he glared

stared

seemed to be memorizing me from across the room

it weirded me out

a lot

he had those crazy eyes that didn’t seem to focus but beared down like toxic sludge

i was uncomfortable

then he headed my way

barreling like a locomotive

i braced for the incoming impact

he stood two feet away from me

muttering to himself

crossing uncrossing crossing his arms

my ass clenched and muscles tensed

serious weird vibes

i don’t go looking for fights

not anymore

but i’m ready for one

at any given time

so i watched

side eye

and then he came to me

what was that signal

i looked at him in confusion

what signal

his turn to look confused

or more so

you tapped it out with your hands

i racked my brain

and then it hit me

the drum break from pay to cum by bad brains

he stared

waiting for me to blink sideways

or flick out a lizard tongue

what’s a bad brains

i wonder if normal people get these type of questions

or if the mentally deranged just feel a connection

seminal dc hardcore band from the eighties

one of the few popular black punk bands

he looked ready to blow a gasket

i got ready to take a punch

then he screwed up his face

and really thought about what i was saying

there were black punk bands

he looked like a five year old understanding santa

all types

he nodded

excitedly

we proceeded to chat for a few minutes

he wandered off

another guy came over

hey

my brother didn’t bother you did he

he’s special

i smiled and relaxed

nope

he just learned about punk rock

and maybe that i’m not an alien

or lizard person

a sigh of relief

thanks

most people get weirded out by him

i laughed

kept my initial reaction to myself

he’s fine

might want to download some bad brains for him though

he seemed awfully interested

he looked just as confused and as he opened his mouth to ask what that was i stopped him

i bet he’d love to tell you all about it

don’t take that away from him

he slapped me on the shoulder

i bet you’re right