Today I had to visit the Secretary of State. I needed to renew my license. This is my story:
I walk into the office. I go in the IN door, not the OUT, because they are right next to each other, separated by nothing, but it is still imparitive that you enter through the IN door. As soon as you walk in, you are facing a red dispenser on a stick, standing in front of you. From this point on you have lost your name. Your name means nothing, it is erased, it belongs to the “state” now. You are now……..number D-23. Once you have your new identity, you look up at the crowd who is staring at you because you are the “new” member of the number group. You desperately look for an empty seat, preferrably one not next to number 17, who has mad cow disease, or number 20, who does not know the proper use of deoderant, or number 8, who has so much snot in her nose that she when she inhales, you feel like she just went to the bathroom in her chair. Ah Ha! an empty seat on the end. I sit, and still I am stared at. Some of the numbers smile at me, because they know they are before me, they are a younger number, they get to have there identity returned to them before me, they are happy. Some look nervous. I look over and see that number 12 has ripped his number in half. He is also sweating. I wonder what he has done. Then I wonder if he is actually number 21, and is trying to steal number 12’s place. I actually don’t care either way. As long as number 32 doesn’t pull that crap, I’ll be calm. The people at the desk call out the numbers like it is the most painful thing for their mouths to say. “Number….. 9″ Of course number nine jumps out of his chair and runs to the desk, for if you do not jump up at the exact moment of being called on, you will lose your chance, they go right on to number 10, who looks at you from across the room, eagerly smiling, knowing that he will pounce in a second if you should miss your cue. I pull out my palm pilot and begin to play Sokoban. I beat one game. I am bored. I look at the big clock-like thing on the wall and it reads 16 in big red numbers. Number 16 must be at the big desk. I wonder which one is number 16. As I am watching, number 20 get’s up. He is old, he is at least 70. He walks right up to the desk, which is, as we all know, completely against the rules if you have not been summoned. Since he is old, it takes him about a minute to get up there. I watch with anticipation with the rest of the numbers, to see what is going to happen. He interrupts the lady in the middle, who politely ask’s him to have a seat until he is called. He says that he has been here for an hour and his number has not been called. I watch the lady, she is mad, you can tell number 20 has ruined her life. She asks with the most annoyed tone of voice “Well what’s you number then!?” He says number 20. She tells him that she is working with number 16 now, and that he will be called shortly. He ask’s why he has to wait so long. She is outraged now, she tells him in her fake polite voice, grinding her teeth as she spits out “Your number will be called SHORTLY!, Please have a seat SIR!” They stare into each other’s eyes for a moment and then number 20 gives up. He has fought for us, he has lost. As he makes his way back to his seat he mumbles “The people here are all rude Dickers.” I wonder what a “Dicker” is, I have never heard that word used before. It might have been a word from the 40s for all I know. Everyone returns to looking at the ground and waiting for their number to be called. After a while number 22 is called. I feel excited, for soon I will have my name back. I did not realize, however, that number 22 was here for a triple-bypass surgery. Twenty minutes went by, and finally, number 23 is called, I jump out of my seat and rush up to the desk to show them that I have not yet left. My “teller” does not look at me, does not smile, she only ask’s: “what are you here for?” I hand her my license renewal and tell her I am here to “renew my license”. She looks away and types something into the computer. “LICENSE!” She demands to me. I reach for my wallet as she begins to tap with her long red nails on the desk like it is taking me 10 years to pull out my license. I hand it to her, and her stubby little hands grab it and begin to type in my information. I pay her $18 and I take a picture in front of the blue screen. “You’re Done.” That is all she says. She does not look at me, she does not smile, she does say anything else. I feel sad for her. She is pathetic, she is a sad human, she hates her job, and she hates people, I feel like punching her in the face and telling her to get another job. I turn around and I walk out. I am not a number, I am Stephanie again. I am out of that place, a wasted 45 minutes of my life, a pointless journey, it’s all over.