Why CITIBANK, Of All Places?
March 2001. I lived in Glen Ellyn at the time. With the weather getting a little warmer from the winter passing into spring, I decided to start exercising my legs and my freedom. This idea of walking to places was brought on mainly by my grandparents' ideas that I should start driving. "You can go to all the places you want to go," they said. So I found some places to go, and went. I was on my way back from Blockbuster Video (hahaha SHUT UP) after finding out that they don't accept 17-year-old business.
On the corner of Roosevelt Road and Finley Street, there is a bank. It is called Citibank, and it is white and blue. I have never personally been inside Citibank. However, as I was walking back from Blockbuster, I passed through the parking lot of Citibank.
There was a white car, slightly bigger than our almost compact Corsica, sitting in the parking lot. Inside this car were two women, one of whose heads I was able to see through the window from where I was. Connected to this head, apparently, was a finger that popped into view and started beckoning at me.
'What the hell?' I thought. I pointed at myself questioningly. The finger continued doing what the head seemed to indicate it should do. I started walking towards the car. I don't know why. I think I just wanted to see what the hell was going on.
The rest of the hand suddenly popped up and did a gesture, the name of which I do not know to this day. It's that thing that people associate with gay men, where the hand kinda does this swan dive forward. Then, after the woman did some kinda thing with her mouth, they drove off and left me standing there. I pondered this for a few seconds, then shrugged and continued walking.
I still don't know how old they were, or what kind of car they were driving, or what the hell they were trying to achieve.
Hang On, I'm Five Years Older Than You
Sunday, September 2nd, 2001. I have now been 18 years old for exactly one month. Because I can get to all the places I need to get on foot in Macomb, I set out today to pick up some stuff at Wal-Mart. It was a decent walk there and back, and with the variable weather these days, it turned out to be hot, unlike the pleasantly temperate yesterday. Between this and my current cold, I was feeling pretty miserable and I just wanted to get back to my dorm room, blow my nose, and take care of all this stuff I had just bought.
And yet a 13-year-old girl still seemed to want to hit on me.
She was sitting on a bench with one of her friends, and a couple other kids were standing around nearby. She called out something like "Hi! Do you want to come over here?" Yes, I did go to chat with them. Keep in mind that I am generally sociable when prompted, and that I was feeling slightly inert.
"Hi," I said. "What's up?"
"So, where are you going?"
"Back to college."
Then there was some confusion, which was wrapped up when it was finally established that I am, indeed, a college freshman. Apparently I look like a 14/15 year old.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No."
"Do you want one?"
'Waah,' I thought. 'I'm too tired for this.'
"No. Kinda got other things on the mind y'know."
Another kid, a black boy, popped into the convo. "Are you shy?"
"Somewhat. How old are you?"
He was 14. The girl said she was 13. Hmm. No, I'm definitely not looking for a girlfriend. The boy spoke up again:
"What's your Masters?"
Of course I knew what he meant, I said Computer Science. The girl's friend mumbled something about 'Baiting' amid laughter. I didn't respond to that. I then said goodbye and started back to WIU and my nice, messy room.
Highschool freshman girls find me attractive...now I just need to invoke the same feeling in college women.