Registered Offender
After school in NYC, I would wait at a Barnes & Noble for my brother so we could go home together. I was about 13 at the time, and I would sit around reading random books.
One day, to catch up on Harry Potter, I found a cozy corner behind the escalators where no one could really see me. As I was reading, I had this gut feeling to look up.
I did, and about six aisles down, I saw a man. I didn’t really think anything of it, but I thought that I felt someone’s eyes on me. Two minutes later, I got the same feeling.
I looked up again, and the same man was now just one aisle away, looking at books. I honestly didn’t really think much of the man, and I thought he seemed quite normal.
I wasn’t scared (yet), but my heart began beating so fast. Something told me to be hyper-aware. I started to pretend-read my book while remaining focused on this man’s movement.
Indeed, he continued to come closer while looking at random books. I was sitting on a little empty counter, and he got as close as my feet…that was when every fiber in my being started to scream RUN.
As I jumped off the shelf, the man attempted to grab me. I pushed him and RAN. I ran to find other people to surround myself with just in case this man started to chase me.
The story doesn’t end here, though. As I was frantically looking for the safest place to stand, this other HUGE man grabbed me by the arm. At this point, I was surrounded by many people and employees, but I was horrified.
He looked down at me and asked, “Did that man touch you? I’m an undercover cop.” Because my gut feeling had unconsciously activated my fight or flight response, I was in complete shock when my little brain began processing what I thought had happened, happened.
I immediately started to cry. The HUGE guy was indeed a cop, and my gut feeling had been right. The aisle guy was a registered offender.