"It's not my jurisdiction," she said and pulled the shutter down. I stood there for a moment and then rapped on the shutter. She didn't respond.
"I can see you are still sitting there," I said. "I can see your shadow against the shutter."
"Go away," she said. "I can't help you."
"Could you point me in the direction of someone who could help me?" I said, my voice loud enough for the woman in the booth next door to look over and roll her eyes.
"You need to ask at the 'general help' desk," she said. She turned out the light, and although I knew she was still sitting in her booth, waiting for me to go, I decided I was only wasting my own time by continuing to stand there.
"Okay," I said. "Thank you so much for your help!"
"No need for sarcasm," came the reply. I grinned and walked away, looking for the sign to the "General Help Desk". I wasn't surprised to find there was no such desk. Getting any kind of help in this building was a waste of time. In fact, that is the goal, I decided. They employed people just to waste other people's time.
...
