The strangest thing happened tonight. I decided I had a hankering to rent a movie. It had been ages since I had paid a visit to my local video store. Out of the corner of my eye while trying to dodge all the eager video -watchers pouncing on the latest "new release" before it was snatched up not realizing they didn't need to worry about me as I was still in the "new to 7 day" section, I saw him. He still looked amazing. Our eyes locked for but a brief moment then both of us turned apace to our task at hand: choosing a video from a plethora of options. We pretended we didn't see each other, like strangers in a foreign land. Oh I digress! (Can you tell I just finished watching the movie I rented? Hehehehehe!)
I know why I tried to avoid him, I think. I didn't want to engage in idle chit-chat. Part of me was nervous for some strange reason. Okay, I will come clean. I still obviously get "butterflies" around him. You see, contrary to what you are all thinking or rather what I led you to suspect because of "creative licence," we have no history of a romantic nature. Although I must confess I did have a mad crush on him until his amorous imbranglement with a couple of my good friends. Let's just say the old adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover," holds true in this case, but in reverse. In plain English, when it comes to women, he is a jerk! Yet part of me is hopeful he is a changed man and will fall madly in love with me. Oops, I digress again!
Why did he avoid me? Probably for some of the same reasons I pretended not to see him. It was kind of funny, well pathetic really, two grown adults going out of our way to insure our paths would not cross in the "new release" section. I actually took a long detour in order to put back a video I didn't want because he was standing right in front of where the video needed to go!
I finally picked a video, "Paris," from the foreign film section and headed to the check out. (It was a great film by the way) I sensed someone approaching the line behind me but paid no attention. It wasn't until I proceeded to the cash that I saw my co-pretender in my peripheral vision. I rolled my eyes in disgust at the thought that he couldn't even say hi while standing directly behind me!!! A bit hypocritical on my part to be thinking this way wouldn't you say!!:)
As I drove away, I almost ran into him as he was exiting the store. We still pretended we didn't know each other. Weird.
Are you a pretender like me?!!:)
4 comments:
Last year there was a student who completely lost it in my class. He was yelling and crying and telling me about the pressure his dad put on him. I sent him to talk with my boss, who brought a psychiatrist to the meeting. He subsequently withdrew from engineering.
A few months later I saw him in Costco WITH his dad and brother. We pretended not to know each other there.
(as an aside, the brother was younger- maybe 17 or 18 and was wearing a playboy bunny shirt. I was a bit puzzled- who lets their son wear a shirt like that and then go out with him in public. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't allow James a shirt like that, but if he was all teenager and buying what he liked, I wouldn't go out with him dressed like that! I wanted to talk to the boy and help him understand what statement he was making, but I couldn't really do that! It's one thing when they are old enough to know better. That doesn't bother me as much as when they are too young to know any better. Sorry. /end rant!)
It's so hard to do and I've often thought about this myself, and I'll try not to be a hypocrite when I write this next sentence. Next time you see this guy or similar, treat him as in inside you couldn't care less. Walk right up to him and say "hello. aren't you so and so?" Men are kind of like little animals, more scared of you then you are of them.
Well, it all depends on the situation. I certainly have been known to "pretend"--not in the same circunmstance as you, though somewhat similar. Sometimes it is just easier to pretend you do not see one another so that you don't get into a conversation where possibly MORE pretending will have to occur,...I think we each do what we need to do, to survive.
@ Aphra no need to worry about ranting...what a sad story...probably why that student ws the way he was...you profs almost have to be psychologists too these days
@ Lauren I am going to try it next time. Like I said, I'm not sure why I was afraid of him!
@ OOLOTH very true...i usually hate the surfacey pretending talk where you have to smile and say how everything is good!!
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