Anna

Have you ever noticed how, when your life starts to develop a routine, you begin to see the same people over and over around you? Other people whose routines intersect with yours? You might get to know some of them, but for so many of us those people remain familiar strangers. Ordinary people just like us.

Take the bus, for instance. That man sitting ahead of me. I've seen him on here before. Seen him huddle in his coat, head down. So often he carries groceries with him.

Or the woman on the other side of the aisle. I can't help but want to call her a "girl" rather than a woman, but she is probably older than she seems to me. So often with her nose in a textbook or set of photocopies, pencil out. Highlighter adorns the pages. I have never seen what they contain.

Then there is the elevator. The same people going to different floors, seen time and again. One of those places where public etiquette says politely ignoring those people around you is the best way to maintain a shield of privacy, pretend that you are not squished together like sardines.

The older lady to my left always smells like perfume, and cheap perfume at that. Her hair is perfectly done, and she is always dressed nicely in a matronly way that is definitely out of fashion. Occasionally she even smiles as I step into the elevator.

The man behind me is a smoker, not that I have ever seen him smoke. His tie is usually crooked, just a bit, and he looks like his clothes should be more unkempt than they are. His suits are always in perfect repair, at least at the beginning of the day, shirts clean and ironed, hair combed. Except last week when I saw him come in a grey suit, brownish shirt and blue tie. Still nice clothes, but not a combination that should ever go together.

And me? Well, I am just as ordinary as the rest of them. I have my own things that set me apart, my private talents and unique story. But as far as they know, none of that matters.

At least it didn't until today. Today I wear a flower tucked into my hair. I chose a red sweater, so unlike the more muted colours I have always worn before. Today I clutch my bag just a little more tightly, and I smile at all of them.

Today is the day when I am done being ordinary.

Today is the day when my story becomes much more interesting.

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Author guidance for This story

This is a story about the stories we tell ourselves about the other people around us. It begins with Anna, who has noted various people around her who are "familiar strangers." She is always curious but never willing to intrude on their privacy to get to know them, so she has thought up stories in her head about them. She assumes that they, too, have wondered about her and made up their own stories about who she is and what is happening in her life. *Each chapter should be from the perspective of a particular person, set out as the chapter title or at the beginning in bold. The chapter should both tell a bit of the "real" story of that person from their own perspective and include their thoughts on the story of a "familiar stranger" in their life. To begin with the stories should branch out around Anna with the people she sees, creating a web. Multiple chapters can tell different stories of the same "familiar stranger." The point is to contrast a person's private life with what could be imagined about them by others they see in public. Characters so far: ~Anna - woman who has just started wearing red and a flower in her hair, seen on the bus and an elevator ~Rodger - man seen on bus with groceries, park, graveyard, coffee shop ~Josee - waitress uniform says Sally, waitress in coffee shop, originally from Montreal, lets Charlie stay longer and does not make him pay for coffee ~Mick - police officer in coffee shop, Newfoundlander ~Charlie - old drunk found in coffee shop, wounded in some ways, educated voice ~Isla - tortoise shell hair band and Scottish red hair, Celtic cross, librarian, called Morag by Charlie, and Red by Tom (her boyfriend?), hard to get to know, green eyes, uses strawberry shampoo ~Constantine - doorman with mustache and from Europe ~Megan - seen on bus, young, loves Bryan, looking for a job ~Beatrice - on elevator, cheap perfume, always well-dressed if out of fashion ~James - seen on elevator, crooked tie, smokes ~Jenny - likes plants and works in an office ~Bryan - new, ambitious, works in an office ~Rory - James' manager ~Janet - works in library (eats lunch in the park, likes crime novels?) ~Tom(Thomas) King - calls Isla (his girlfriend?) Red, RN ~Melissa - mother of Matty, works for Mrs. Bentington ~Mrs. Bentington - grouchy woman, employer of Melissa, demands high heeled shoes ~Adam - portrait artist in the park, Southern accent, student. ~Mr. Brown - Beatrice's boss, red hair, lawyer ~ice cream vendor - in the park, wedding ring, missing pinky ~jogger - in the park, dark skin, shaved head, in good shape and young ~Andrea - on the bus, busy, works in an office ~Stacey - woman Bryan was seeing, trying to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, very fake-seeming ~Katja Elena Novikova - immigrant, accountant who cannot find a good job, model for Adam's art class, refuses to be an au-pair ~doctor - works in the shelter Charlie goes to ~bus-station manager - lets Charlie have a locker ~Alyssa - research assistant for law firm, blond, writing a novel ~Rebecca - waitress in the coffee shop, father is suffering from dementia ~Morag - woman in Charlie's past ~laundromat woman - glares at Charlie ~men following Anna - one recognized by Charlie, they beat Charlie ~Sharon - works in a grocery store, small, carries a tote bag, attacked the men who attacked Charlie -Melanie - nurse working with Tom, in her 40s, numerous grandchildren, blond hair

updated Dec 4 '08 by CheshireGrin