Thursday, November 5, 2009

The guy that stares

I go to my college campus to use their wifi to blog. I don't have the internet at my new place for two reasons:
  1. I insist on living a frugal life. Call me cheap, but I don't want to pay $40 a month until absolutely necessary when I start school again in the spring.
  2. I would waste a tremendous amount of time each night browsing the net, and hardly get any reading done.
So with that, I have to drive the one block to my campus and set up in their commons area. For a while now, I've been going about twice a week, and have since noticed a shady character roaming around the hallways.

"Do you want me to come with you one day and make my precense known?" asked Sebastian.

"No, it's too far, plus you get out really late" I answered.

Though I admit it was incredibly sweet [enter gag reflex here] I resist to play the damsel in distress  as often as possible. Who knows, one day, I might really need to take him up on those favors but will have exhausted all my chances.

No, I will call upon you when extremely necessary.

So with that, I continue reading and writing on my laptop, all the while seeing this guy out of the corner of my eye staring at me as he walks wearing a backpack.


I'm usually there for at least two hours, yet I always see this guy just walking from one end of the building to the other.

Doesn't he have a class? What's he doing just strolling here?

I've crossed paths and glances a few times, and it makes me the most uncomfortable because he gives one of those nods as if to say "Hey, I'll be right over."





So yesterday, as I was reading through some blogs, I see him come up to my table. I can't remember how the conversation started.

Him: So do you have a class here?

Me: Um, no. I don't come to this campus.

Him: Oh, so do you go to U of H?

Me: Um, not yet.

Him: So what's your major?

Me: Accounting.

Him: Oh, I took an accounting class last semester.

Me: [silence]

Him: So where are you from?

Me: From around here.

Him: No I mean, where were you born?

Ok, this is starting to creep me out. I'm not about to tell my life story to a creepy stranger.

Me: California.

I lie. I feel like saying "France" will give him an even bigger urge to carry on a conversation.

Him: Oh that's cool. [silence] Yeah, I'm just waiting for my class to start. It's at 8:30.

I look at the clock. It's 7:30. And he's been roaming the campus since I got here at 6:00.

Me: You have a class that starts at 8:30?

Him: Yeah.

B*llshit. No classes start that late. The last class starts at 7:00

When he realized that I was more interested in my reading than talking to him, he quietly made his exit and continued roaming the halls, where I soon lost track of him.

At about 8:30, I decided to go back home and headed towards the front door.

What do I see?  The same guy exiting the building at exactly 8:30.

Huh. So where's that class he was telling me about?

2 comments:

  1. Is staring not good? Damn, that's my top pulling technique now unusable.
    Loved your comment on my blog by the way...though you should have sent it to my Sunday Confessional inbox sooner and I could have included it...any other confessions you'd like to share?

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  2. it didn't occur to me until you opened the subject......
    maybe you should have weekly topics that we could contribute to and link up to your page. I know a writer on here that does it on thursdays. (http://stephie5741.blogspot.com/)

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