Del stood at the supermarket checkout and watched the teenager behind the counter, totalling up the stuff he bought. He'd already bagged most of it up and even made sure the eggs weren't going to be crushed like the last time he came here. He could see the kid had more plooks and spots on his face than the surface of the moon. Finally the till rang up the total and the boy turned to Del and said, "£65.87 please."

Del handed over his bank card and the kid put it through the card swiper. There was a little buzz as the card was rejected. The teenager tried it several times and Del was staring to get impatient, he'd promised to pick up his wife, and he knew he couldn't bear another tongue lashing from her if her was late.

"Is there something wrong with my card?"
"No, no, no sir," the boy replied, "it's just sometimes it doesn't work very well. Let me try again."

The kid put it through again and there was another buzz as the card was rejected. The boy with the name tag that said Taylor, looked over the card and then the card swiper machine, "I don't understand it, the swiper was working fine earlier."

He looked up at Del, apologetically and asked, "I'm sorry sir, but do you have another card?"
"I don't, I only have this one… I don't get credit cards because I don't trust them… they only get people into debt. That's why I don't have one. Please just try it again."

Taylor shrugged his shoulders and pushed the card through again and there was another buzz, that was just getting on Del's nerves now. Exasperated Del took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Why won't it take my card? There's nothing wrong with it… come on give it here let me have a look at it."

Del turned it over this way and that. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the card down before handing it back to the kid. Taylor swiped the card again and still nothing but the buzzing noise, "No, I'm afraid it's still not working."

"Still nothing? I can't believe that. It must be your card swiper thing, let's try another one and see if it works there."
"I can't do that sir, all the things you bought are totalled up on this machine, and if I got another I'll have to do them all again."

Taylor tried the card another couple of times and every time the buzzer rang out, Del could feel a little heat rising in him. He clenched and unclenched his fingers trying to keep his temper from exploding, "You have got to be kidding me! I swear to god I just got the card today. I used it in the video store across the street, it worked there… it should work here. It's this cheap Chinese knockoff shit you got there that is the problem! You must be doing it fucking wrong!"
"Calm down , sir. Please don't get angry with me, I'm just doing my job." Taylor said trying to placate Del.
"Oh I'm not angry… just a teensy, tiny, almost microscopically bit upset. It's really okay, I swear it. Look at me face, I mean it, look at this face… does this look like an angry man at all?"

Del snatched the card out of the shop assistant's hand and swiped it through a few more times. Always the buzzer sounded and this infuriated Del even more and he slammed the card through harder and harder as his frustration threatened to boil over, "Take my card, bitch! I said take my goddamn card you cock-sucking little bitch!!"

He kicked the counter, startling the kid behind it. Taylor was starting to look a little scared of the man and he shrank back from him. Del just continued on ranting at the card swiper, "…. and I will find a new way of dying for you if you don't accept my card!"

Finally he'd had enough, he was forcing the card back and forth through machine, rattling it every time he passed through it. Del's face was a deep purple at this point and he kicked out at the counter again and bellowed out, "FOR FUCK SAKES WORK YOU STUPID MOTHERFUCKING MACHINE!! SO HELP ME GOD I'M GONNA TEAR YOU APART IF YOU DON'T FUCKING WORK ONE MORE TIME! ONE LAST TIME… TAKE MY MOTHERFUCKING CARD!"

There was an almost tiny beep and the teenager stared in shock at the card swiper, "Hey wait! It's working now."
"It is?" Del said in open mouthed shock, unable to believe it.
"Yeah, it is going through now. Oh hang on that can't be right."

A frown crossed Taylor's face as he read the readout before him. Del crinkled his brow with worry and asked, "What is it? What's wrong?"
"It say's here that it's declining your card."

The colour rose again in Del's face and he yelled out sharply, "What! Why?"
"You don't appear to have enough money in your account."

Del fell to his knees with tears streaming down his face he yelled out, "NNNNOOOOOOOOoooooooo.!!!!"

The End