Challenging expectations
The prompt for this was to portray a character in a complex way, going against the usual expectations for such a character.
May looked at the guy again. She didn’t know his name, but she had seen enough of him to not be able to call him a stranger. They went to the same gym, where he was usually seen with a lot of heavy weights around him. He could probably put her on his shoulder and start running without even breaking a sweat. Which was quite unnerving, considering they were the only people on this subway station. May knew she was probably being unfair to the guy. She didn’t know him. He was even reading a book. He was probably harmless. But 23 years of living as a female had conditioned her to a fight or flight response in scenarios like this. She startled when a loud chirping sound echoed in the station, and she saw the guy taking the phone from his pocket while mouthing a “sorry” in her direction.
“Hello? Yeah, I’m on my way. I got delayed at work, but I’ve got the book and I’m already two chapters ahead. I’ll be on time, I promise. See you soon, man.” He hung up the phone and turned to her.
“Sorry, that was my friend James. His girlfriend broke up with him last month, so I decided to sign us both up for this book club thing in a bookshop he usually goes to. He’d been talking about it for ages, but Lena never wanted to go with him. I thought it would be a nice way of cheering him up and showing him he’s better off without her. It’s not usually my thing – I’m a Maths teacher, you see – but I thought it’d be a nice thing to do.” He paused and looked startled himself. “I’m so sorry, I completely overshared. This doesn’t matter to you at all”, he added with a nervous sort of giggle. “Oh,” May said, “don’t apologize. I think its nice of you to try and help your friend.”
He gave her a closed-lip sort of smile and focused on his book once again. They shared a few more minutes of awkward silence until the subway arrived and each of them entered through different doors.
