The Moonlight Boys

Strange Encounters

A/N: Alrighty I'm actually writing this, okay. Thanks for reading, wish me luck. I'm going to need it since I get distracted 24/7. By the way, this song has nothing to do with the story right now, I just really like it. I might change it later if I find one to actually go with the chapter 🤷‍♀️.

It was that time of day again. Work. Yuck. I didn't necessarily enjoy my job, but it paid the bills. My roommate can't pay for everything that we have. Hailey had to suffer through her job too!

With a groan, I rolled out of bed and started getting ready. "Aw, Kendra, sometimes I forget that you are a demon in the morning. You look like a cute baby panda when you are asleep, but when you are awake..." Hailey trails off with a low whistle. "You are the devil herself." 

"Thank you. I really needed that at-" I look at my wrist, only to remember that I don't own a watch, so instead I glance at the clock on my dresser. "-7:06 in the morning." I flash her a sarcastic smile. I love her, but sometimes she can really push my buttons.

"Hey, I'm just being honest," she states as she raises her hands in surrender. I rolled my eyes at her as I quickly throw on some work clothes. 

Honestly, I don't really care what I wear to my job, so I don't have to find the perfect outfit.  In my job, I'm practically sitting down the whole time anyway. Besides, what are they going to do if I'm not wearing a fancy suit? Send me home to change? I would gladly go along with that, but then I would probably get "lost" on my way back to work and be unable to return for the rest of the day. What a shame.

After grabbing an apple for breakfast, I grab my bag. I would slap on some makeup before I left, but I slept for a longer period of time than I should have.

I know that makeup is supposed to give me an extra layer of confidence, but who needs confidence when you have a sarcastic defense system? 

Yelling a quick goodbye to Hailey, I rush out the door of the apartment. 

Yay, another pointless day at a job I am just working to pass the time away with. How could I not love it? I like my coworkers well enough, I just want to do a bit more with my life. 

Instead of going to college, I started working right away. I've only had this job for about 3/4 of a year, and I don't want to lose it, no matter how boring it is. My plan is to get a bit of experience here, earn enough savings to not be in constant bankruptcy, and then try to find something that I am more passionate about. 

I know that sometimes I can be a pain because I complain . Oh gosh I'm only 19 and yet I'm already going through a midlife crisis. I didn't realize how bad this situation has gotten. I'm going to need to get a milkshake 

As I am thinking about all of this in my head (because yes, sometimes I narrate my life in my head as though I were a story book character, it's a completely normal thing to do), I accidently bump into someone.

Luckily, neither of us were carrying anything so I didn't need to pick anything up off the ground or feel terrible for accidentally ruining something. Knowing my luck, if I had ruined something, it probably would have been something priceless or irreplaceable, and then I would have been broke trying to fix it.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I get lost in my own head," I say, lifting my head up to look at the person I walked into. You know that feeling that you get when you look into someone's eyes, and you can feel them looking into your soul? And it's as if you have just met them other half to your heart?

Yeah, I didn't feel that. In fact, as soon as I looked away from their eyes, I forgot what color they were. Oh gosh, I don't even know Hailey's eyes color. I should probably ask her when I get home. It's so hard for me to focus on someone's eyes, because I never know where to look. Most people have two eyes, I can only look at one thing at a time! WHICH ONE DO I FOCUS ON?

Oh shoot I forgot that I was still conversing with this human. Wonderful. I tuned back into what he was saying. "-actually my fault, too. The same thing happened to me. I just have a job interview and I've been practicing what to say," the man responds with an apologetic smile.

"I'm Brian," the human, I guess his name is Brian, says, holding out his hand for me to shake. Why do we shake hands as a greeting? Can't we tap each other's foot or something? I don't know where that hand has been. Regardless, I shake it.

"You can call me Vanessa," I respond with a smile. What? I said he can call me that, not that Vanessa was my name. In this day and age, a woman can never be too careful with who she gives her information to.

"Well, Vanessa," he says, "It's a pleasure to meet you." 

"Same here," I graciously respond. I know, I know, my mind does come up with some clever responses. I'm such a people person. 

Oh no. Brian, if that is his real name, looks as if he is about to say something else, but I don't really want to continue our conversation. There's nothing wrong with this guy, I just... how to put this lightly... I don't like talking to one person for too long. Yes, it's rude, but I think it's better to end my conversation with someone rather than accidently say something to offend them, which I inevitably will. 

I have spoken about this subject to most of my friends, and they have all told me that they are okay with it. I think I need to find the right group of people to talk to, who understand that when I insult them it's just a joke, and not to actually make them feel poorly about themselves. Normally, I'm a very opinionated person, and sometimes when others hear me voicing my thoughts, they take it as rude.

"As much as I would love to stay and chat, I don't want you to be late for your meeting," I pointly say. Brian's face lights up as he remembers, and then smiles.

"Thank you! I'll see you around then," he says before walking away. 

Yeah, sure. In a city of about 645,000 people, we will just happen to see each other, even though we know nothing about each other besides our names. He doesn't even know my real name! We are never going to encounter each other again.

Oh no I think I just jinxed my chances (you know, when you say something won't happen and then it ironically happens anyway just because the world wanted to say **** you). I take it back! We are so going to see each other again- in fact, I bet we will even see each other tomorrow! 

Alright, I think I just counter-acted the jinx. I have no problem with the guy, but I don't really want to see him again. I'm not the best at remembering other people's names, so if I did happen to see him again, that would be awkward. 

Before I can start my trek to work again, I feel someone's eyes on me. Turning, I catch sight of a man wearing a fedora (which I am lowkey jealous of. I really want to know where he got that jem). Okay, totally not creeped out. Like I said before, a woman can never be too careful as to who she encounters on the streets, so like any sane, rational person I decide to sprint off to my job as quickly as I can. I would rather be thought of as crazy than dead.

Right before I turn the corner of the street, I look back to see if the man is still looking at me. Yes, yes he is, just like everyone else on the sidewalk. The only difference is that everyone else only glanced at me for a moment and then return to what they had been doing, whereas the man had his attention fixed on me the whole time, his mouth curving into a smile.

Yes, definitely better to be crazy than dead.

A/N: I have 2 pieces of bad news, and one piece of good news. Bad news- I forgot what I was writing this story about. Good news- I wrote it down. Bad news again- I forgot where I wrote it down. It'll be fine. I hope. I'm sure I can figure it out, it may just take a few days to get this story flowing, so be patient. By the way, half of the mc's thoughts are going to be snarky side notes made by me, because sarcasm is my first language. I'm going to be channeling a lot of myself into the character, so feel free to hate on her. Thank you and have a wonderful day!