Excuse Me
By
Michelle Lindo-Rice
“Excuse me, miss,” a young man,
who appeared to be slightly older than me, called out. He attempted to seek me out
again, but I decided to ignore his desperate, frantic call. I rolled my eyes,
barely glancing his way, feeling supercilious and highly insulted that this man
would even deign to try to hit on me. After all, he was not what I considered
highly attractive. He should have known better to try to talk to me, I told
myself. I was way out of his league. So, I tilted my chin in the air, deciding to
ignore him, sped up and kept walking. It was a beautiful spring day in New York
City and I was feeling pretty. Real
pretty.
I was twenty one years old and had finally
shed those pounds packed on by puberty so I was no longer the chubby-cheeked,
chunky teenager. Instead, my sleek young body welcomed the feel and sway of a
size-two fuchsia shirt tucked neatly into an extra small black skirt. I had
gotten up early to flat iron my new short do. I had cut my hair three days ago
and felt grown up and sophisticated. I always had a young face, so I thought
the style made me look my age.
Just thinking about my hair cut
gave me an extra bounce in my step. I had taken the train from Queens into
Manhattan, where I would walk the eight blocks to the musty little room that I
had spent my last semester of school. I was about to take my last final exam to
complete my bachelor’s degree.
I sipped on the Mistic fruit punch I had purchased as
soon as I came out the station. It had been packed in ice and was refreshingly
cool on what promised to be a hot day. My ego suffered another boost when yet
another young man beckoned to me. He had dread locks and judging by the b-ball
in his hands and the sweat pouring down his body, had followed me from the
nearby basketball court. I merely sucked my teeth. Dread locks gestured
profusely with his hands to get my attention, but I refused to acknowledge his very
existence. I felt relieved when in my peripheral vision, I saw him give up with
a slight wave of exasperation.
However, I was secretly
enthralled by all the interest I was receiving. Grinning from ear to ear, I pulled
out the chocolate lipstick I had purchased the day before and gave my lips a
quick touch up. Spotting my headphones, I pulled them out and hung them
underneath my chin so I wouldn’t ruin my hairdo. I was not listening to
anything, but knew that would keep the predators at bay if they saw I was
otherwise occupied. But, that didn’t stop me from putting an extra sway in my
hips and sashaying until I got to the campus.
Just as I was about to open the
door to enter the building, a lady in a navy blue pin-striped suit tapped on my
shoulder. I almost jumped out of my socks because the headphones had somewhat
muffled my hearing. I tugged the headset from my ears and smiled at her,
thinking she may be a professor or dean at the university.
She reached over, patted my on
the back, and whispered something in my ear before going her way. I stood
frozen. It took a moment for me to fully register the impact of her words. My
heart thundered and the confident grin slipped off my face. My eyes widened and
I instinctively covered my mouth with one of my hands, even while knowing that
would do nothing to diminish my mortification. Her words had hit my core like a
whirlwind and my stomach churned in consternation.
In slow motion, I reached around
to feel my backside. Instead of feeling the smooth feel of spandex, my hands encountered
the unmistakable feel of nylon pantyhose. My skirt was bunched up inside. Quickly,
I pulled it out and felt my skirt hit the back of my knee in freedom.
Perplexed, I wondered how I could not have known, how I had not felt the wind,
so to speak.
I slowly trudged into the
classroom hoping that the fire on my cheeks would cool. As I sat down to take
my final test, all I could think about was that I had paraded my butt cheek for
eight long city blocks for all to see. I thought of the men who had tried to
get my attention! They had been trying to rescue me but I had spurned their
chivalrous attempts. That day, I learned a lesson in humility for because I had
thought I was all that, I had really showed my butt for all New York City to
see. Pun intended.
Copyright (2009) by Michelle Lindo-Rice. Please do not copy or redistribute without expressed permission.
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