What better to do on a Friday evening before the wake of a new year than to snuggle into a special effects spectacular? Better than scoring a quick free PDA or a grand in cash and a Diners Club card with no limit as a New Year`s treat? Going to the movies these days can be all of these and a large popcorn.
It was The Chronicles of Narnia that got my clumsy boyfriend and I there. My boyfriend forgetting his cellphone and wallet next to the popcorn machine unfortunately punctuated the familiar routine of self-service ticket buying and popcorn and Coke garnering.
In our seats, the strange fairy man did his cellphone warning, which made me reach for my handbag and said boyfriend reach for his unfortunately empty pocket. Of course all hell broke loose because I was then blamed for having them in my handbag and they were nowhere to be found.
Over and under the seats, by way of my cell`s illuminated screen, we searched. Nothing.
Next idea: retrace our steps and hope for the best. Narnia would have to wait.
Over and under the seats, by way of my cell`s illuminated screen, we searched. Nothing.
Bhavna Singh, junior journalist
All the while calling the missing i-mate, we scoured the concession stand where the lovely serving lady, in her defence, suggested we ask the manager if we could look at the surveillance tapes for the tills.
God bless her! The manager was on it in a split second, ready to dissolve any shadow of a doubt off her staff.
So we watched and watched, and watched, for 10 minutes, while the wallet and the phone, in a neat pile, sat untouched. The public whizzed by, collecting their permutations of refreshments and not one glanced in the twosome`s direction. Not even the movie house`s "lost and found" man noticed while standing next to them. He isn`t getting that bonus this year!
Then, out of the corner of the screen, a hand, and a nametag! The manager leapt up off her seat to prevent my boyfriend from leaving her office.
In hindsight, it was to prevent him from following the snatcher out of her office. He had stood in her office with us watching the tapes and denying any knowledge of what we were talking about, shaking his head in disbelief that something like this had happened. The moment he was spotted on tape, he made a quick exit and miraculously appeared again with wallet and phone in hand... that is, phone sans stylus and battery.
"A big up" to the manager; she was polite and firm and promised to deal with the problem and update us. She was kind enough to make up for the movie we missed thanks to her itchy-fingered projectionist and complimentary tickets were dished out for the late show.
A reminder to the clumsy: don`t call your cellphone repeatedly to draw attention to it. Let it be and maybe you`ll find it exactly where you "left" it. Oh, and have a little faith in the public... they`re not all out to get your stuff!
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