The new semester begins tomorrow. Campus is loud. There are crowds of incoming students walking about. Intimidating gangs of them. I feel them judging me. Intimidating judgements. I pull my touque a little lower. It's warm, I shouldn't even be wearing a touque. But it shields me from the oppressive judgement of the incoming students. They know it's hot though. They know there is no need for a touque. "Odd", I can hear them thinking. "Creepy."

The gangs of first year students are colour coordinated. Some of them have team jackets. "What teams?" you wonder. Me too. Some of the gangs wear name tags. They are lead by fourth year students wearing matching name tags.

I am passing one by one of these gangs of students. Walking briskly with my eyes downcast, I ignore their derisive leers and comments. They start running. A chill runs down my spine. I am angry and scared. I am a professor! They should defer! But these new students. More and more insouciant each year. They talk in class. They call me by my first name. Has it come to casual violence as I walk through campus?

I step up my stride, slipping my hand into my pocket. I wrap it around the my key chain, letting the long thick car key stick out between my middle and index fingers.

They run past. The fourth year students at the front turn back, urging them on. "Hurry up children." they say, gesturing them to come.

I find this 'come' gesture to be belittling. The hand is held up at eye level with the palm facing down, and the four fingers motion together towards the gesturer. Use it on children, fine. It is fine to belittle children - they are little - but it is inappropriate for 18 year-olds; they are mostly full sized.

"Hurry up children." Say the fourth year students. They are not going to attack me. But I am ready now for something.

Pulling out my makeshift brass knuckles and shaking them at the leader, I yell' " 'Hurry up children'? You are all children!"

Realising that this is odd, I cast my eyes back to the ground, pull my touque a little lower, and then turn and walk sheepishly away