It's a Wednesday night. Not much is happening. Many students are hitting the books, studying for their upcoming final exams, writing their 20-page papers about subjects that can be written in 2.
Some students, with some kind of youth program, go to a movie theater to watch Bolt. The 20 or so high school students make their ways to the concession stands, quickly deciding what snacks they will bring with them into the movie.
Two girls decide that they want to order their treats together. "Hi, welcome to Harkins, what can I get for ya?" asks an employee, tired from standing around on a slow night.
After glancing up at the menu, one high school girl asks, "What size drinks do you have?"
Resisting the urge to inquire as to what exactly the girls were staring at on the menu, he begins to give them his spiel. "Well, we have a small for $3.50, a medium for $4.00, a large for $4.25, and our 2009 loyalty cups, which are also for $4.25. The large comes with one free refill and the loyalty cup comes with $1 refills until the end of next year."
"OOh, we'll take the loyalty cup," replies one girl.
"What's a loyalty cup?" asks her friend. Where were you when I was just explaining it? the employee thinks.
The first girl answers her friend, "You get unlimited refills."
The employee notices that the first girl left out the very important fact that the refills cost $1, but he leaves it alone, gives them their new, colorful, plastic cup of Dr Pepper. Frustrated at what little attention these girls were paying, he continues his normal concession duties of thanking the costumers, telling them to enjoy their movie, and wiping the counter.
About an hour and forty minutes later, these girls approach the concessionist again.
"Can we get a refill?" they inquire.
"Absolutely!" he responds cheerfully, more out of requirement than out of congeniality. He fills the cup up again with Dr Pepper and places it on the counter in front of his cash register. "That'll be $1."
"Wait, this costs?"
"Yes, it does."
"But they said it was free."
"No, the large comes with one free refill, the loyalty cup costs a dollar each time you refill it. Do you not have the money?"
"No."
"Sorry," he lies. He takes back the Dr Pepper, pours it out, and hands the freshly emptied cup back.
A few seconds later, another friend comes up. "They said that the refills were free."
The employee responds, "Well, either they told you wrong or you heard them wrong. Either way, a refill costs a dollar." He knew that "they" did not tell the girls that the refills were free because the "they" the girl refered to was in fact him and though the girls might have paid for a drink, he knew they did not pay any attention to what he had to say about it. The girls walk away from the theater, with less Dr Pepper inside their bodies than they would have liked.
The concessionist was reminded of why he no longer had any intention of teaching high school students.
