Some questions do not need to be answered and sometimes I should just be left to wonder.

There was s a guy at in my office who resembled someone I went to high school with. I saw him in the hallways here and there, but we didn’t really say hello or catch each other’s eye.  A lot of people say hello, nod or acknowledge one another in some fashion where I work.  I don’t know this cat’s name, so we’ll go with Guy.  Guy is mildly cute, maybe a 6, and he seemed to have a fairly friendly demeanor with a hint of cocky.  He typically ran around with a mixed crew of guys and gals around the halls or in our work cafe, which were the only times our paths crossed.

One day, my co-worker buddies and I were walking back from having a nice bench lunch and chat, when we saw Guy.  My two companions knew about my ponderings and I pointed him out.  I then broke away from them and approached him.

Me: Excuse me.  Hi, we work for the same company and I was wondering if you were from New Jersey or went to high school in New Jersey?

Guy: Uh, hi. No. Never went to school in New Jersey, I’m from Long Island (pulls hand up to his mouth to take a drag off his cigarette).

Me: Ohh. I’m from New York, but went to high school in New Jersey and thought that you looked like a guy who went to my school. Sorry to bother. See ya. 

And then I was off with my ladies back to the office. Over the next few weeks I saw Guy all the time! I began to dread seeing Guy because it seemed like he was everywhere and I couldn’t get through a day without running into him.  To top it off, there was this vibe there and it was so weird.  Purely surface-level, but I began to detest him.  Sometimes we would pass each other and  there was a semi-hello, a slight nod or a weak smile.  But one morning, I slightly smile-nodded and got this kind of blank look.  Sure, timing can be off when one person sees the other person too late during a salutation, but it was just odd.

As I walked to my desk, I started to chuckle and shake my head.  I realized that this Guy thought that I liked him. Ugh. Really Guy?  I can’t just be a friendly person?  Of course not.  I was supposedly hitting on him or testing the waters. Awesome. 

Funny enough, after this revelation I did not see Guy for a good bit.  But of course our paths crossed again, a few days later.  I was walking down this long hallway towards our cafe/pantry and I saw him on the other side of the doors, through the glass windows. I thought, “Great, I have this long catwalk of awkward to go and I cannot be my natural self because this dude thinks I like him. I bet he told his pal “hey, this chick wants me.” Barf.

I walked toward him and his compatriot, a man I haven’t seen before, and was thinking: how can I display mild disdain, with a hint of scorn, topped with light-hearted indifference to Guy and convey a welcoming intro smile to his cohort? Well, I decided that the latter would have to lay by the wayside as I felt that my message to Guy needed to be delivered.

As I continued on this 30-second mecca down the hallway, I looked at paintings ahead of me on the right, peeked into an office on my left and then stared hazily ahead of me. As the two men were a foot away from me, I continued to look ahead, I was in my own happy daydream, I had a slight smile on my face.  As we moved about a foot past each other, Guy harshly blurted to his companion, “Well! I guess not anymore.”

AHA! You rat bum. I knew it. I sashayed my tuchus right into the pantry to make my tea.  Justice was mine. ♥