I nearly shouted mind****ed at the counter on Tuesday after i discovered the truth.

It was 7 days since i started work as a cashier and i was placed beside someone whom i had not seen before. As it was a Tuesday, Ikea was not crowded. There were times when i got to rest my bump while waiting for the next customer. And so, there was a time when both of us looked at each other and we smiled. I thought 'she' was a tomboy. As a newbie, i was extra cheerful to everyone i met (yes, past tense, im being more careful now haha). I gave her a wide grin and and our conversation went like this:

'she': dah lamer kerja? (been working here for sometime already?)
me: tak, baru tujuh/lapan hari gitu.(nope, just 7/8 days) *point to the person with my thumb*dah lamer kerja? (been working here for sometime already?)
'she': tak sangat lamer... 3 tahun gitu ah (not that long.. 3 years only)

We talked about some other stuffs pertaining to work. Then there were some customers so we scanned and scanned. The conversation resumed when our counters were empty again.

'she': ur gaji ok? (is your salary ok?)
me: boleh jugak, boleh tahan. (ok2, i can manage with it) Urs not the same as mine ke?
'she': oh nope, im full time.
me: *nod my head* Nama siapa? (what's your name?)
'she': *hesitates* Semua orang kat sini panggil saya In (People here call me In)
me: *smiling*ohh saya Zakiah (I'm Zakiah)

When 'she' said it's In, i thought it could be a shortform of Shikin, Shirin, or Farahin or any other name that ends with In. Never once did a boy's name crossed my mind at that time. I really thought 'she' was a tomboy.
me: Berapa lamer eh, baru pinggang, kaki dengan bahu stop sakit? (how long does it take for the aches to stop?)
'she': oh erm, depends on people ah. like how you can adapt to the environment ni semuer.

Again, our conversation stopped here due to a sudden influx of customers. We scanned and scanned and there was hardly a chance for both of us to sit. In had a very curious customer who asked a lot of questions and Kak Suhana was called down to answer some questions that In couldnt answer. THE SURPRISING TRUTH WAS REVEALED HERE. In answering the customer's questions, she addressed In as a 'he'. i was quite taken aback and thought that it was mean of Kak Suhana to make mistakes like that. But she continued to address In as a 'he'. So, i decided that i had to look at his name tag. (IKR,why didnt i do this earlier??). There was a customer with big items on his trolley and the bar codes were all around. I had to move around the trolley with my scanner in search of the barcodes and while i was doing so, i sneaked a peek at the nametag.

Guess what the name is? It's SALIHIN.

I cant imagine being so friendly with a guy, asking him what his name was and consulting him about body aches (>.<). Luckily, i did not not SHAKE HIS HAND. He has a petite figure and a voice that is both not high and not low.I REALLY though he was a tomboy. After discovering the truth, i did not try to initiate any conversations with him. It was really awkward. HAHA and i shivered for a zillion times the whole day whenever i thought about it. Since i started being friendly with him, when he initiate conversations or ask me any questions, i tried my best to answer as normal as possible haha.

When i got home, i told my family about it. After bursting out laughing and teasing me, my sister went "See? it's not difficult to talk to a guy. Just treat him like a girl. But i cant believe you actually asked a guy his name? tsk kakak!"

As days go by, i think im getting more comfortable working in Ikea. I hope it will stay that way till August. May Allah give me strength and patience, amin:)

(more stories in the upcoming posts!)

Assalamualaikum.

Learn to forgive and forget
new past