Many years ago, circa '02, a young Merlotte's was fresh out of high school. Worked a lot, had money, spare time.
One night my eyes were strained from watching too much TV in my dark room so I decided to take a drive to Barnes and Noble to browse for reading material.
Now if you have ever been to Barnes and Noble you'll know they provide very comfortable chairs for customers to lounge in while checking out books. These chairs are so comfy that finding one unoccupied after 5PM can be a challenge.
So I browse the usual isles. Fiction, auto, magazines, and even make a pass by the sex ed section albiet I didn't stop there. Got myself an armful of reading material. Like a fool I head over to where to chairs are knowing the odds aren't great of finding a place to sit given the number of people in the store. And what do you know? There's an open chair! I hurry over and plop down.
It was a little messy in this area. Coffee cups strewn about, stacks of books loosely placed on the table, and candy wrappers shoved into the cushions of my seat. Kind of smelled too. Feeling fortunate just to have found a chair I don't mind these minor inconveniences.
It was cold out so I've got to take a few layers off now that I'm settled inside. Off comes the shell, hat, and gloves. Wanting to save my books for home I decide to crack open one of the magazines, I think it was Ring.
I thumb through a few pages and find an article about Marco Antonio Barrera. He was coming off wins over Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales, and Kevin Kelley. On a roll and in the path of one Manny Pacquiao.
Needless to say I'm glued to the page. So I don't notice the person who's apparently been standing merely inches in front of me for some time. He taps me on the knee(my legs were crossed) and I look up to see a disheveled man in his 50's. This guy is wearing snow pants, a wool sweater, and some hard core boots on his feet. The smell I had noted before is now more noticeable, and pungent.
"You took my spot" he murmers with a look of discontent.
I frown, and look around to see if anyone else can confirm before saying "I'm sorry this chair was avaible so I took it".
I look around the room one more time. Nobody makes eye contact, nobody is paying attention.
"Well do you mind moving to a diffent chair?" he asks.
"No, this works for me" I answer with some authority.
This is when everyone picks their heads up and looks at me. The old man in snowpants looks around "didn't you see me here first?" he says to the woman sitting next to me.
"You were gone for quite some time" she replies.
Well, that settles it right? The old man storms off. I'm feeling triumphant and gave the women who came to my defense a smug little nod and continue to read my boxing mag.
"Excuse me, sir" a young woman squeeks from beside my chair. "Did you tell this man he couldn't sit here?"
The pussy ran and told an employee! So that's it, I've had it. I stand up in an attempt to appear larger as I tell both of them off. I look at the girl working there in the eye and tell her the seat was unoccupied and this was a simple case of first come, first serve.
She seems a little agitated that I'm taking control of the situation. Because my focus was on the employee I didn't notice that the old man had now jacked my spot! He's down there smiling at me and has my belongings in his arms.
"Give me that shit!" I tell him while snatching my coat from his weak grip.
"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to leave" a man behind me says. "C'mon, let's go".
This can't be real. I'm really being out maneuvered by a homeless guy. Everyone who matters is on his side.
"Can I at least buy what I came for?" I ask the girl who called for security.
She shakes her head no. The security guard, who's half my size, now places his hand on my back and gently gives me a little encouragement towards the door. I don't resist and proudly exit the building having been owned by a homeless guy.
<mma2>
