The words fell on the page, guarded and shy.

It was only a class assignment, and a throw-away class assignment at that. It was the sort of assignment given offhandedly as the bookend to a lesson gone off the rails. Professor Burns did this more than you’d expect from an ivy league professor, but then again, his hair which he kept in a ponytail, was longer than you’d expect too. He was an odd sort, with an unorthodox style and an uneven temper. But he was brilliant, so he was allowed to his job. He knew how to write. That much was obvious to all his students.

“Note ten people you see in the park, describe them, but most importantly, give me a character motivation! What is it that has brought them here in front of you?” he had said, crumpling a few ungraded assignments and stuffing them into his leather bag.  He had been in quite the hurry to escape the small classroom, leading Capo to believe he might have had a date. Or Grateful Dead tickets.

“I expect it Monday!” he had said, already out the door before calling back, “Class dismissed!”

So, it was Saturday and Capo sat on a bench in Central Park, observing, and noting what he saw of the passersby.

The first pair to catch his eye was a mother with a baby in a stroller. The stroller was a grand contraption, bulky with wheels like saucers and a canopy like a graduation tent. The mother, however, was quite the opposite, dressed in black joggers and pink, non-brand running shoes. Her baby was just as plain, in a charming way. He wore an all blue outfit, like a blueberry that had escaped a pie, and his face was not smiling, although he seemed inherently content.

They rolled by Capo without a glance, and he watched them until they were out of view.

“Recent divorce and a desire for good health.”

He scribbled the motivation down under the description, along with a quick sketch of the stroller. It seemed a motivation dead on arrival, and Capo hated himself for it. How could he be so uncreative?

A young man in a suit, eating a bagel wrapped in aluminum foil hurried by. Capo wrote down, “Eager to impress at a new firm.”

Still not good enough, but Capo pressed on.

A nurse laughed with another nurse, both in teal scrubs. One was smoking and one had Starbucks. They both looked in need of a nap.

“Nurse One needs this job, Nurse Two needs this friend.”

Unoriginal, Capo thought in disgust, but he kept writing. He kept watching.

Four boys rode by on bikes, one with a card jammed in the spokes so he sounded like a motorcycle. None of them sat on the seats, rendering them pointless. They all were smiling as the wove in and out of walkers.

“Wishing to fit in but hoping to stand-out.”

Capo the observer shook his head but laid the words on the page.

His last subject would need to be special. He waited as people passed him on his bench. Hours went by.

Finally, he spotted someone of interest.

It was a girl, familiar in a dreamish way. She entered the park with no pretense, aware of others too.

She slowly crossed the cobblestone path in her sundress and sat down on a bench across from him. She flattened her dress on her lap, and then reached into her bag, pulling out a notebook and a pen. Without a word, she looked up and began to watch.

Capo smiled.

“Dumb class assignment.”

He scratched out her motivation, picked up his stuff, and left the park to its newest observer.