BG: So, I've been volunteering with a school for part of a school requirement (and partly because hanging out with the kids is so much fun) and I helped out with the booth making cotton candy at the carnival the school threw. It was a lot of fun, even with the possessed cotton candy maker, and I had a great time. I played some of the fun games the kids had and got a bunch of free food for my volunteering.
The school doesn't really have a fence or anything, and there's a large field next to it that some sporting events were going on at, so occasionally some people would wander in to see what was going on. The way people got food or games at the carnival was to buy tickets. We, at the booths, could not take any money, only tickets. Almost everyone was okay with this.
Almost.
At the beginning of the carnival, some teen whose brother was playing some game on the field came over and got into line. There were a few people in front of this teen so he should have seen a distinct lack of cash being handled. However, he still wandered up, pulled out his wallet, and asked the price of a cotton candy cone.
RT (Random Teen) : How much?
RM (Rena Muffin) : Sorry, we can't take cash here. Tickets only.
RT: No seriously, how much?
RM: Sorry, tickets only.
RT: Everyone takes cash. How about five dollars? You can keep the change.
RM: (points to the ticket booth) pay your five dollars over there and get some tickets. Then you can use those to get some cotton candy.
RT: grumble grumble (walks off to get some tickets)
After this it got pretty crazy, the cotton candy maker really began to act up and we ended up having a really long line. Near the end of the carnival we realized we were running out of supplies (the floss sugar needed) so we went down the line and told people we were running out of cotton candy. Many people went to go get some other food (There were snow cones and popcorn and pizza and stuff), but a few families stayed. We get to the last family in the line and we use all the sugar and still get a pretty small cone. Apologetically we hand the cone over to the mother (she's the one who asked for the cotton candy for her adorable little boy).
RM: Sorry we couldn't get this any bigger.
LB (Little Boy) : It's okay. I ate a big (held out hands, it was sooooooooo cute) pizza.
BM (Boy's Mother) : Well, since it's so small can we get a discount?
(Cotton candy was one ticket and we couldn't take cash, so what kind of discount was she talking about? The only thing I could think of was maybe ripping the ticket in half so it'd be half a ticket instead of a full ticket, but then the ticket's no good.)
RM: Um, I don't understand.
BM: Well, there's not much cotton candy on there. Can we get a discount.
RM: Um, it's a ticket. I don't know how we can give a discount when it's a ticket.
LB: Mama, it's just a ticket! I can pay, I can pay!
The mother shushed him and then turned back to me.
BM: Well, then can we get it for free?
(The cone was small, but it wasn't that small. Still, I felt bad it was so small, so I figured there was no harm in giving it out for free.)
RM: (shrugs and hands over the cone to the mother, who hands it to the little boy) Have a great day!
BM: Sure, oooh!! Snow cones! (goes off with her son, without even a thank you for the free cotton candy, to get snow cones while we cord off the booth so people know we're done.
They walk off and I start to help take down the booth when I feel someone pull on my shirt. I look down and I see the little boy. He hands me a ticket, and then says, "The cotton candy was really good Lady. Thank you very much."
Then he wandered off while I'm holding the ticket and wishing I could adopt him got for my brother.
The school doesn't really have a fence or anything, and there's a large field next to it that some sporting events were going on at, so occasionally some people would wander in to see what was going on. The way people got food or games at the carnival was to buy tickets. We, at the booths, could not take any money, only tickets. Almost everyone was okay with this.
Almost.
At the beginning of the carnival, some teen whose brother was playing some game on the field came over and got into line. There were a few people in front of this teen so he should have seen a distinct lack of cash being handled. However, he still wandered up, pulled out his wallet, and asked the price of a cotton candy cone.
RT (Random Teen) : How much?
RM (Rena Muffin) : Sorry, we can't take cash here. Tickets only.
RT: No seriously, how much?
RM: Sorry, tickets only.
RT: Everyone takes cash. How about five dollars? You can keep the change.
RM: (points to the ticket booth) pay your five dollars over there and get some tickets. Then you can use those to get some cotton candy.
RT: grumble grumble (walks off to get some tickets)
After this it got pretty crazy, the cotton candy maker really began to act up and we ended up having a really long line. Near the end of the carnival we realized we were running out of supplies (the floss sugar needed) so we went down the line and told people we were running out of cotton candy. Many people went to go get some other food (There were snow cones and popcorn and pizza and stuff), but a few families stayed. We get to the last family in the line and we use all the sugar and still get a pretty small cone. Apologetically we hand the cone over to the mother (she's the one who asked for the cotton candy for her adorable little boy).
RM: Sorry we couldn't get this any bigger.
LB (Little Boy) : It's okay. I ate a big (held out hands, it was sooooooooo cute) pizza.
BM (Boy's Mother) : Well, since it's so small can we get a discount?
(Cotton candy was one ticket and we couldn't take cash, so what kind of discount was she talking about? The only thing I could think of was maybe ripping the ticket in half so it'd be half a ticket instead of a full ticket, but then the ticket's no good.)
RM: Um, I don't understand.
BM: Well, there's not much cotton candy on there. Can we get a discount.
RM: Um, it's a ticket. I don't know how we can give a discount when it's a ticket.
LB: Mama, it's just a ticket! I can pay, I can pay!
The mother shushed him and then turned back to me.
BM: Well, then can we get it for free?
(The cone was small, but it wasn't that small. Still, I felt bad it was so small, so I figured there was no harm in giving it out for free.)
RM: (shrugs and hands over the cone to the mother, who hands it to the little boy) Have a great day!
BM: Sure, oooh!! Snow cones! (goes off with her son, without even a thank you for the free cotton candy, to get snow cones while we cord off the booth so people know we're done.
They walk off and I start to help take down the booth when I feel someone pull on my shirt. I look down and I see the little boy. He hands me a ticket, and then says, "The cotton candy was really good Lady. Thank you very much."
Then he wandered off while I'm holding the ticket and wishing I could adopt him got for my brother.
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