Is it them or Me? in Adventures From Prison

I’ve come to a discomforting realization. My interests lay parallel to most of the truly weird men on this compound. I definitely don’t count myself among their numbers but it has left me wondering. The vast majority of the books I’ve donated to our library are some of the most sought after and read by people you truly don’t want to sit next to on a subway. I am like their guru, but I think they are all freaks, weirdoes and losers. I wonder often if that is how Stephen King, Dean Knootz and Bentley Little feel about their biggest fans.
I read about ghosts, occultism, aliens and other fringe science things because they are great raw material for my fiction. By sheer chance I may find something that sparks a curiosity or the shadow of a belief. But these guys I’m talking about, they BELIEVE! They carry around little handmade notebooks and call them Grimoires and Books of Shadow. They are trying to learn Astral Projection and Remote Viewing (personally I think it’s so they can spy on high school locker rooms without getting caught, but that’s neither here nor there.) One recently donated a book called A Guide to Practical Psychic Ability – which begs the question, what exactly is Impractical Psychic Ability?
Even several of the fiction books I’ve donated have garnered a cult following among the less desirable icky people. While I read them for the thrill, these guys obsess over the gore and violent sex like it’s a happy thing. I’ve even gone so far as to say, “I think you’re missing the point,” but they don’t seem to care. My friends think it’s hilarious and have started calling all of the weirdoes my BFF’s.
I’m not as amused, especially when I have to tolerate them outside of work. They seek me out like little lost dogs, creeping up with super human stealth so I never see them coming. I’ll turn around and POOF I’m surrounded; I’ll look down at my lunch only to look up seconds later to find that I’m not alone at my table anymore! And of course, feeling bad for them, I smile and nod as they go on and on about something awkward and inappropriate all the while praying no one sees me.
My friend likes to claim that he is the Nerd-father of the compound, but with him leaving next year I truly hope the mantle isn’t shifting to me!