My special touch with teenage boys.

Yes, you read that subject line correctly. That could be interpreted a whole host of ways.

The other day I'm in Michaels with my sherpa, Rachel. She is a knitter extraordinaire and was purchasing her latest batch of supplies for a sweater she is making. We get in line and there is this super cute kid, probably about 19. He has these cool cropped dreadlocks, so I say: "I like your hair."

His response: "I like YOUR hair." Time goes by, we chat. He smiles sheepishly, then says: "I like your scarf. I like the colors."

That was that. Teen heartthrob number one.

This morning on the bus, a fellow passenger starts out of nowhere:

Teen Heartthrob number 2: "Are those Converse All Stars?"
Me: "Yes."
TH#2: "Aren't those, like, really old?"
Me: "Well, I don't know. I've had this particular pair for a year or so."
TH#2: "No, I mean, they're old. Anyway. I like your scarf. I like the colors. I like yellow. And green."

This was the same scarf I was wearing at Michaels. Incidentally, there is no green in the scarf I was wearing. Conversation continues like this for a while. He asks where I work, what I do, where I'm from, how long I've lived in Boston, etc. After answering with the most vague answers I can muster, we arrive at the train station.

I lost him! Awesome. But... no. He has followed me.

TH#2: "Were you here when the train took forever?"
Me: (thinking: when does the MBTA ever NOT take forever?) "Oh, I don't know."

Pause.

TH#2: "What are you? Like twenty? I turn twenty-one in six months."
Me: "Actually, I'm almost twenty-five." (Not entirely true. I also turn in about six months, but this kid doesn't need to know that. I say "kid" because there is no way in H this kid was almost 21. He looked 16.)

Pause.

TH#2: "Do you work on a computer?"
Me: "Yes, I do."
TH#2: "I just got an email address. Do you have an email address?"
Me: "Yes."
TH#2: "Do you want to give it to me so I can write you?"
Me: "I don't think so. I better not."

Train arrives. I say goodbye. He goes back up the stairs, and I realize he wasn't waiting for the train at all. End Scene.