Why do these things always happen to me?

(My first few posts will be repeats from my other blog, Subway Outfit of the Day, so I apologize in advance if you've read it before. This is a classic Sarah story, however.)

A little experience I had when I was 15 years old).

There used to be a fantastic revival movie house in NY called The Regency. I spent years there watching double features of Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Laurence Olivier, etc., etc. Well, one day during a month-long Warner Bros. festival, I decided to cut out of school early (it was around the corner) to see James Dean in East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, both of which I had never seen.

12 pm showing and the theater is empty with maybe a total of 7 people on the floor and in the balcony. I am sitting in my favorite seat on the aisle in the seventh row. I swing my legs over the seat in front of me and settle down with my snuck-in snacks. In the middle of the first movie (East of Eden), a little old man in a rain coat shuffles down the aisle and stops at my row. I sigh, unhook my legs from the seat in front of me, pissed because with the whole theater at his disposal, he has to sit in my row. I sit up straight to let him in and he SITS DOWN ON MY LAP! Worse than that, he doesn't get up. Finally, I tap him on the shoulder and tell him, "Excuse me sir but there is someone sitting in this seat." He turns around, looks at me in horror, gets up and shuffles out of the auditorium like the hounds of hell are on his tail. I resume my comfortable movie-watching position. About ten minutes after that, a big fat guy comes and sits down in the seat next to me and starts tickling my thigh. GROSS! I got up and moved to the not-quite-as-perfect seat in the row ahead. I ended up seeing East of Eden twice and became complete obsessed with James Dean after that.

Anyway, I guess that was the punishment I got for cutting out of school early.