Something Strange

SOMETHING STRANGE Ground floor of the Engineering Building, the elevator shaft wrapped in a staircase, the entrance to each on opposite sides She was pretty, I thought, in a blue hair, torn jeans counter-culture sort of way, California sandals and a colorful tee shirt, its clever slogans over bouncing topography, her black-rimmed glasses and overloaded backpack signaling the intent to do some serious work She ignored the stairway, came striding around to the elevator door, took one look at me and without missing a beat, completed the circuit and fairly fled to the stairway like a curious squirrel that discovered something strange and then discerned the implications My loss, I guess I thought she was pretty!