Lighthearted Confusion

Here's a lighter story. Recently, my older sister has told me something that her boyfriend told her. Her boyfriend said that their friend should consider dating me. now that they've mentioned it, I can't not think about that friend. I know that friend and I've known them since 2018ish. Of course my first instinct was to say like "what the heck, why" and my sister agreed saying how her friend was so bummed and probably still after their ex. It's not a big deal but once you point something out to me I can't stop thinking about it when I see the person related to it. Now I'm confused and I think my brain is forcing me to find a relationship in order to stop thinking about their friend.

(Side note: this friend, my sister, and I all work in the same place. The friend works in another section of the place, while my sister and I work together.)
A few weeks ago while I was at work with my sister, I was folding boxes and looked up to see if there were any customers, but lo and behold, the friend was in the direction of where I was staring and as I looked up we made eye contact. And being the coward I am I looked away. Skip forward to today, I wasn't working with my sister and saw that the friend was on a similar shift as me. I saw them and was constantly conscious of them. I would always so my best to distract myself from thinking about them. But time came when I needed to buy my lunch. As I was walking to the front desk where we need to get the employee discount paper signed, he walked in front of me about 10 feet away and turned into an aisle. Of course I saw this through my side vision because I don't want to make head on eye contact. I let a sigh of relief pass my lips and as I was reaching for a discount paper, they appeared at the desk. I did not want to see them at all because I couldn't stop thinking of what my sister's boyfriend said. And them, being the nice person they are, got the slip for me and gave it to me. They even went on to try and find the manager for me since I needed to get it signed as well. Then since they were no where in sight, they said to just tell the cashier to get it signed later. I felt awkward so I smiled and nodded, then left for a line. There was only one line and open and I was perfectly fine because the friend was also a bagger, and another worker was working at the bagging area. But of course, nothing goes my way, and the lady in front of me had a whole ass cart of vegetables. Fucking vegetables. I can't make this shit up. I literally had my dumplings in my hand. That's it. I was perfectly fine with waiting if that meant I didn't have to interact with them. But then guess what. 'They fucking saw and called for their dad, who also works their as a cashier to open a new lane. The friend looked at me and said to come over. SIGH. Gosh darnit nothing goes my way. So of course I walked over there and p=gave the dad my food. This is the part where I think I made my avoidance too noticeable. I did not look at them the entire time. I kept looking at the screen then to the dad. Then to the screen, then back to the dad. All while my back was towards the friend who was oh so patiently there at the bagging end. Like I didn't even need a BAG. Anyways I got out my wallet, paid, then turned. I knew I had to somewhat clear my suspicions so I looked at the friend, then smiled and nodded. They smiled back because, hello, common courtesy to acknowledge my sister's friend. I internally sighed and went to go eat. May be 2 hours later, I was back to my section of the store doing the work because my coworker was being a lazy ass today. The fact that I had started my period earlier in the day while needing to buy pads cuz I ran out, then being mentally strained, I was ready to clock out. As I went to go get the pitcher to fill the iced tea, I turned to see if there were customers at our register. (BTW I DO THIS EVERY 5 MINUTES SO NO ITS NOT INTENTIONAL) I look towards the same direction I've always looked and GUESS WHO I MADE DIRECT EYE CONTACT WITH. I remember this friend's face vividly. Their eyebrows were creased upward only a tiny bit. Their eyes were doe-like, and they looked expectant. I was so done for the day and got even more exhausted after making eye contact again. I didn't even try to spare any more seconds with our stares. I was tired, of both work and being unwillingly weary of the friend. I broke my glance and continued my task. I didn't look up for the rest of the shift. And as soon as my shift ended, I did not wait to linger to get the hell out of there. And now here I am typing because apparently in my experience, acknowledging what has happened is way better than trying to not think about it, since it will only stick on your mind if you do.

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anonymous Friends September 18, 2021 at 12:25 am 0 0