The Mighty Giant

There is an empty pool table in the middle of the Student Life Center. It is screaming "PLAY POOL", but nobody dares; the Price is Right is much too compelling. Drew Carrey draws in the eyes of the room as he lets an avid fan stroke his oversized belly while he shouts out the instructions for the next game. No one is up to playing pool in the morning; it requires excessive amounts of physical activity at such an early hour. What else is there to do at 9:30 a.m. than watch a full episode of the greatest game show in history? Even without Bob Barker, it is still "the show" to keep you sitting on the edge of your seat shouting out random prices. However, one lonely giant steps into the Student Life Center and the room grows dim. He glances at the pool table with pride; a game he cannot lose. One by one, he stares down each of the weak bystanders and chuckles as they cripple with fear. All attempt to avoid eye contact since the giant uses his puppy dog eyes as a weapon. Once you look into them, there is no turning back. Casually, he walks to the center of the room and pretends to take interest in the Barker Beauties as they show off "A BRAND NEW CAR!" This is a simple distraction tactic in which he makes his victims believe they are safe until he swivels on the spot and glares into one of their eyes. A bearded man cannot help but look up. Instantly, the short man attempts to stand up while his knees wobble and wiggle, forcing him to sit back down. "Stand up ppppuny MAN! Play me in a game of pool." spats the giant. Once again the short man in green board shorts stands up, this time with a minuscule amount more of confidence. "O-o-o kayy" the little man stutters, "first let me stretch." The giant gallantly walks off, grabs the triangle and swoops every ball into place. The victim cracks each of his knuckles slowly, hoping to slow down time so that he can gather his breath. "Ready?" asks the giant. "You bet." states the other. Both grab a cue and stand face to face. "I'll break." declares the giant and the bearded man shuffles out of the way. He takes the cue ball and slams it on spot. Gracefully, he lines up and BANG; balls shoot off into many different directions. Two stripes slide into the corner pockets: the giant grins. With a furrowed brow, short man lines up the cue ball and the blue solid with the side pocket. Surprisingly, the ball rolls right in. "Phew," he whispers as he wipes the sweat dripping down his nose. This slight stab to the giant's ego has no affect on him as he effortlessly shoots another stripe in. The stroke of luck the little man comes upon soon runs out as he misses his next shot. The game moves forward as the giant consistently puts in every strip and the short man continually misses. Suddenly, only the 8 ball is left for the giant to sink while the bearded man has three solids left. Doomed. There is no happy ending for this common hero. Without a doubt, the 8 ball banks off the wall and slides into the side pocket; exactly what the giant intended. The giant adds another victory to his belt as he smiles with pleasure. Humbly, the short man looks down and says "good game". The balls are shoved back into the various pockets and the room grows light once again. Although the poor victim was humiliated in the game of pool, he still stalks off with the giant back to class. Break is over. Another morning will bring another game; another victim will lose to the mighty giant.