Railing Against the Machine

Story Submitted by Phil:

Brianna and I had met online, and things looked as though we were moving towards an in-person meeting. She was very smart, but had a habit of never answering some of my questions, such as "How long was your longest relationship?" "What's your favorite food?" or "Did you grow up around here?"

The answers, I guess, didn't matter, but the fact that she pointedly didn't answer them in my messages made me feel the slightest bit uneasy, especially as I thought that they were, for the most part, benign.

She was the one who asked me if I wanted to meet in person. She said, "I have some shopping to do at the mall. You can meet up with me for lunch or come along if you want to meet early." As I liked her a bunch, I opted to join her on her errands and meet up with her on the earlier side of things.

We stopped in a couple of clothing stores and a housewares store. It wasn't bad at all, as I looked for things for myself and she asked my advice on potential purchases.

Once we sat down to lunch at the food court, she said, "I appreciate you coming along with me. My ex hated shopping."

"How long were you two together?" I asked, thinking, as before, that it was a simple question.

She opened her mouth wide and yelled, "None of your damn business!"

The rest of the meal was completed in silence. Once it was over, we walked down an escalator together until she had the idea to mount its rail, balance herself on it, and ride it down. 

A mall security guard yelled at her to hop off of it. She did, then gave him the finger, then ran away when he gave chase. I didn't think she was worth pursuing in any sense of the word, and so that was that.