Oops-tober

The Day I Felt Like a Robber in a Pizzeria

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Photo by Eastman Childs on Unsplash

There are embarrassing moments in our day-to-day lives. We all mess up one way or another – and there’s nothing wrong in that, right? That’s what I tell myself whenever I remember this moment… the most idiotic one of my life.

Are you ready to dive into the river of embarrassment with me?

So, maybe it was in the year 2020. Which month? No clue. Because honestly, who likes to remember the exact date and time they made a complete fool of themselves?

My boyfriend and I had gone out on one of our “secret trips.” Nothing exciting, just roaming around in a car through the streets of Amritsar. That was it. Just driving.

And You’re probably wondering – what’s the point of such a boring date?

Let me explain.

I come from an utterly conservative family. My father – if he had found out I was meeting my boyfriend again – would have locked me inside the house like a prisoner. So our entire love story was lived in constant fear of getting caught. Luckily, we never did. (Well… maybe once, but I managed to convince them it wasn’t me. “You must have seen a ghost,” I said. Total nonsense, but somehow it worked.)

Anyway, back to that day.

We were just driving, and yes – I was wearing a mask inside the car. Don’t laugh. That’s me: always over-protective, even when unnecessary.

After half a day of wandering, we were starving. So, my boyfriend stopped at a countryside pizzeria. We never went anywhere near my home – too risky. I entered the restaurant like I was part of some khufia gang – face covered, dupatta on my head.

We ordered a pizza and two milkshakes, but eating inside felt too dangerous as I had to remove my dupatta to eat. So, of course, we planned to eat in the car like fugitives. My boyfriend kept scanning the room, suspicious of every single face and honestly, we looked like two people about to commit a robbery.

Then came the worst part: paying the bill.

The waitress placed the receipt inside one of those little bill folders – you know, the small leather-like folder every restaurant uses. But in that moment, my brain froze.

Honestly, I felt like someone had pointed a gun at my head. I was so scared of being recognized, so distracted by the fear of getting caught, that I completely forgot how to act normal. Instead of putting the money in the folder like a normal person, I did the unthinkable: I handed it straight into her hand.

The look she gave me… unforgettable. Wide-eyed, like I was some illiterate girl who had never seen the inside of a restaurant before. And the people around? Staring at me like I had committed a crime.

I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me.

But the disaster wasn’t over. As we walked out, my boyfriend opened the car door for me – and I dropped the milkshakes. All. Over. My. Clothes. Yes.

Two blunders, back to back.

So that day wasn’t just an “oops” moment.

It was a legendary disaster. Something that could be used in a movie called How Not to Date in India.

And yet, here I am – not laughing, but still cringing with embarrassment as I write this.

Something no one else could probably ever pull off, but yes… I did it.

This story is part of Oops-tober in Quirky Rants.

Thank you, Rishita Sharma, for making me write this down. Hopefully, sharing it makes me feel a little less embarrassed about it.

Thanks for reading.

This story is a part of an October Theme by Quirky Rants, open to everyone for a month. If you’d like to join in, check the link below for the prompt!

[embed]Previously on Quirky Rants… Newsletter: A messy wrap-up + oops teasers for Octobermedium.com

This story is a part of Quirky Rants’ October Challenge — two weeks to spill your unforgettable firsts. If you’d like to join in, peek at the prompt in the link below!

[embed]The First Time — An October Writing Challenge Your story, your heart, your debut: share the first time that changed everything!medium.com