A very interesting night

---This is kind of long. Just a warning---


Last night was strange. It started out with a movie bash at my apartment that my roommate set up. Only Ryan, Breanna, Daniel, and I were there, with a strange visit from a guy I don't know, where we just had a good time watching Enchanted. As always, a good party isn't only a movie, so we thought of things to do and ultimately went down to the temple to sit and chill. After a half hour or more there, we stopped at a convenience store, grabbed some drinks, and went to a park by the malt shop ("There's a park behind the malt shop!?").

It was getting late (almost 1:00 am), and Ryan was hungry and wanted to go home, so Daniel drove Ryan and me back to Ryan's car at my apartment, then took off again. I assumed he was just going to take Breanna home after they talked a bit, so maybe a half hour at the most. Ryan hopped into his car and was pulling out of the driveway just as I was at my front door. It was locked, and I didn't have my key, and Daniel and his key was long gone by then. I tried to flag Ryan down, but he didn't see me waving my hands around non-frantically. I wasn't too worried because it seemed that Daniel would be back fairly soon.

I remembered my car was unlocked (luckily) and hopped into it to stay warm. I had a blanket and some clothes in the back, so I popped the fold-down seats and grabbed em, then decided to try to sleep until Daniel came back.
A few fallen-asleep-legs (sleeping in a car is tough to do) and two hours came and went, with still no Daniel. I still saw no need to call him -- I was just fine in the car.

2:30 AM: When I looked up to check to see if Daniel was home as I'd been doing every 20 minutes, I saw a guy walking past my apartment. I didn't think much of it, but still watched him cautiously. He seemed to stop a little bit out of my sight behind parked car, right where my unlocked bike was (I hadn't locked it up that day after coming back from my classes. It seemed safe enough with us all being home and all.), and I got a little bit more attentive. He started walking off with my bike, and the next thing I knew, I was out on the gravel in my socks, saying, "Hey, HEY! Please don't take my bike." He stopped and started swearing a bit. He might have said sorry a couple times, but I can't remember exact words for about 10 seconds from the adrenaline rush from stopping my bike from being stolen.

The first thing I remember is him desperately offering me $20 for a ride to Manti. He was really flustered about something apart from being busted. I told him I didn't have my car keys and I was locked out of my apartment. Among "sorry"s and a frantic voice, he told me that he had just rode his friend's bike 20 miles from Mt. Pleasant in a desperate attempt to get to Manti to see his girlfriend. The same friend had told her some things about this guy and he needed to fix things with her. I called Daniel and he came back to unlock the door for me.

I offered the guy a ride to Manti, because his story and reason for needing my bike seemed legit. As the guy was waiting outside my car while I ran in to grab my keys, I talked with Breanna and Daniel and asked them to keep and eye on him. On my way out I almost said "This guys tried to steal my bike--" but stopped because I didn't want to say it so loud in front of him... "He needs a ride to Manti, so I'll be back soon," was my final comment, instead. I unlocked the doors and he worriedly asked if we were going to call the cops. I told him I wasn't, and I was pretty sure Daniel wouldn't, either. It was easy to see he was scared at that.

On the way, we talked a bit about school and whatnot. He's going to college to become a nurse, he said, but he was really behind on the work with all the drama in his relationship. All the while he was saying what a terrible day it had been, how terrible he felt for trying to steal the bike, and how glad he was that I was giving him a ride. He still offered me money for it, but I turned him down. I just wanted to help. "It's seriously scary riding a bike in the dark down this highway, man. You can't see anything." He really didn't seem like a bad guy; he was just in a stressful situation, and wasn't making the best decisions.

I dropped him off in Miller's Drive-in place thingy in Manti, where he thanked me one last time and took off not too far to his girlfriend's house. That's the last I saw of him.


Now, I know most of you reading this might be thinking, "He was lying! He could have killed you!". You may be right, but I'm fine. Twice he said that he wasn't going to do anything to me and just needed to get to Manti. He said it in a way that said he knew I might think that he would try something. I'll be honest, though, I was prepared to fight in the beginning if he tried to take something from me.
But really, I learned not to judge people soley by their actions from this. The fact of the matter is this: He seemed at a loss and needed help, so I stepped in to help him.

Do you ever wonder if things happen for a reason? This night could have been very different if things hadn't turned out like it had.
-One, my bike could have been locked up, and he would have just kept walking.
-Two, I could have had my house key and kept the bike unlocked, only to wake up to a missing bike, causing more problems than were needed.
-Three, I might have slept through it all in my car had I not looked up just as he was walking by.

All-in-all, I helped someone in need, so I'm satisfied.