"there's a line" guy

first impressions are concrete. you can't take them back. whatever you decide to say or do in your first encounter with any other human being can never be unsaid or undone.

that's what happened with "there's a line" guy, a dude i should not even know. a man who should have passed through my life like the thousands of other anonymous run-ins and brush-bys i will have throughout my life.

on the day it all began, i was early for my bus to work, early enough that i could enjoy one of my guilty pleasures in life, breakfast at mcdonald's. their menu is fully stacked for breakfast. a menu that's so great, they can't offer you anything that's on it past 10:30am. on this day i was gonna go all in and eat big. i was gonna go for the deluxe breakfast with hotcakes and a large orange juice.

i walked into the mcdonald's with a purpose. pleasant thoughts of me devouring a tasty breakfast occupied my mind. i was a dude on a mission, ready to chow down and enjoy! as i walk in, i notice there's two cashiers and a slight crowd waiting in line. i hop on what looks like the line to the cashier closest to me. i stood there silently waiting, gathering the details of my order in my head so i would be ready to order quickly and efficiently.

suddenly, coming from behind me, a guy yells in my direction, "hey hey! there's a line!"

i turned around and realized that i had mistakenly cut in front of half the crowd. in a moment of extreme social awkwardness, i was speechless. i stood in my spot to assess the situation, quickly said, "oh," and moved to the proper back of the line.

i could have said something, anything to try and make the situation a little smoother. i could have offered an apology, but i didn't. it just didn't cross my mind in that exact moment. i went totally blank.

(before moving on, i would like to state for the record that i have no qualms with "there's a line" guy. he was right to call me out for cutting in line.

what bothered me was that i didn't say anything in response to him at the time, which made me think that possibly he thought i was just some stooge trying to get one over on everyone in the crowd. that definitely wasn't the case. i'm no cutter. i believe in order, especially when it comes to breakfast.)

so there i was now on the back of the line, feeling a little dumb about the whole situation. i had stalled and waited too long. an explanation at this point in time would sound stupid. i was going to have to let this one go and try to refocus on my deluxe breakfast with hotcakes that i was about to consume.

and that wasn't hard to do. i chowed down my awesome breakfast inside the mcdonald's. i enjoyed the meal thoroughly, all parts of it; the hotcakes, the sausage pattie, the hash browns, the eggs, the large OJ, and my favorite part, the biscuit. feeling refreshed and ready to take on my day, i left and walked towards the bus stop.

when i got to the stop, i noticed "there's a line" guy amongst the waiting commuters. i immediately felt embarrassed and avoided eye contact. i buried my face in a book and leaned on a wall by the bus stop. i figured this moment would pass as soon as we get on our respective buses.

after a few minutes of waiting, my 192 shows up. i pack up my book and head for the bus. about 3 spots in front of me on line is "there's a line" guy. unbelievable!! i have to ride the same bus with this guy too!! i got on the bus and headed hurriedly for the farthest back seat, only to find he took the seat right in front of it. it was too late. i couldn't move back to the front. that would make me look like a fool! so i grabbed the seat right behind him, sat down and buried myself back into my book, waiting for this all to end.

it did eventually. i got to work and the rest of the day went on like it usually does.

then the next day when i went to the bus stop to wait for my bus, i noticed "there's a line" guy amongst the crowd again! i couldn't believe it! i stuck with the same plan as the day before, avoid any direct interaction with him.

this continued for days. i finally accepted the idea that this guy has probably been riding the same bus as me for months. i just never noticed him because we never had any sort of interaction before. he had gone from being invisible and non existent in my world to playing the role of "there's a line" guy.

one little stupid moment. one little stupid first impression. "there's a line" guy is now a part of my daily routine. i never say anything to him. we have nothing to talk about. as far as i know, i'm as invisible to him as he was to me the day before i gave him a name.

......then again, maybe to him i'm "cutting in line" guy.