signature goes on the front

i took a delivery to an apartment complex in the pouring rain last night.

i roll up, and i see two dudes sitting on the stairs of the building where i'm headed. they look like they might be brothers; one is around 17, the other is about 15.

i run to get out of the rain and when i get near them, they stand up and the older one looks like he's holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"is this for you guys? apartment ##?" i ask.

"yeah," the older one says.

i hand him the 2 liter of pop and he gives it to the younger one. i get the food out of the bag and tell him the total. he hands me a check and i ask to see his license. he tells the younger kid to go get the license. the kid puts the 2 liter down on the stairs and runs up the stairs.

by this time, i have had a chance to look at the check and i notice a few problems with it. it's not signed, the check number is in the low hundreds, and the address does not match where i'm delivering the pizza.

"this needs a signature." i say as i'm showing the older one the empty line. the younger kid didn't seem to know what he was doing, so he came back down the stairs to where we were standing. the older one tells him to get the check signed.

the kid runs up the first flight of stairs, walks to the end of the hallway, then turns around and comes back. i was thoroughly confused at this point. why, if this was the apartment building they lived in, was the younger kid running back and forth, instead of going to get the license?

the younger kid takes the check from me and then says something about how he doesn't want to get wet. then he runs out into the rain and around the left side of the building.

this was the point when i decided to put the food back into the bag to "keep it warm." the older kid explains to me that they don't have a phone at their apartment, so they ordered from this apartment where they are watching some kids or something. it sounded like bullshit, but i just said, "yeah, that's understandable." while he's telling me this, i notice a cell phone in his hand and start thinking about how this situation is going from bad to worser.

after nearly 5 minutes, the younger kid comes back. he approaches from behind us, not in front of us like the way he had left. it made me feel like i was being given the ol' runaround.

he seems a bit flustered and hands me the check. i look at it, and it's still not signed.

"this is still not signed. i can't accept this until it is signed." i tell him.

the older one says something like, "why didn't you get him to sign it?"

"i did!" the younger kid yells. "i did! uncle was cussin' at me and..."

he takes the check from me and flips it over to show that it is signed on the backside... on the 'endorse here' line!

"i can't accept this," i tell them. "it must be signed on the front side, and i have to see a driver's license."

the younger one mutters something about being wet, and runs back the way he left the first time. he comes back within 2 minutes, from behind us again, and says that his uncle doesn't trust him to take his license.

the older one looks pissed and grabs the check. "i'll go," he says, and takes off into the rain.

i turn to the younger kid and say, "i got other deliveries i have to make. i can't keep waiting here forever. i'm sorry, but i have to go now."

i grab the 2 liter from the stairs and bolt to my car.

i'm still not entirely sure what happened. maybe they were two stupid kids trying to scam for pizza. maybe they were two stupid kids with a really stupid uncle and their stupidity cost them their dinner. all i know is that they never called to complain or ask for more food. so they must not have been very hungry, which is strange since they ordered three pizzas, wings, breadsticks, and a 2 liter.