Return to the scene in assignment 1 (or 3) and use it as the setting for an incident.
Travelling is too mundane, so I entertain myself by toying with human interactions. That’s why I always carry something special for the TSA to scan. Today, it’s nine juggling balls, three juggling rings, and a pair of poi. The agent made me wait as he took out my juggling balls, one by one. “What’s this?” “A juggling ball.” “And this?” “Another juggling ball.” “This?” “I could juggle these if you want.”
I arrived at my gate a bit early, only to find all of the seats taken. With nowhere to sit and nothing else to do, I took out my juggling balls. I admit that I’m just showing off, but I also love people’s reactions. A stranger approaches me about how she’s been learning to juggle, and our conversation turns to how good balls make learning much easier. A hipster, sitting next to his band-mates and their instruments, raises his iPhone over his shoulder, camera pointed at me. Subtle. A mother and child ten feet away are looking too. The mother pretends to be watching the TV above me, but the kid just stares.
The prankster in me approaches the pair. The mother’s face plays like a slideshow: sheepishness for being caught, anxiety from the approaching stranger, the possibility that he’s a pedophile or psychopath, and finally a forced, civil smile. To the kid, I’m just a juggler. “Hi, what’s your name?” Still smiling. “How old are you?” Now she’s looking worried. “Can you juggle?” She reestablishes her grin. “You should try it sometime. Gets all the girls.” I wink and leave, but not before I sneak a look at the ticket counter marquee, just in time to see the relief on her face.
No comments:
Post a Comment