Every single morning, someone from campus food services brings over two carafes of hot, fresh coffee to replace the stale, cold coffee from the day before. She also brings an assortment of fresh baked goods, and sodas and chips to replace whatever has sold the day before. This happens at approximately 8:32 every morning; the library opens at 8 a.m. I have this conversation with the same student every Friday:
Him: I'd like coffee and a muffin, please.
Me: Okay, but the coffee isn't fresh yet. It's still last night's coffee.
Him: *stares me down, like his eyes boring into me can make the coffee suddenly fresh*
Me: I'm sorry, but the coffee doesn't come until 8:30 or later.
Him: ..........
Me: Do you want last night's coffee?
Him: *snidely* I guess I'll have to go where the coffee is fresh.
Me: Ok. Sorry.
Now, this wouldn't be so bad if it didn't happen EVERY goddamn Friday, but it does. I've told him the same thing EVERY Friday, and every Friday, he seems to hold it against me, as if I'm telling the food services lady to not come until later, so that he then has to go to the coffee bar in the student center (a nationally recognizable coffee chain that serves the exact same coffee we do), which is literally less than a minute's walk from here. And the worst part? It's not like he actually wants to be in the library, because he doesn't come back on Friday mornings. I see this kid in the library all the time. ALL THE TIME. But not Fridays, because after we have our coffee discussion, he leaves, and doesn't come back all morning. I presume he's stopping in here to pick up coffee before class, but what I don't understand is why he doesn't just stop at the student center on his way to class. Buildings here? All about two minutes walk from each other. The student center is also centrally placed, as student centers usually are.
I'm telling you, if I have this conversation next Friday, I'm going to scream.
Next Friday, when he approaches you, instead of explaining it to him, I would say "Look. We have this conversation every single Friday. It's boring. The coffee will never be fresh before 8:40. Go somewhere else." Then go back to whatever you were doing when he came in and pretend he isn't there. Or just stare at him. Like, no blinking, no responding to anything else he says, just pure, bitch-face stare. Do you have a good bitch-face stare? I feel like you might.
I'm so annoyed for you. Something happened to me around 24 or 25 that made me hate college kids. I don't know what it is. High school kids don't even bother me as much.
Posted by: Rita | March 09, 2007 at 10:55 AM