so i'm working at my desk, minding my own business this afternoon, when a voice begins to penetrate my concentration. it's a loud voice, irritated, argumentative, coming from the lobby of my building. now that i can hear the voice, it's the only thing i can hear, the only thing i can focus on. it goes on and on and on and on. finally, i can't stand it any longer. i get up and close the door between my program's offices and the lobby. i have to leave the door partially propped open however, because it locks from the other side and people need to be able to enter our offices. i see the man sitting in the lobby, talking on his cell phone. it's been at least ten minutes and he hasn't stopped talking. loudly.
ah, sweet bliss. the sounds of the loud, agitated man are muted and i can concentrate on work again. after awhile, i notice the voice has completely stopped, there is silence in the lobby. i get up, glance through the glass door i had closed, and see the previously occupied chair empty. triumphantly, i knock on a co-worker's door. "someone was not using his inside voice out there!" i say to my co-worker, whose office shares a wall with the lobby. we chat about the loud man and his inconsideration and such for a minute before i go back to work.
a few minutes later i need to use the restroom. i open the door, this time propping it fully open and as i rise to a standing position from setting the doorstop, i see the cell phone talker sitting in the chair in front of me. he's looking at me and i know he heard every word i said to my co-worker. i smile politely, walk across the thousand-mile lobby, use the restroom, and walk back across the endless stretch of tile, all the while knowing he's there, watching me, planning his next cell phone conversation, his next volume level, his next audience, all in retribution.
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