Nothing People

I sat in the corner of the local fast food diner, facing the wall. It was my favorite seat. I couldn't see when people came in, and couldn't tell if people were talking about me, usually. Running my spoon through the leftovers of my baked potato soup I sighed, wondering what further adventures I would see today. It was only 7:30, the night was young. Not that I had any friends, but I was captivated by the night life, and seeing how "normal" people acted in social situations. Call it a hobby, call it stalking, I didn't care. It was at that moment that the only other customer in the diner decided to cause trouble. The waitress had apparently miscalculated his bill, or something along those lines. The middle aged gentleman quickly jumped out of his seat, and began shouting indencencies at the teenaged waitress, things that I prefer not to repeat.

"Sir, please calm down, you're offending the other customers.." The slightly frightened girl quietly replied.
"Other customers? What other customers?" Taking a quick survey of the restaraunt, the burly gentleman glanced at me. "What, that guy? He's here every night, you can't count him, he's not even a real person!"

I don't know what it was about what he said that got to me, or maybe it was the fact that I was already slightly annoyed that day, but something in me snapped. I usually prefer to compliment the waitress on a good job, leave a decent tip, and thank the cook, but in that instant, I just wanted out. I dropped a ten onto the table, grabbed my blazer and hat, and made a bee line for the nearest exit.

It had started raining while I was eating. And lucky me, with no umbrella. Quickening my pace, I tried to hail the nearest taxi, but they all acted as if I wasn't there. I could clearly see two of them were unoccupied, as well. Shaking it off, I walked the last 3 blocks back to my apartment. Stepping across a field of lazily tossed-aside clothes, I found refuge in my old recliner. I couldn't help but reflect on what the guy from the diner had said, while I placed my hands behind my head and kicked my feet onto the coffee table. Closing my eyes, I relived the scenario in my head over and over. It was just stubborn old man, nothing serious, he didn't even know me. So then, why was it bothering me so much? Something compelled me to dive further into it. Hopping out of my seat, I looked for the word "real" in the dictionary. Several bookish definitions were given, but the one that caught my attention was "Have significance, or importance." I read it over, more slowly. Was that guy trying to say that I wasn't important? That I didn't matter? Of course not, he didn't even know my name. Tossing the book aside, I shook my head and tried to laugh it off. But why hadn't the taxi stopped for me? And why did I have such a passion for seeing people being themselves? It was all too much. Maybe seeing some friends would help. Grabbing my cell phone, I browsed trough my contacts for someone to call.
"Mom, Dad, Allen(My brother), the office, the local diner, Dina..wait, who's Dina?" I hastily dialed the number, hoping it to be a long lost friend who's name I didn't recognize."

"..Hello?"
"Hey, Dina! It's Alex, long time no see huh?"
"Oh, hey Mr. Radley. When are you coming in for your next appointment?"
"Appointment?"
"Yeah, you're due for another haircut pretty soon, you did say you wanted one every two weeks or so."
"Oh, uhm, yeah..I'll be in Wednesday." I had completely forgotten about my hair stylist. I felt like such an idiot.
"Okay, 2:00 good?" Dina said, after a moment.
"That's fine, thanks Dina." I replied, more harshly then I meant to.
"Are you okay, Mr.Radley?"
"I..I'm fine. I'll see you Wednesday." I hung up before she got a chance to reply. I hadn't noticed, but my eyes had filled with tears, and a single one had fallen down my cheek. Throwing the phone against the wall, I buried my face into my hands and cried myself to sleep.