{"id":42,"date":"2017-05-04T17:08:21","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T17:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-teaching-autoethnography\/chapter\/the-woman-with-the-purple-mat\/"},"modified":"2017-05-04T17:56:12","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T17:56:12","slug":"the-woman-with-the-purple-mat","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-teaching-autoethnography\/chapter\/the-woman-with-the-purple-mat\/","title":{"raw":"The Woman with the Purple Mat","rendered":"The Woman with the Purple Mat"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n\r\nLight blond hair tightly twisted in a bun on the top of her head, Hadley carefully eased herself onto the gray plastic bench that connected to the side of the car. Sliding her tote bag to rest on her lap, Hadley pushed a rolled up purple yoga mat between her legs. She crossed her ankles, tightening her knees on either side of the foam, and pulled a pair of white earbuds out of a small pocket on the outside of her bag. The fluorescent lights of the subway car irritated her still sleepy brain and she slowly shut her eyes. Until her phone made a ping<\/i> noise. Jolting her head up from resting on the wall, Hadley was quickly mesmerized by the message on her phone. Hadley\u2019s fingers furiously punched the screen of her device then paused. This man hadn\u2019t even waited an hour to text her. A smile crept onto Hadley\u2019s face and she recalled the off balance, barely flexible Mark who had insisted on coming to yoga with her.\r\n\r\nThey had met when he stole her coffee off the counter a few weeks back at a Starbucks and took it as his own, even though Hadley was clearly written across the white paper cup. On edge from her lack of caffeine, Hadley tapped him on his gray suit covered shoulder.\r\n\r\n\u201cExcuse me, sir,\u201d she snapped. \u201cI\u2019m running really late and you took my coffee, see?\u201d She forcefully pointed her finger at her cup, hoping her glare would be enough to get the liquid addiction in her hand. Hadley\u2019s sneakered covered foot tapped with agitation as she awaited his response. Her tote slowly started to slip off her shoulder.\r\n\r\n\u201cOh, you are so right.\u201d He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled. Hadley huffed in frustration. She raised her eyebrows.\r\n\r\n\u201cWow, sorry.\u201d He sensed her irritation. \u201cI already put some extra cream in here. But you can have mine if you want.\u201d He suggested, raising his voice at the end. \u201cJust wait here, I\u2019ll go get it.\u201d Hadley pulled out her phone to check the time. She was going to miss the first part of class.\r\n\r\n\u201cHere you go,\u201d The man handed Hadley an identical cup to his. He grabbed his coffee and started to head towards the door. \u201cLet me know how I can make it up to you,\u201d he yelled over his shoulder. Left by herself, Hadley looked down at her cup where the name Mark was scribbled. But Mark wasn\u2019t the only thing written on the cup.\r\n\r\nHadley waited a few days before texting him, but eventually she told Mark that the only way he could make it up to her was to buy her another coffee and accompany her to the same yoga class that he made her miss. Now, as Hadley stepped off the subway, she hit the send button, replying to Mark. Her loosely fitted purple long sleeved shirt slid off one shoulder and barely protected her skin against the chilled air that blew down onto her as she walked up the stairs to the street. Crossing her arms, Hadley briskly walked towards 30th street then took a sharp left, letting her bun out. Loose curls bounced to her shoulders. Opening a worn down, rusted metal door, Hadley stepped inside and ran up to her one bedroom studio. She had a date to get ready for.\r\n
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Discussion Questions<\/h3>\r\n