Q is for quibble

I normally have difficulties trying to find a topic that starts with the letter q that I can write about. Well, I had a weird encounter today and feel like it's good to share it.

I went to the movies on Saturday, in the afternoon. I finally went to see Batman vs. Superman. I felt like I was the last person in my circle of friends and colleagues who hadn't seen it. Well, judging from the turnout, I didn't feel bad.

To me, the best spot in the theatre is in the centre, in the second row from the walkway in front on the section. The reason is that I can rest my legs on the metal horizontal bar. I have long legs and I like to stretch.

I bought a bag of popcorn and a drink. I had asked for a cardboard tray, being the klutz that I can be. I put the cardboard on the seat to my right, which was resting on the armrest on the right. I also placed my purse on the seat.

While the trailers were being shown, about seven minutes before the movie was about to begin, a family of three came over. The woman decided to sit right next to the seat that my cardboard tray and purse were. Had it not been there, I am sure that she would have sat next to me.

She looked over at me. I decided to move my tray so that she wouldn't hit it with her elbow. She went one step further and told me to put it on the other side.

"It's fine," I said, smiling.
"Pardon?" she asked.
"The tray is fine here," I said.
"Pardon?" she said again.
"It's okay," I said, saying it a bit louder.
"Why are you yelling?"
"Never mind. All is good."

First, I knew that it was a losing cause when she clearly couldn't hear me while the loud trailers are taking place. Second, I didn't understand her hangup. My moving the tray wasn't interfering with her armrest space. Third, she allegedly couldn't hear me. I needed to raise the volume of my voice, which is completely different than yelling. Fourth, after her not hearing me more than once, it became a pointless exercise to continue.

I read people pretty well. I knew that she was the type who causes trouble and wants everything her way. She came in late and was being rude disrupting my time watching the trailers.

"I was just saying that you can move it to your left," she continued.
"That's okay. I moved it over here," I explained.
"Pardon?" she said. I got fed up, but I was still polite about it.
"I wasn't being rude. It seemed like you couldn't hear me, so I talked to you louder," I said, and continued to watch whatever was left of the trailer.

She actually managed to be passive-aggressive by asking whether I had "paid" for the seat that my tray and purse were occupying. I finally decided to take the high road, and ignored that question and her. The theatre was busy, but it was barely 30% full. The only person who seemed to have taken exception for some inexplicable reason was this woman. She had her husband and probably nine-year-old son. Three people with plenty of room in a row that could easily fit twenty people is not a reason to claim to be hearing-impaired and attempt to spoil my day. With me and my purse, 25% of the row's capacity was occupied.

Well, I could tell within the first five minutes of the movie that her son was not interested in watching it. Later, she spent two minutes rattling a plastic bag, cracking shelled peanuts. After that, she spent another minute trying to open a bag of candy. Fun!

I would estimate that this family left halfway through the movie. The family had grown to five people who just picked up and left. Good riddance!

So, my original thought was correct about this woman. She was trouble and I should have ignored her from the start. At least I eventually did ignore her.

Pardon? I think she needs to get her hearing, her head, and her personality examined. She needs help.