Strangers

Have you ever had someone come up to you and just start talking with you, like you already know each other? I find that absolutely weird when it happens. And I wrote something.


"I think I have you in one of my classes," she said as she sat in the chair across from him.

"I have no idea who you are," he thought while making a polite reply. They fell into something of a conversation; basic subjects, and safe ones. As the conversation progressed, he was surprised to find out how much this woman was willing to share with him. He stuck to topics that could be easily found in a google search, but she seemed willing and even wishing to share secrets with him that he would only tell his cat. This conversation was becoming awkward.

He continued to listen with half his attention, and bestowed the other half on the busy coffee shop they sat in. She was going on about her most recent fight with her boyfriend, while he saw the line at the register growing steadily at a rate faster than it shrank. The espresso machine hissed every minute or so breaking the white noise of all the conversations going on around them.

He took another sip of his bitter coffee and tried again to focus on this strange woman across form him. She was gesturing wildly now, speaking about a teacher she swore was crazy. He nodded his head and made some sound come out of his mouth, but she didn't seem to be looking for a response, so he let his mind wander away again.

"Why are coffee shops always brown?" He thought, looking at the brown walls, floor, tables, and chairs. They were different shades of brown, but all very brown. He found himself staring at a swirly brown pattern in the tuning out the world around him.

"Well I should be heading out," she said, grabbing her purse and standing up. He pulled his eyes up to her, just as she was turning to go, without even a good-bye. And he realized that, as much as he knew about her now, she didn't even know her name.


- Kat