This is about something that happened last weekend.

I signed up to volunteer for this outreach program for the Varley Art Gallery on Saturday. The coordinator told me to meet with "the instructor" at the main escalator of Markville Mall at 12:30pm.

I came at 12:20, with my parents. No one was there. We waited. My parents suggested that maybe I got the wrong place, so they decided to go around and see where else the program might be. After a while they came back, with no results. We waited some more. We waited until 1:00pm. Then we went to BestBuy. (Because it was close by, and we didn't want to leave in case anyone showed up).

At 1:30, we came back, and the instructor had arrived. She was sitting there at a table with four kids or so. So much for an outreach program.

I went down and asked if this was "the program for Varley?" The lady smiled, somewhat coldly, and replied, "Yes, didn't you see the banner?"

I told her I was the volunteer, and asked if she needed any help. I think that was very stupid of me. Of course she needed help, even though there were only a couple of kids. It was my responsibility to help.

The instructor replied, again with the coldness in her eyes (or was that coldness something I imagined?) that, "There aren't many kids. You can just sit here if you want."

At this time a girl (her daughter, I think) came over and started asking her something.

So I waited a while and asked the instructor if she needed a lot of help. She replied calmly, "I already said, there aren't many kids."

"Then can I go?"

She nodded.

"Okay, bye."

I don't know why I asked to go. Perhaps it was because of my parents up there, at the top of the elevator. I think at that time I wanted more to spend the rest of my Saturday afternoon with them, preparing for the party the next day, than sitting around with a lady who seemed cold and a little annoyed at me, and who didn't really want my help. At that time, at least.

It turns out that "the instructor was really busy and needed your (my) help!", as the coordinator told me today, in her email demanding why I was "an hour late" and why I "stayed only a little while". In her email, the coordinator also reminded me about the two-week summer camp I signed up to volunteer for in August...

So because of this I'm feeling really ashamed and a little angry.

I know a lot of it's my fault.

But I swear, I was NOT an hour late.