It was an early Sunday morning at the Prudential Mall in Boston. So early that the only people around were janitors and store employees preparing to open.
I had just came out of an elevator and started to make my way to work. As I made my way down the empty corridor to work, I glanced over about 10 feet Northwest of me and saw a stocky Hispanic guy walking towards the elevator I had just exited from. This guy was about 5’10, tattoos all over like Dennis Rodman, had on a black Lacoste v-neck, a pair of retro Jordans and looked like he ate spinach every day. He was also on his phone at the time.
As I walked past him, I looked over his way and I couldn’t believe who I had just seen! I had to do a double take to make sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. It was Aaron Hernandez!
As Aaron stepped towards the elevator and pushed the down button, I quickly ran back and said, “Yo! Let me snap a photo with you real quick.”
While still on the phone, he gave me the go-ahead head nod and I snapped a selfie with him and I. When we finished, I ‘dapped’ him up and told him, “Keep catching those Touchdowns, my G.”
For the first time ever, I ran to work without worrying about being late. I barged into work like the Kool-Aid man and showed all my co-workers my star-studded photo. I called all my friends, spread the word to customers, and posted the photo on all of my social media platforms. I was extremely excited, so excited I thought I heard Maury telling me “you’re not the father.”
The next day, in class, my phone started going off like crazy. All types of numbers were texting and calling me. I thought my picture had gone viral or something. But sadly, no. Everyone was asking me if I was ok and if I was in custody. Between the lecture and the text messages, I’ve never been so dumbfounded in my life. I thought I was being framed for something.
Then, I received the text message that probably changed my life and my pick up lines forever. The title of the article that was sent to me read out “Aaron Hernandez in custody” with a picture of him being handcuffed in a white short sleeve shirt with his head locking down. It had just dawned on me that I had encountered a convicted murderer less than 24 hours ago.
Aaron Hernandez.