Turned Around
Standing there in the hallway, the group was all excited about something. I begged, "Come on guys. Tell me."
Not only weren't they telling me. They weren't even acknowledging that I was asking.
The oldest of our group was saying, "Then when you're done you just zip up and walk out."
They all hooted like crazy. "Come on. What? Tell me. What is it? Show me."
Trey asked Billy, "Every time?"
Billy pontificated for the whole group, "Sometimes you just get a show. But then sometimes she'll yell and call security."
Franky was the cruel one. He gestured toward me, "OK, let's show him." He sniggered as he said it.
"How's that funny?" Asked Snookers.
Franky said, "We'll send him in with good advice." The way he said it I knew the advice would be anything but good.
Trey added his two cents, "It's got to be a game. Give him a sporting chance..."
I looked from face to face, watching to see how this would play out.
"Alright," asked Snookers, "who goes in the other side?"
"That depends, said Franky...on which door he chooses."
The rest of the guys were intrigued. "Tell us more."
"OK, we blindfold him and spin him around. Then let him go to see which door he picks." There was a pregnant pause. "Then nature takes its course..."
Trey produced a bandana from his pocket and used it to cover my eyes. Someone was saying, "When you come to a door, go through it."
Another person added, "Inside the room there's a hole in the wall. Go see what you see?"
"Does that mean I can take off the blindfold?"
They discussed it for a few minutes. "Ok, when you get through the door we'll tell you how to find the hole. But no, you can't."
Twelve hands were laid on me, spinning me around until I was dizzy and almost falling over.
I put my hands out and stumbled forward, looking for the mysterious door. There were two right next to each other, and the guys laughed with delight when I almost chose one, then laughed harder when I thought about the other one.
In the end I chose the door on the right. With crying laughter they gave me advice, "Go to the left. You're gonna find a hole about waist high. Go check it out."
Disoriented, I didn't know where I was. An office? A classroom? A janitor's closet?
Just before the door shut I heard Snookers, "It's security! Let's get out of here."
In the privacy of the room I felt safer. If I ran out I would definitely run into the campus cop. In here I might be hidden.
I turned left and ran my hands along the wall. I could see the baseboard through a gap in the bottom of the bandana that I really should have just taken off now that all the guys had abandoned me.
Finally, I came to the curious hole. It was in fact about waist high. Like four inches wide with smooth edges. Really nothing special. Nothing different than any empty hole awaiting a door knob.
I put my ear up next to it and listened. Nothing. I stuck my hand through and felt around. Air.
The door to my room opened and closed. Then a woman asked me in an accusatory tone, "What are you doing in here?"
"They blindfolded me and had me pick a door." I figured she wouldn't understand, nevertheless that was my explanation.
At that moment there was a teasing voice from the other side. He was kinda crooning, "Heeeey baaaybeee. How's it gooooing sweety girl?" Was that Zeek's voice all disguised to try to trick me?
The girl with me answered him, "I'm good, Honey."
"Oh, I'm glad you're a lady. There's this group of guys hanging around here and I'm gonna expel 'em if I catch them.
Now this was a problem. Well, unless that was Zeek trying to fool me.
"Let me see you." He said.
She brought me into his line of sight, putting my face close to the hole.
He sounded genuinely surprised, "You've got a blindfold on!"
She answered him for me, "Yea, it's the game. It's exciting that way."
"Ok then. Let me see your lips." The strange girl pushed me aside getting in front of the hole herself.
"Oh goood." He announced, "No lipstick. I hate having to wash off lipstick." His words continued to be an enigma.
The mystery lady brought my mouth back to the hole telling only me, "I'm Jane. Play the game. It'll be fun."
Zeek, or the security guard, poked my face. Jane spoke to him, "That's fun. Keep doing that." He poked at me like twenty times, feeling my face with every exploratory jab."
Jane pried my mouth open, "He's gonna poke inside now. Go with it."