For Taylor Kerby, another awkward moment

Tonight I went to a rehearsal of John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls, which was held in downtown Phoenix. I have nowhere to park in downtown Phoenix. So I decided to park somewhere in Tempe and ride the light rail there. Mostly out of habit (and also due to the fact that I couldn't find the Park and Ride), I parked near Michael's apartment. This was my first mistake. You see, a couple of other people in the choir live in the same apartment complex. I knew this; in fact, one of them had previously seen me walking to the complex and inquired if I lived there. It's kind of awkward to explain that, no, I don't live there, but I park there sometimes because my friend lives there.

The trip to the rehearsal passed uneventfully, but on the way back, I was the only other person to get off at that stop. This led to another inquiry about whether I lived at Rancho Las Palmas, to which I again replied no. Of course, my car was parked right across the street from said complex, and I didn't want to have to explain why I was following them home when I didn't live there. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I walked the opposite direction. After a couple of traffic cycles, I figured the coast was clear, and proceeded on my way to the apartment. Everything seemed under control.

Then disaster struck. As I rounded the final corner, I heard the voices of the two other choir members who had gotten off at Dorsey Lane. I couldn't very well walk over to my car in front of them after conspicuously walking the opposite direction at the stop. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I ran back up the street. After waiting a while longer, I again proceeded down the road. They were still there, talking by a car. Apparently they didn't both live there. The street was fairly dark and my car was on the opposite side from theirs, so I snuck over to my car. I didn't want them to see me, so I did what any reasonable person would do: I entered from the passenger side door. This way, my truck was between me and them, so hopefully they wouldn't see me. As a bonus, my dome light is nonfunctional, so I did this all under cover of darkness. Then I buckled my seatbelt, turned the car on, switched on the headlights, shifted into gear, pulled into the apartment complex entrance, backed out the opposite direction, and drove away.

I really hope they didn't notice it was me.