Mad Professors and such
I've just been stood up by the Psychology department.
I went to Washington Singer labs to participate in an experiment. They were offering £6 for an hour. Fair enough, say I, some of them I've done in the past have been quite fun. I show up early for a change. Then at bang on 12:30, when I'm due to start, a guy walks out of the office I'm waiting outside of, locks it, smiles at me and vanishes. Not a good sign.
Why didn't I say something? Well, I blame it on Washington Singer itself. Basically, if the university ever closes down, it's got a great future as a 19th century asylum. No exaggeration. It's genuinely creepy, even the ladies loos is like a lab, with suspicious clear pipes and peeling paint. You walk down the corridor and see glimpses of funny vibrating machinery through doors left ajar, and a trolley with glass bottle full of clear liquid and pipettes. And there's a sign on the stairs that says "When the fire alarm sounds, somebody is trapped in the constant temperature room in 114. Please release the trapped person." What?? At least put an exclamation mark, or make the sign orange, rather than this clinical little printed sign about someone being trapped in a burning building!!
So I'm stood there just a little unnerved as I hear his footsteps walking away. I can't help thinking, "Maybe this is part of the experiment...maybe they're watching me right now to see how I react..." Because with the psychology department, you never know. They lie to you, that's what they do. My experiment was supposed to be about my reaction times. Yeah, right. I dunno what they were gonna do to me, but I know at least it wasn't that, because they can't tell you or you won't react naturally.
Part of me wants to email him and ask to do it another day. Part of me thinks, what's £6 anyway, I can just buy cheaper food for a couple weeks...
Edit: I spelt Professors wrong again.