I’M SORRY, DID YOU SAY YOU WERE DEATH?
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009So back in January I was going around putting in job applications and submitting resumes. Trying to make a buck, ya know? Anyways, so I had a morning interview at some place that I never ended up working for and I was in the lobby filling out W-2 tax info and what not when this all went down. In walks a young kid, I’d say 18 at best. He looks like straight up garbage. I’m talking shaggy hair (and not the cool surfer kind of shaggy either), random patches of facial hair (think Keanu Reeves), wearing a dumpy hoody, a pair of skank jeans with a pair of untied vans on. I remember thinking “Way to dress to impress.” I was wearing a tie btw.
Now, the lobby chairs are set up in a horse shoe with the entrance door breaking the horse shoe down the middle. The reception desk sits at the open end of the horse shoe. There’s a girl sitting in the corner near the door, another girl on the other side of the door filling out a job app, and then me on the other side filling out my tax information. The secretary, who seemed somewhat flirty with me earlier (yea, she was hot too) at the desk. (She was flirty enough that I secretly glanced down at her hand to look for a wedding ring, which I did not locate. Later though I realized I was looking at the wrong hand and she did indeed have a ring on her wedding finger. Still she was flirty and that made me feel less dead inside than normal lol).
In walks this guy up to the desk. He asks, what is the name of this place? The receptionist gives him the answer.
He says ok. What’s the phone number here, can I call here at 7am tomorrow? Receptionist says we’re not open until 8 tomorrow, you’ll get an answering machine.
He replies with something like “Well what about Wednesday? What time do you open then?” She says we open at 8 Mon-Fri.
Again, he says “What time on Wednesday?” She again goes Mon-Fri 8am. This time a little more annoyed.
He said ok, then started playing with his phone. Then he looked up and said, “Have I applied here before?” She said give me your name and I’ll run you through the system.
At this time I’m thinking this kid is drunk or high. Making a complete ass out of himself and the receptionist should tell this dude to bounce or get a manager.
When she asked for his name he asked why she needed it. Again she replied with so I can run you through the system to see if you have an application on file.
He then got real paranoid about why do you need my information and what not. PARANOID.
He stared at her blankly for more than a few awkward seconds, which sent me back to my tax info until he blurted out the line that literally made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
After the pause he said “I’m sorry, did you say you were DEATH?”
Everyone in the lobby stopped doing anything, stopped breathing, we all just looked at this kid and looked at one another. Now it’s possible, he was just being a real asshole and said “I’m sorry, did you say you were DEAF?” instead. But we all have those moments when something’s just wrong with something and the situation is getting hairy. It’s the whole flight or fight instinct. At this point, I’m beginning to think we have a mentally ill person standing in the lobby and he’s starting to get agitated. Great.
The receptionist said something at which point he started asking about the phone number again. Finally the receptionist clues in and just says yes to whatever he was babbling about to get him to leave.
The kid finally realizes that someone has entered the room behind him and is waiting in line. He steps aside, again playing with his phone so this next guy can go. I’m watching him at this point, because the wonderful folks at MNPD taught me mentally ill people can be dangerous, I know because we had like 30 classroom hours on it. (And like 20 minutes of handcuffing practice, but thats for another day lol)
So he steps aside, and then starts to move to the door, when he notices the girl sitting closest to me. He says “Excuse me” - at this point, I’m ready to get involved - “Do you have a boyfriend?”
She says no, I have a husband. He turns to the other girl and asks her if she has a boyfriend. To which she stupidly replies NO.
NO?!!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU’VE GOT A LUNATIC ASKING IF YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND AND YOU SAY NO? EVER HEARD OF LYING TO GET HIM TO GTFO. But then she quickly replied with “Why, what’s up dude? What’s goin on? In a kind of stern and commanding voice.
He bolted out the door. We all sighed a sign of relief and made quick conversation about what nut that guy was.
Moral of the story - I didn’t get the job, I didn’t get the receptionist’s number (I think she was married, I’m no homewrecker lol) and I didn’t have to choke someone.
Everyone loves a run in with a nutcase, but it is sad at such a young age that someone could be so disturbed or so heavily influenced by drugs or alcohol to be acting like that. And apparently there was no one watching out for him. At such a young age, it seems like he is already lost.
