Now I am not promoting child abuse...but really! We see all kinds of parents and kids at the shop where I work, and some are great and we really like seeing them come in. But then there are the kids that run over their parents, and the parents who not only allow their children to act that way (a way that wouldn't be acceptable in the privacy of home, much less in public) and then reward them for their fiendish behavior with sweet treats! The kids Sunday night really won though for the worst kids we've seen in quite a while.

They come in as a very large group. So at least I don't think all 4 kids belonged to one set of parents. There were two girls about 8-ish, one a little younger looking, and a little one that couldn't have been more than about 4. The rude sullen kids are given generous sized cups and allowed to choose their seats. They decide to take up our taller cafe style tables by the window. This of course also involves them climbing up and down out of the chairs every few seconds and playing in the window sill. Now, as a parent, I wouldn't have allowed this simply because I typically prefer my child not to fall and crack his skull.

Both Saedi and myself need to make a fast break for the bathroom, but we're rather busy. So we are going to run between customers inside. Saedi tries, but the girls are in the bathroom. Although the door keeps opening and closing, there is at least one of the 4 in the bathroom for the next 30 minutes! Finally giving up, Saedi just goes into the men's room. She comes storming out a few seconds later complaining that the soap dispenser is missing. This is sadly not an uncommon occurrence, since for some reason people get a thrill from stealing things, like soap dispensers. For just that reason we have a stash of extras in our utility closet. I go out there, fill a new one, and put it in the men's room. As I am coming out I see a couple of the girls running out of the bathroom, so I decide I should go check it.

Opening the door, I am overwhelmed by the scent of air freshener, but all I see is the youngest, who looks to be drying her hands. I close the door in apology, and wait, thinking she should be out soon if she was drying her hands. Oh, no. After several minutes I hear the "Pssst" of the air freshener. Then again. And again. I am not sure what to do, because I don't really know where the line is drawn as to what's acceptable discipline wise for a customer's child. But after several
"Psssssstt's" I don't actually care anymore. Opening the door I ask the little girl to go back to her seat.

Oh, the Carnage! As I open the door, a billowing cloud of Sunshine Citrus fumes come visibly rolling out. It is so thick I can taste it from the hallway, and I start sneezing. I leave the door open, and let some of it dissipate before grabbing my last clean breath and heading in. Between fantasies of whopping the kids upside their heads I take in that almost every surface is nicely greased with the sheen of air freshener. And what is that in the sink? Oh, bubbles...and empty soap dispensers. Yes, that was plural dispensers because since apparently failing to make a big enough mess with the mostly full women's dispenser, they were the thieves who took the men's as well. Both are open, and floating empty in a sea of sink bubbles and a river of soap slime all over the sides of the sink and the handles.

There were 2 and a partial rolls of toilet paper, and a mostly full roll plus backup of paper towels when we did our last bathroom check. Since then it was almost exclusively those girls in their, so there was no excuse for there to only be a half roll of paper towels and one roll of toilet paper left. Most of the rumpled towels were in the sink, on the purse ledge, and spilling from the overflowing trash can.

I propped the door open, and stormed to the front counter, directly in front of the table where the adults where sitting and called to Kayla.
"Hey Kayla, will you hand me the cleaner and several dry towels? The bathroom is TRASHED!" and I stomp of to the bathroom, banging thing as I put them back where they go. I call out over the counter to Saedi, "At least I found the men's soap! It was in the women's bathroom, since the women's dispenser apparently wasn't full enough to make enough bubbles!" It legitimately takes me about 10 minutes to put the bathroom back together and as I am almost done one of the parents drags only one of the kids to the bathroom.

"She has something she'd like to tell you" Damn right she does.
"I'm sorry I sprayed a little air freshener" The heathen child says insincerely. The mother then looks so pleased with her self and her daughter and saunters out before I can respond with anything that resembles words. The group leaves a moment later, leaving 4 tables (that would have seated 14 people, although they only had 8 in their group) completely dirty, rearranged, and trashed.