Watching

Today, Querida, Kailey, and I all went to the Panera where Papa Burgundy now works, to visit him and check out the place. It's absolutely nothing like our Panera, which is a little strange, but it was awesome to see PB and our old GM again. Hearing their voices took me back to last summer, back when I was training and just starting to fit in...

Once we'd finished eating, we decided to watch people. Now, for the normal group of friends, people-watching is just a mildly creepy form of entertainment in which one finds humor in the bizarre habits of other human beings in a public venue. But ever since Kailey learned about my extra "emotional sense," she loves to test it out--preferably in crowded places.

This is how to conversation normally goes:

"Abby--Analyze me."

So I tell her what she's feeling. She looks me dead in the eyes, purposefully trying not to give anything away, to see how accurate I can be. And I analyze her.

When I'm done talking, she lifts her face, shakes her head once, and says, "You are so creepy."

Meaning, of course, that I was totally right.

And then she proceeds to select random people and asks me to analyze them, too.

"That guy in the blue shirt--what's he feeling?"

So I tell her. "Stressed. Something's bothering him, but it's way in the back of his head because he's trying too hard to focus on the sheer amount of stuff he has to finish by the end of today. He's worried, too, because he knows he won't finish. Oh, and he's a little wistful, too..."

The game continues until we've gone through pretty much everyone in the place. Querida had never seen this before, so she got in on the fun.

"Switch places with me, Abby, so you can see the guy I'm looking at, and tell me what he's feeling."

It went on for forever. It's really fun, actually. Once I focus on one single person and tap into their reservoir of feelings, it's too easy to read them, and I give my friends the chills when they realize that I'm exactly right.

Of course, I could be a little off. I have no way of knowing if I'm perfectly accurate, and I'd be willing to bet that there are many flaws in my methods. But then again, when they look at each person, my friends are almost always in agreement with my assessment.

"Oh my god, you're so right about that girl. She totally just flipped out over whatever she's working on. Oh my god, that's so creepy."

Welcome to how I spend my days. :]