Sarah Takes a Stand

So today I decided to do a little work so I threw my laptop in my backpack and wandered over to the coffee shop. I put in a couple of hours and called it quits. On the way home I stopped in at the video store and as I perused I sensed someone standing a little too close to me, so I took a few steps to gain some personal space. He followed, and again he was a little too close, so I took a few more steps. He followed again. I turned to face him and saw a guy wearing a Roger's Video t-shirt. The first thing I noticed was that he was much to old for the mohawk he was sporting, and the second thing I noticed was he was speaking to me. I lifted my headphones up off my ears and he repeated himself, "I'm going to have to get you to leave your bag at the counter."
"What?", I said. I wasn't upset over the request, but I was more than a bit incredulous that in order to request it he followed me from the Previously Viewed movies all the way to the O section of the New Releases.
"Your bag, you can't take it in here."
I was still standing there holding my headphones above my head.
"I am going to have to get you to leave it at the counter."
"Do you think I am going to steal something?"
"...well no, but we don't allow bags in here, you have to leave it at the counter."
"My laptop is in this bag, so I'll just hang on to it."
"We don't allow bags in here though. It will just be at the counter. It will be safe I promise we won't wreck it."
I can appreciate that some people may be tempted to steal if they had a big bag in which to put things in. Since you never know who those people may be you would want everyone to leave their bag at the counter, but I still felt that the implication was that he was trying to prevent me from stealing. I was still standing there holding my headphones above my head debating what I should do. I thought that I could ask him to escort me around the store to make sure I didn't steal, or I could go wait at the counter with my bag and tell him to bring me disk 6 of The OC, or I could just do and say nothing. So I did and said nothing.
"It's company policy, I have to ask."
I just stood there holding my headphones above my head.
"We don't allow anyone to bring bags in here."
I just stood there holding my headphones above my head.
"It will just be at the counter."
I stood there holding my headphones above my head, and I raised my eyebrows a little bit.
"... but I guess it will be ok if you held onto it..."
I nodded as if to say he made the right choice, I put my headphones back on and left to find the dvd I wanted.

I probably sound like a jerk. I mean there are other reasons they may want you to leave a bag behind. Worn on your back like that it blocks the aisle, makes it easier to knock something over if you turn around. There could be any reason why they wouldn't want me to have it, but I still think the reason that policy is in place is to prevent theft. They have all sorts of security on their videos; they are locked inside a case you need a special device to open, they have the things at the door the beep when an undemagnetized video passes through it - their stuff is quite safe. That bag though, it is filled with MY stuff - stuff I don't want to lose. In a store full of strangers, the only person I can trust to keep my stuff safe is me, so I am glad I didn't let them have it.

OK, for the last 5 minutes someone outside has been screaming and it is freaking me right out. I have goosebumps. I have to go see what is happening.