Giddy Little Boys

Yesterday was the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV. As I've mentioned before, I work part-time for a video store. I was closing Monday night and as I walked in to begin my shift, they told me that I would need to stay late so that we could re-open at 12:01 (yes, that's one minute after midnight) to sell some of the copies that had been reserved. Okay, so I go to bed 30 min. later than usual when I close. No big deal. And we would be closed from 11:00 to 12:01 so we could get our closing stuff done beforehand.

As we were finishing up our closing stuff before we re-opened, I heard noises at the door. Lo and behold, there was a small line of men standing there. And, boy, were they in a good mood. They stood there waiting patiently, talking and laughing -- giddy from the excitement of getting that new game literally moments after it was released. When we opened the door, they filed in with big smiles on their faces, twenties clutched in their hot little hands, the anticipation filling the air. I checked them all out while my co-worker pulled their games. The first fellow actually ran his hand across the cover and said, "Ooh. The letters are embossed." They were all kind of little boy inside cute. But then he had to ruin it by saying (in reference to the game), "I'm going to jail TONIGHT."

When we locked the doors, my co-worker and I laughed a little at the whole thing. She described them as "giddy, like girls on prom night." I've been giggling about the scene ever since. I guess little boys never really go away. They just get a little bigger.

As far as me ever showing up at 12:01 for a video game...well, I'll summarize a conversation I had while calling all those happy fellows. After I explained what was happening:

Woman: So will we not get a copy if we aren't there tonight?
Me: Oh no. You have a copy that's reserved just for you.
Woman: So why would you need to open at midnight?
Me: I guess there are some people who are really excited about getting the game.
Woman: Well that's not us. We'll pick it up tomorrow.