score.

I took a seat at the bar.

When you're "just one" they assume that's where you want to go.

I maneuvered my body awkwardly into the seat, as the man to my left had his chair tilted intensely toward me. He complimented my food choice as I bumped my elbow into the chair to my right, which was also turned in the same direction as the chair to my left. I wiggled into a comfortable position and attempted to block out everything around, as I sunk my face into the local reading material in front of me.

I perused the movie reviews, sipped my americano, and enjoyed the music-like chatter giving tune to mid-morning meals. It wasn't until the entire cafe erupted in cheers and applause that I realized just why the chairs were turned and just what everyone in the place, with the exception of myself, was paying attention to. Soccer. One of the US players kicked the ball right where it needed to go.

I went into the space feeling seperate and disconnected, which was amplified by my bar stool neighbor's choice of spacial arrangement. Realizing, however, that I was surrounded by such excitement from a crowd supporting a common goal, and one I could support as well, changed things. It was a lack of connectedness that got me out of the door an hour or so before; The US soccer team and a crowd full of rowdy strangers, served alongside an americano and multi grain pancakes, allowed me to exit Open City feeling quite the contrary.