tiger
“IIII got something stickin’ in my eye (eyeeeee), got something stickin’ in my eye (eyeeeee), got something stickin’ in my eye, eye (eyeeeeee).”
The whine of Fat Mike’s voice shakes me from my waking slumber and I whip my head this way and that, making sure I don’t see anyone I know. I slip and slide over the curved bench, surrounded by people and chatter. A greasy matchstick of a boy sighs next to me, shitty headphones on his ears filling my head with NOFX.
“GET AWAY FROM ME” I want to growl, but I’m too socially responsible for it. Besides, I might give away my location.
I’m facing Macy’s, the current location of my prey. I followed him from Spencer’s to Pac Sun to Sbarro, crouching tiger to his indifferent deer. I hope I didn’t miss him; sometimes I feel like I have narcolepsy. Before I can lament over my failing body, I spot him, strolling by me without an idea. I pounce.
“Hey, hey, how are you?” I collide with his space immediately and he looks up, shocked. “Oh, hi! What are you doing here?”
“Shopping, of course!” I lie, “Funny running into you, it’s been so long.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I guess. I didn’t think this mall was that close to your house.”
I blush. I feel like a plane about to crash.
“I was babysitting and they live near your neighborhood. So, what did you buy?”
He looks disgusted at my curiosity, and I’m ready to run. “Just wondering,” is my subtext, my wavering disclaimer.
“Nothing much, some belts and shit.”
“What did you get at Spencer’s?” I ask, and as soon as the words are out, I can see I’ve lost. My prey is about to get away. His eyebrows raise and he squints at me. “How did you know I went there?”
“The bag?” I ask; I saw him walk out with it before, but he no longer had it. “The bag inside my Pac Sun bag?” he is now grilling me. “How did you see that?”
I shrug. I’m a goner. I don’t know where else to go. “I thought I saw you coming out of there earlier,” is all the meekness I can muster.
“Why didn’t you say hi then?” he asks, and I shrug. “You looked busy, maybe.”
He shakes his head. “Well, I’m busy now, so I’ll talk to you later, stalker.”
I blush again. “Haa, ha, yeah, sure! Um, okay, see you later.” I watch him drift away; I am a tiger without a meal. I kick the bench I was sitting on, and the shitty headphones guy gives me a dirty look.