Every Friday I go to the Starbucks near my office for lunch. I used to think the boy behind the counter was nice. He looks maybe 18, 20 at the most. Last time after getting my stuff, I said to him, "See ya around." I thought it was a normal thing to say since I come in once a week, but he just stared at me, the ends of his lips slightly turned up into a smile, and said, "Okay." I thought that was a strange response but who cares. I went back to work, and the rest of the day was fine.
But then I actually started to see him around. I didn't think anything of it at first. I'd see him at the grocery store walking past the isle I was in or walking out of the bank as I'm walking in. Just silly stuff, like how you run into your neighbors or old friends. Who knows, I might've crossed paths with him many times before and just never noticed till now.
I only started to realize things were weird when I saw him while picking my girlfriend, Emily, up from work. She's an elementary school teacher, so I was parked outside the school as all the kids were leaving and I saw him sitting on a bench maybe waiting to pick up a little brother or sister or something. He was looking my way, so I waved to him. He didn't react. He just kept staring. And smiling?
It wasn't quite a smile. The ends of his mouth were raised just slightly, almost like the beginning of a smile that froze. I kept waiting for his smile to widen, but it only ever stayed half-cocked.
That's when I noticed that he was still in his uniform. Same black hat with the logo, black shirt, and a green apron in the front. And he just stared. And smiled. At first, it was funny. He felt very out of place in his uniform and he just sat so still, it looked silly. But then his friendly face started to look sinister. He didn't change his smile or expression, it was just, the more I looked, the creepier his face became.
My girlfriend got in the car and asked me what I was looking at, so I pointed to the guy on the bench and asked her if she knew why he was there. She kept saying she couldn't see anybody, but I thought that might've been because of all the kids walking out, but she finally said, "Honey, there is nobody sitting on the bench." I turned to look at her and when I turned back, he was gone. She asked if I was okay and I just made up an excuse about a long day at work.
As the week went on it got really bad. I'd be driving down the street and see him on the side of the road. Not even 10 minutes later and he'd be on the side of the road again, a few miles down, waiting for me. He'd be on the bus next to my car, looking at me through the window. In store fronts where the mannequins are as I walk down the street. Everywhere.
At work, I sit right next to the vending machines and people often stop and talk next to them when getting something. I looked up and saw two of my coworkers talking as one of them got a snack and standing in between them was the Starbucks employee. He was still staring at me. My coworkers took no notice of him, but he was standing right in the middle of them. Not even six feet from me.
I understand this sounds funny, seeing an out-of-place Starbucks employee everywhere you go, but the humor starts to get lost pretty quick. I never felt alone. I always felt like I was being watched. Actually, it felt more like I was being observed, almost like some sort of experiment. One time I tried walking up to him, but when I got within arms-reach of him I blinked, and he was gone. Wherever I go he's just there. He's never walking towards me, never says anything, I don't even think he blinks. He is always just there!
Luckily Mondays are date night, so I was excited to go out with Emily and not think about it. But when we got to the restaurant and sat down, a few rows back and off to the side, was the same guy, just sitting alone, at a table. Staring. Emily must've noticed I was freaked out because she turned around and tried to see what I was looking at but didn't notice anything. I tried to point him out, but she saw nothing. She asked me if I was okay, but I just told her I was fine. She must've understood I didn't want to talk about it, and we moved on.
Yet he was always in the corner of my vision as I looked at her. I could feel his eyes on me.
When we left, I rushed us out of there as fast as I could. When Emily asked why I was rushing, I just said I wanted to take her to see a movie and I didn't want to be late, she said it was sweet, but I could tell she didn't entirely believe me. She seemed concerned.
At the theater, we got our tickets and some food, and the entire time I saw him in the lobby. No matter where I walked his body would just turn in my direction. He wouldn't move, but his body would, almost like he was standing on a turntable or something. I could see Emily wanted to ask me if I was okay, but she never did.
Once in our seats and with the lights off, I started to relax. There was no way to see him now and the movie should distract me. And it did. Until about halfway through I saw him in the background. Still in uniform. Still staring at me.
When the angle changed, he was still in the same position on the screen, just closer. And when it cut again, he was closer. Cut, closer. Cut, closer. Eventually, he was in the center of the screen, taking up the whole frame. All he was did was stare. And I don't mean, like, staring at the camera, but me. He was looking down at me like he was 40 feet tall on the screen.
I couldn't even hear the movie anymore. I just heard silence as I stared back up, too scared to move. Everyone in the theater laughed at a joke I couldn't hear. But all I wanted to do was scream. Emily leaned over and asked what was wrong and I told her I felt sick and ran to the bathroom.
I went to the bathroom to try and clear my head. I could see his eyes staring at me through the crack in the stall. I charged out of it ready to swing, but he was gone, just fucking vanished. When I walked out of the bathroom Emily was waiting for me. She said she could tell I wasn't okay we should probably leave. I said okay probably more enthusiastically then I should've, but I couldn't help it, he was in the poster on the wall behind her.
When I dropped her off at her place, she said she was concerned. She said, "I don't know what's going on and I understand you don't want to talk about it, but I'll be here when you're ready. Until then take care of yourself. Do whatever it is you gotta do to fix this and give me a call." As she opened the door to her apartment, I saw him sitting on her couch.
That night I was on my phone before bed going through Instagram and I saw him in the back of the pictures people were posting. And just like at the theater, he was getting closer. I tried to swipe past them as fast as I can, but it really just turned the pictures into a flip-book-like animation of him approaching the screen. I kept scrolling, which kept the animation going. That's when he waved.
I turned my phone off and tried to go to sleep, but I felt like I was just seeing him with my eyes closed as if he was painted on the inside of my eyelids. I didn't get any sleep.
The next morning, I started to notice him in the photos in my apartment. Pictures of me and my girlfriend on our first date, my sister's wedding, my family on vacation in Italy, he was always there with us. My sister even has her arm around him and his around her.
I saw him on the way to work. I saw him at work. I saw him on the way home from work. At one point I slammed on my brakes because I saw him in the rearview mirror in the back seat. When I looked up to drive, he was in front of my car. I just stared at him, but then I decided to take action. I floored the pedal and drove straight for him. My car went through him like he was mist. I sped all the way home.
I am terrified and don't feel safe. He's everywhere, all the time! Home, work, streets, mall, computer, phone, pictures. I feel like I'm losing my goddamn mind. I want to call a priest and get an exorcism. I want to get a witch to lift this fucking curse off me. I just want this to fucking end! This sounds funny, I know, but trust me, this is horrifying. This feels like I'm living out a joke that lost all its humor. I don't want to live like this anymore and I just want to be left alone. I'd stay home, but he's in the photos at my apartment, I'd take them down, but he'd be in my phone. I'd gouge out my eyes, but then he would probably be all I ever see for the rest of my life. He's always there and I'm no longer ever alone.
I hate Starbucks.
