My Power of Invisibility

Tonight I went out for 1/2 price sushi, which still somehow ends up being expensive. I went alone and took my sketchbook with me. My order was simple enough... an order of octopus, an order of eel, a red dragon roll, a bottle of Sapporo and the complimentary bowl of miso soup. The meal went fine and quickly. The bus boy took away the empty soup bowl and platter that had contained the red dragon roll as I finished up the eel. Once done, I proceeded to start doodling in my sketchbook, waiting for the bill. Occasionally I'd look up to catch the waiter's eye...or the eye of any of the waitstaff. None of them took notice of me. Other tables got service, but I continually got passed by. I figured at the very least they'd want to sell me another beer. And so I sat there, enjoying my invisibility for about 20 or 30 minutes. I'm sure I could have walked out the door many times without anyone noticing. Finally, a waitress asked me if I wanted the complimentary ice cream, which I declined. And she brought me the check.

I first realized my powers of invisibility when I was in 5th grade. Columbus Day was coming up and we were discussing Christopher Columbus. Ms. Johns asked if anyone knew the names of his ships. An easy one for sure...the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. I quickly raised my hand. Again, she asked if anyone knew the names of the ships as she scanned the class of about 23. I was sitting in the middle of the room, arm raised and now waiving it. She STILL doesn't see me. "None of you know the answer? That's a disgrace." I was bewildered. How could she possibly NOT see me?

Over the years, similar things have happened countless times. I can be with a group of people discussing trivia or something, all of them trying to recall a certain fact. I can be standing right there, say the answer out loud multiple times and it's like I'm not even there. It's not a power I can control; I can't turn it on and off, but I can use and have used it to my advantage on several occasions.