The Holidays Are Creeping Up On You

I am leaving my job at the local mall at sunset and my male friend is walking me to my car. When he walks ahead to get something from his car, I notice someone standing under the nearby street light. It is a rather scruffy-looking guy and, being a 108-pound female, I don’t want to stay near him very long. I go up to my friend.

Me: “Could you please walk me back to the car? I’m a little scared.”

Friend: “Why?”

I point the guy out. My friend shouts at him to get lost and I get into my car to drive away. The next morning when I come back, I see him STILL THERE UNDER THE SAME STREET LIGHT. He doesn’t look any less threatening in the daylight, either.

Because he is only about forty yards away and staring in my direction, I don’t get out of the car until several more cars have arrived, and even then I take the long way around. My boss is very irritated because Christmas is coming up and we are short-staffed.

Boss: “You’re late. I’ll have to write you up.”

Me: *Explains the story* “Ask [Friend].”

Boss: *Fed up* “I really don’t care right now. Just get to work. Consider this a warning: if you can’t get out of your car and walk an eighty-second walk to the front doors, maybe you should consider employment somewhere else.”

While the creepy guy isn’t there when I leave that night, he is there four days later, staring from across the parking lot. I am not sure if his anger was directed at me this time because there are quite a number of shoppers present, but I don’t dare leave the store on my break.

When that happens, my boss comes up to me and tells me that I need to go and have lunch because I’ll be breaking the rules if I don’t.

Me: “The creepy guy was out there this morning; I’m too scared.”

Boss: *Flippantly* “For goodness’ sake, we have cameras here! It’s a mall! Nothing bad is going to happen. You’re on thin ice right now, [My Name]. Stop making a mountain out of a molehill.”

I had my lunch and came back. When my friend walked me back to my car, the creepy guy was back at the same spot, only a lot closer to my car. When I drove out, he turned his head to look at me as I left. I didn’t see him after that, although I was too paranoid to leave the house that Christmas.