There's nothing like a hot cup of tea to ward off the chill of winter (so says the 20-something...). On my way off campus today (last teaching day!), I stopped to get a cup of tea.
After I paid, the time it took for me to put away my wallet gave me the opportunity to overhear an interesting conversation.
The guy behind me stepped up, began talking to the lady like he's a regular.
"So, do you read [the student newspaper]?"
"No, I... sometimes. Why?"
"Well, if you pick up the new one, I'm in it, and I don't want you to be upset or anything."
I don't recall what her response to that was, but he continued, "I was arrested this week. But it was for a crime I didn't commit." The paper does print names and addresses of students arrested for crimes, 75% of them being minor in possession charges.
I was certainly intrigued by this point, but my wallet was in my purse, the lid was on my tea, and I could only be so surreptitious before I, er, stopped being surreptitious. I only caught the beginning of his story. "See, it was really my dad. He's already got a prior conviction, and he'd be in trouble if he got another, so he gave them my student number..."
I'm guessing some sort of possession charge. Still. Either that's a whopper of a tale, or he's quite the dutiful son to take that rap.
1 comment:
Oh yeah, that's a juicy conversation to overhear.
I have a feeling that you could've asked questions - forget about being surreptitious - and the guy would've told you everything and then some. The story might have been worth letting the tea grow cold.
Then again, maybe not. Sometimes with these tales, it's best to not to know too much.
Great stealth work.
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