I've only been here at work for two hours and it's already kind of a crappy day…The reference librarian and I are good friends, so usually I love working with her. Well, she was taking her lunch break at the table in the library and a patron came in that wanted something put on hold that was available at our main branch in the city (we're out in the middle of the country). I had to call their reference librarian and have her do it over the phone since I'm not certified to do that (even though I know how). The librarian at the main branch asked me if the item had already been put on hold in the system and I told her "No it hasn't, our reference librarian is on break right now so I couldn't have that done from here" and she was like, "Oh okay, that's fine. I'll do that for you." Well, when I got off the phone with her, our librarian was laughing in a kind of condescending way and was like, "Hey Theresa? Next time something like that happens, tell them that I'm atlunch, not onbreak. It just makes it sound like I'm taking a break from doing my job and like I just didn't feel like doing it." She and her friend that was here talking to her, and a couple other patrons that were in here, were laughing in me in that way that you would laugh at a little kid that tried to say something really intelligent like "Oh, how cute." My face immediately turned red and blotchy, my hands were shaking, it felt like I couldn't breath, and I was biting back tears. I couldn't even fake a smile. I just want to go home…My anxiety hasn't even been a problem until now.

Maybe I'm just being a baby, but it felt like high school and middle school all over again. I used to say things in conversation or answer a teacher's question in class and it seemed like no matter what I would do or say, people would giggle and make snide comments about the way I walked, talked, looked, dressed, etc. I graduated high school in 2011 so I though those days were long behind me. I've never had something like this happen at work before as I am highly respected in our library system. I wonder if she just acted that way because her friend was here, but even if that's the case, that is not an okay thing to do.