Scene from Story

Jenny Melnick

ENGL 4200-002

When he picked me up I thought I was about to be kidnapped. I was standing at the mirror in my bathroom checking my hair for the fiftieth time when I heard my front door open and shut. I stared at myself in the mirror, unsure of what to do. I lived alone, and Charlie didn’t know how to open doors. I leaned over to the window and pushed the blinds apart. I could see a red van outside still running in my apartment’s parking lot, the exhaust fumes visible in the cold. I looked around for something to protect myself with but could only find my round brush. I heard footsteps in the kitchen, and creeped into my room, holding my round brush like a baseball bat. I searched my bed, but I left my stupid phone on the kitchen table. Charlie came into my room and wagged his tail at me. Thankfully my apartment was carpeted, so the tap-tap of his nails on the floor couldn’t be heard. I heard the refrigerator open and close, and I started moving my arms in a sweeping motion towards the kitchen, and barring my teeth, trying to tell Charlie to go attack the intruder. I kept up with it for a few minutes until he lay down, and I realized he was useless. I took a deep breath, ready to run into the hallway, grab my phone from the table, and keep running out the front door. I counted in my head, turning the brush around in my hands, and on three, the intruder appeared in the doorway. I froze.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you all over. Are you ready yet? I’ve been looking forward to this all day, and I’m starving. What on earth are you doing with your hairbrush?” He was tall and round, with a slight country accent. I still had no idea who he was; he was not what I had expected my date to look like.

“Joe?” I asked, still in disbelief. I hadn’t moved from my earlier stance.

“Well who else would it be?” he answered, as if it was obvious. I quickly lowered my brush and stood like a normal person.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?”

“I’m picking you up for our date, what do you think? Hurry up I left the car running outside,” he said, and walked back towards my front door. I stood there a little dumbfounded, wondering if this was a practical joke.