#5 'Twas a Thursday

I’ve been spending a lot of time people-watching. I like to watch strangers go by, imagining their exciting lives full of action and adventure, starkly contrasting my monotonous life. One day, last Thursday I believe, a particular man came to my interest. He was sitting at a bench across from me, with a familiar look on his face. He was using the same vague stare I use to discreetly watch pedestrians. I saw his eyes darting back and forth in a nervous manner, and then he bent down and zipped open his backpack. He took out a shiny figure and placed it by his side on the bench, then promptly got up and left. I walked over to see what it was and immediately figured out what the lonely salt shaker meant: he was the salt and pepper bandit. Fueled by curiosity and just plain befuddlement on why he would steal so many salt and pepper shakers, I ran and caught up with him.

I don’t remember exactly how our conversation went but the man, Guillermo, quickly admitted to his thievery under the condition that I tell no one. Little did he know I have no one I would tell anything really. Anyways, when I asked him why he likes taking the worthless shakers, he surprised me. He described this rush, his adrenaline pumping, heart racing, and a focus of being in the moment that he has never felt doing anything else. It sounded... exciting.

I wanted to try it. I thought about anything worth taking, and I immediately knew what I had to do. I remembered going to the pawn shop a few days back, and seeing it, the One Ring. I walked with purpose over to the Pawn Shop on Blackbird Boulevard and strolled in with an air of confidence, but with a mind filled with terror. I fiddled with the jewelry on display, and when the time was right, I slipped the beautiful Ring into my pocket. I looked around at the ancient swords and knives on display for a minute, to dissociate myself from the gems, and then I slipped out of the store quietly. I couldn’t believe the rush I got from this petty shoplifting. My hand trembled as I reached into my pocket to pull out the piece of jewelry, to pull out my precious Ring.