This particular day started out like any other and I had no inkling what was to come. As was our habit, we arrived a bit early so that we could meet up with the other kids in our gang and hang out for a few minutes and catch up on the gossip before school. We had gotten out of the car and started walking toward the entrance of the wing our lockers were in when I realized I'd left some homework in the car and had to go back after it. My friend went ahead on in to meet the rest of our group.
I got my stuff out of the car and started back. When I looked up there was an old guy standing there staring at me. It kinda creeped me out and as soon a I made eye contact he started talking.
"I know what you did"
No, I couldn't possibly have heard him right, "What?!"
"I know what you did and you're not going to get away with it"
"What are you talking about? I don't even know you, who ARE you?"
"Do you know what fire feels like when it's burning your body? Do ya? It's burns your hair and skin and ..."
Okay THAT was enough for me, I took off around him and bolted for the doors. I didn't even look back. I got inside and my friends are all there standing in a semi-circle and want to know whats gotten into me scurrying in that way. No sooner do I start to tell them, than this creepy old man comes in the door behind me ... he'd followed me into the school! And he was still talking shit.
One of the boys in my class (big guy, on the football team) heard some of what the creep was saying to me and asked if I was okay, and did I know the guy. When I said no, he told the creep to leave, and the guy acted like he was going to ... for a minute. Football player takes off. All of my friends are still in the semi-circle and I'm on the end because I was the last one in.
Creepy Old Guy is still spouting nonsense and just before he heads out the door, he whips around, grabs hold of my arm and tries to drag me out with him. My friends grabbed my other arm and yanked me back, and Creepy Old Guy takes off.
Where the football player had gone off to was the office, to get some help. The Principal and Asst. Principal, not knowing the details of what had happened, found the guy in front of the school and told him he had to leave. Creepy Old Guy agreed, and headed toward his car. As soon as they turned around to go back in however, he started to go back to the entrance I had used. They were still watching him though, and came back out to chase him down. He saw them and ran back to his car, got in and drove off. When he got to the road he stopped and tried to grab one of the girls trying to cross the street, but she got away.
The school called the cops and I had to tell them the whole story. They already had him by the time they talked to me. He'd stopped down by the elementary school and tried to grab yet another girl. Come to find out, he had escaped from a mental institution. He said he was going to Florida and was just looking for a little company. God knows where he got the car.
And that's as close as I ever want to come to being a headline story on the evening news. Why me? Who knows? Just lucky I guess, I'll leave it to you to decide if it's good or bad luck ;) Some think it's bad luck that this kind of thing happens to me. Others say I'm lucky because I didn't get kidnapped. All I'm sure of is that I seem to be a drama magnet.
