What’s wrong with it?” I retorted.
“It doesn't look like the original.”
I sighed. God! I have been a customer of Crane Bank since 2002! And they NEVER EVER complained or made a fuss. Now this dfcu madness… creating a mountain out of nothing. Oh, Sudhir, where are you when I need you?

He swung around in his seat, plucked another form off the pile behind him, and handed it to me. Kind of slammed it on to the counter.
Eye roll. Me.
“And make sure you sign correctly!”
I didn't say a thing.
“Put your correct signature!”
I scribbled harder. “Yes Sir!” I hoped the sarcasm wasn't lost on Mr. High and Mighty Handsome.
He checked again, went into his computer, printed stuff and handed me my money.

My parents taught me to say “please”, “thank you” and “sorry”.
I disobeyed them this time round.