Simon says ‘run’
“When I was about 7 years old I went on a walk with my babysitter. We were walking back a mile or so to my house on a fairly busy road and about half way there she says we should play Simon Says. At first we walk faster, then skip, and then jog lightly. Then she says “Simon says run as fast as you can. Simon says turn here.” I was slightly confused, but played along. As we turned down the driveway I looked back and saw two guys chasing after us, one with a bat and the other with a knife.
We ran up to a house and some old people living there let us in thankfully. At the time I didn’t grasp how fucked up it was that we were getting chased and I still have no clue why they were.”
The lights
“I have noticed that almost anytime I am walking alone at night through my town, street lights turn off as I pass them. Not all of them, but enough to make me think something wants me to be in the dark.”
They didn’t know I understood Spanish
“About a year ago in my final semester in college I worked at a department store in the mall. I didn’t have a car yet so I asked for day shifts because it was a 2 hour bus ride back home. So basically if I had a closing shift, I’d get done at 11 but not get home until 1 am. But sometimes I’d be given closing shifts much to my annoyance since I had a 6 45 am class & my mothers worry because who wants their kid on public transport that late? (Sometimes she could come & get me but it’d be too much of a hassle to get my younger sisters out that late & such so I never asked her).
My managers being the jerks that they were gave me a week of closing shifts, knowing my situation. I was pissed but whatever. One night I had just finished my shift, got on the bus (I sat in the back) & was minding my business when my iPod died. I was annoyed but I just kept my earbuds in & occupied myself by playing a crossword on my phone.
About 2 seats behind me I hear these guys speaking Spanish. Now, my stepmother is Puerto Rican so while I understand a fair bit of Spanish, I don’t speak it. So i hear them talking but I don’t pay attention because it’s rude to eavesdrop & all until they say “that black girl up there” then my ears perk up. I keep my earbuds in so that they think I can’t hear them & I continue listening. What they’re saying is horrific. To paraphrase, they knew my stop (second to last one before the bus gets back to the terminal & while my stop is at the front of my neighborhood, it’s got no street lights & at this time of night, empty.) & to put it simply were planning on “snatching that piece of ass up”
I was about 20 mins away from home so I knew I had to act quickly. Since I knew they could see me (they were 2 seats behind me but like across if that makes sense) i pretended to play on my phone, oblivious while I was actually texting my mom.
“Mom, can you please meet me at the bus stop” 5 minutes go by, no answer. We’re getting closer to my stop so I decide to call her cell. No answer. I call the house phone & she finally answers. Its about 1230 am so she was asleep. I try to talk as cheerily & calmly as I can. This was our convo. “Hey mom, did you get my text?” “Uh no…what’s up?” “Oh I sent you a picture of these jeans I’m gonna order online when I get home. I REALLY need your opinion so I REALLY need you to look since the sale ends at 1 am.” She gets the hint that I need her to look at her cell so I say goodbye & hope for the best. We get to my stop & I see my mom’s car. I snatch my shit up & hightail it off the bus. Id on’t even look behind me to see if they’re following me. I jump in the car & tell my mom to just GO.
I look in the rearview & I see the guys staring at the car.
The next morning I called my job & told them I quit. No more public transport for me. Thanks to my stepmom for teaching me Spanish. Thanks to mom for getting the hint. Weird Spanish speaking guys, let’s not meet again.”
