One smile at the stranger...and the story you hear next

One evening I was lazing around after a very tiring day. I found two messages in my phone, from the librarian who was asking me if I could return the books I’d kept with me for 3 weeks. I typed a message to him “How long are you open, I’m lazy, can you come and collect the books?”… I backspaced everything and started to type “Hey, I was just gonna return them. What a coincidence?” I backspaced all that I typed and started to type a fresh one. I wasted a bunch of time doing that. Although in the end I didn’t text him anything. I thought it was a good idea to return the books I been reading since three weeks and stop being the worlds worst procrastinator. I also imagined how the librarian would give me those looks when I go there. He usually never smiles. Maybe he never smiled ever in his whole life? Or maybe he's a gay? :| When I say “Hi, any new books?” he looks at me says “Hi” with a straight face. Oh okay serious boy, continue that. I’ll show my straight face too. I reached the library and looked at him with a straight face, placed the books on the desk and he asked me the code. My library card has this damn code I’ll have to tell him each time I return the books, he took the books and I paid him off the (whatever) amount I had to. He thanked me and I took a tour inside the library to check out for something very interesting. He then called out my name, and apologized for texting me about returning the books. I said, Oh no it’s fine. My fault I kept them for too long. He said “That wasn’t long”, but I had customers who were waiting for the books and I had no extra books, I’ll give them to you next week if you want them. I was just nodding my head in disbelief that I saw him smile at me while talking. Finally he smiled, I thought smilingly. And I walked out with a book called BPO sutra (Dont judge me, its a nice book), bidding bye to him.

The librarian was looking at me while I walked out, that’s what I felt. Oh boy! Don’t give that stare I mumbled. I walked as fast as I could and when I reached my bike I placed the books on the seat and started to dig in my pockets for the keys, and I smiled at a stranger who was walking right next to my bike. He was pretty old, looked like a granddad of 15 grandchildren or more. His grey thick moustache, his cargo shorts, his cap, his Reebok Tee gave me a picture of a retired army officer. He was holding a bag of veggies. He stopped when I shot the smile. I stopped digging for the keys too. I sort of had all weird thoughts before he began talking to me. He looked at me like as if I was one of his grandkids, and said:

Stranger- Hey! Let me ask you a question!

Me – okay? *blank*

Stranger – which side do you think is the handle fixed on a coffee cup?

Me – Err, *making actions with my hand like as if I held the cup with my hand and said* RIGHT.

Stranger - *looks at me weirdly*

Me- Oh no it’s on the *tries to make actions again, this time with the left hand and said* LEFT.

Stranger- *raises one eyebrow*

Me – Oh wait no, it depends on how you hold it though? Obviously. *straight face*

Stranger – Okay? You tell me with which hand do you hold the cup usually?

Me – Right (sometimes with both the hands)

Stranger – I hold it with left, but that doesn’t give a proper answer. *shrugs*

Me- Okay I give up, what’s the answer? *curiosity was eating me up, while I already started biting nails*

Stranger- well, the handle is obviously fixed OUTSIDE the cup.

Me- Ha Ha Ha :|

Stranger- what ha ha? Ask me why?

Me- Why?

Stranger- because when the coffee is inside the cup, how can the handle be inside the cup too? *Laughs loudly, bids a bye and walks off*

Me- :| :| :| *laughs, cries, laughs, cries, straight face* Not funny sir.

I looked around before I started my bike to see if anyone around heard that oh-so-very-funny-joke too? The librarian was standing at the counter laughed and signaled that the stranger was a retard! But wait, I saw my librarian smile and laugh for the first time! Feels nice when someone really wears a smile I thought. And I rode back home.

I spotted the stranger again, the very next day, talking to a very HOT girl about something. What a retard funny man! Don’t know what story he told her too. But he seems like a good entertainer!