I was about 18 at the time. I was taking a break from skateboarding by ordering a pizza for carryout at Little Caesar's pizza , back when it wasn't bankrupt. I was never as good as I aspired to be at skating and it was starting to feel more like a chore than recreation. I was wearing ugly clothes and had hair that was shaved all the way around the back up to my temples and dyed an orange-red color. Despite my appearance I noticed that a man, probably in his late 30's, was smiling at me from the other end of the bench in the pizza place. "Hey. You're Mike , aren't you?"

I was somewhat unnerved by this as I couldn't remember this guy at all. "Yeah, I'm Mike." He started talking very comfortably about how he knew my parents and how he had always lived up the street from me and had seen me skating all the time. I still couldn't place him, but he seemed amicable enough so I sat and talked with him. He knew way too much to be completely full of shit, and was generally friendly.

After about ten minutes my pizza was done and I stood up to go pay. He also rose to his feet, politely, to see me off. I paid for my pizza and turned to him. He was smiling and said, "Well it's been nice talking to you. I'd shake your hand, but ... HAHAHAH!!"

My hand was floating towards the expected handshake until my eyes trained downwards at his hand, stuck out in jest for me to shake. Where his four fingers should have been there were only knuckles with sprigs of black curly hair protruding. My hand involuntarily whipped back.

I don't remember what I said.