Siegfried and Roy

This year for Halloween, my boss decided it would be a good idea to dress up with two of his buddies (Siegfried and Roy) and himself as the white tiger. Funny, right? Yeah, well he told his friends that they could come into the shop and I'd set them up with free rental pants for their costumes. They came, they picked up their pants, we laughed, we joked, and off they went.

Halloween weekend came and went. Good times were had by all (including everyone who came to my killer Quentin Tarantino Party-that's right, it was wicked).

Now, typically we require rentals to be returned the Monday following the event. One of the guys, I think it was Siegfried, returned on time and all was well. I expected Roy to show up late on Tuesday, but in fact he failed to come in for the next 4 days! My boss called me that Friday and asked if he had returned yet. When I told him he hadn't, he got frustrated saying, "I told him to return everything now about 5 times!" So we came up with a plan...

My boss told me that he was going to tell Roy that I was really upset about him not returning, and that I was going to charge him a pretty hefty late fee for the inconvenience. In reality, I could care less since he was my boss' good friend and he rented for free. So when he inevitably comes in, I would have to cop an attitude with him instead and act real angry. I was all for it. For some reason I always get myself caught up in practicle jokes.... I'm not complaining.

Saturday was the fateful day I expected him to come in. He finally showed his face around 3:00pm and immediately said, "Hi...er...what do I owe you?"

Trying to keep my composure, I said, "So you finally decided to return...It's about time."

"Yeah, sorry I didn't think it would be a big deal, ya know..."

"Well it is actually. The company is charging us an astronomical late fee because you 'didn't think it was a big deal'. I've decided to give you a little break but I can't do much. The total cost will be $80.00 even."

He looks at me with the best, most terrified look and said, "Really? I had no idea..." As he reached for his wallet, I couldn't hold it in any longer. Watching me crack up laughing, he suddenly looked relieved and pissed at the same time. "So you're joking? Ok, where's John (my boss)? I want to pound him for giving me such a hard time!"

"I'm sorry! (Hahahaha) He told me to do it! (Heehehehe) He's in his office now, if you want to see him.."

"Ha! Yeah, maybe I will.....So I don't have to pay a late fee?"

"No! It was all a joke," I said, trying to make him feel better.

Moral of the story, return your tuxedo on time, and no harm (including practical jokes) will befall you.