As I've proven time and time again, I have great difficulty in disengaging from various unpleasant situations. It doesn't matter if it's with someone that I know well or an acquaintance that I've just made, there will always come a time that I need to get out of a conversation for my own sanity, and simply find myself unable for a myriad of reasons. I think that, what makes this phenomenon even worse, is when you can see the awkwardness coming at you in the form of someone that you dislike, and you know that you're going to have to get away as quickly as possible, but still manage to let yourself get caught in your enemy's sights.
The last time I had had any interaction with Marian, it was...unpleasant, and I really was in no mood to have that repeated on me. Fate, alas, had other plans for me.
I had gotten off of the bus after school, and was talking with a few friends at the bus stop, when Jane, a girl we had gone to school with who then transferred to the other local high school, appeared out of the doors with Marian in tow. They joined our group chat, and I tried my best to ignore Marian, knowing that, as soon as the rest of my friends got on their buses, I would be free to excuse myself from the situation and have the rest of the afternoon to myself. Instead, as my friends disappeared one by one, I found myself left alone with Marian, who didn't appear to remember our last interaction.
Marian had been rambling on and on, and I politely told her that I needed to go, and she, too, said that she needed to be on her way. "I'm headed this way," she said, and, even though I needed to go the same way, I told her I was going in the opposite direction. It was clear to me that she still wanted to talk, but I was not at all interested in walking her to her next destination, so I turned and went on my own way. "Twist my arm, then!" she shouted, and I found myself being accompanied by an irritating girl.
It's one thing to have to suffer through a conversation with someone you dislike, it's another to have to do so while walking in the opposite direction of your destination and pretending that you're headed the right way. How she had enough spare time in her day to escort a stranger to an unknown location I will never know, but she continued on her rant about whatever subject she was so interested in, and I continued to reply in monosyllabic terms in the hope that she would grow so tired of me that she would simply abandon me and go home.
In my head, I was trying to think of a place that I could go in this direction, and while Rachel had an apartment in that side of town, I knew already that she wasn't home, so when Marian and I got to the highway, we crossed, then turned right.
As we walked down the street, I kept looking left and right for any business I could duck into that Marian might not be interested in. It was around this time that we came across the comic book store that, one day, would be my own personal hell, and I figured that she wouldn't be that interested in visiting such a nerdy place, and would abandon me to go off on her own. As I opened my mouth to say "hey, look! Comic books!" Marian jabbed me in the shoulder and said "hey, look! Comic books!" Clearly that wasn't the way to get rid of her, so I said "well, you can go check it out if you like, but I've got to be on my way."
I continued walking, assuming that she would take the hint and just leave me, but she decided to forgo her passion for nerdity in order to keep me company. We walked a few blocks more, turned right, and continued on our way. We were now headed into the downtown area (which, really, the entire town I grew up in was only about 8 blocks squared, so...) and were now heading in the original direction that Marian had been off to. "Hey, we just went in a really big circle," she mentioned. "Oh, well," I started, "it's just the routine I follow." She smiled, "I like nonsensical guys."
Well, that's just great.
We continued on into the business-district (read: only district) and she continued talking about...something. It most certainly didn't matter, but she seemed very focused on blathering on about it ad nauseum. I don't think that I had contributed very much to the conversation, so why she insisted on talking to me is beyond my ability to understand.
"Well, this is my stop," she said, "right here." I nodded, not breaking my stride, "okay, see ya." She didn't stop walking, keeping pace with me as I tried to break away, "will you be around tomorrow?" I nodded, "usually am, see ya!"
She finally broke off as I waved, and I continued on my way.
I managed to avoid Marian the next few times that I had gotten off of the bus, and just excused myself to head off to parts unknown with other friends. It was months later, when Jane had transferred back to our school, that I asked her about how she met Marian. "Oh, don't talk to her, she's crazy," was Jane's answer. "I tried to fix her, but...yeah, it's just best to avoid her."
Can't say I totally disagreed, but I have to admit: Marian was far less abrasive as Jane's friend than she was as Tara's.
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