I imagine a few of you have either seen or heard this phrase, and I’m downright positive you are asking “What the hell does that even MEAN??” A bit of backstory…

I have what some might call a ‘sensitive system.’

I’m a very hyper person regardless, downright bouncy, but you give me caffeine on top of that?  I can practically vibrate through walls. I know what caffeine is supposed to do to people with ADHD, but that simply doesn’t happen with me. So much so that it’s been a company-wide policy at not one, but THREE different places of employment that I am not to have coffee.

I wish I was kidding.

I’m not saying that they rip the smoked butterscotch mocha from my hand, but they will quiver in fear and tell me I’m not allowed out of my office…

I may have been sent home once due to excess caffeination (my employer thought it’d be amusing to see what happened if she gave me an energy drink…. she sent me home 30 minutes later with pay as she’s the one who did it…)

So while those I work with have a healthy fear/respect of this, some people just like to watch the world burn.

Mostly my friends.

At my first convention as an author, a very dear friend of mine – the man’s known me for almost two decades at this point – thought it be amusing to do that very thing.

So on Saturday morning of the Con, while everyone is just starting to stir, bleary eyes only just opening, I sat there with my fellow authors, the lot of us trapped at our table.

And there went Will, not pausing to say anything, just zipping by the table and around the corner.

There, before me, was a large caramel frap.

No one noticed – none were awake enough to realize what had just happened or the danger they were suddenly in. It wasn’t until the thing was nearly gone that a tremulous voice was heard from the other end of the table “What… is Elena drinking?” Four pairs of eyes swiveled in my direction.

As if that were not enough, three hours later, as the Con was in starting into its upswing, and my table-mates were praying for relief, ZOOM!!  There went Will in precisely the same manner, and there was another large caramel frap.

There may have been cackling heard distantly across the vendor room that time, but again, too late!

They had been Lainee-bombed, not once, but TWICE!

Will, that dear friend, coined the phrase that day.  It’s the act of trapping people with me due to obligation – like when someone is sharing a table with me at a convention or, say, work in the same office/dept me as me, hell, even roadtrips count! – where they can’t ACTUALLY get away, and supplying me with caffeine.

Ever since then, Will has made it a point of dropping some caffeinated beverage at my table for every convention he’s attended where I’ve been a guess. To be honest, I’m still not sure any of my table-mates actually know who the culprit was…

So tell me, has there been a phrase like this for you? Something that people have dubbed distinctly you and named accordingly? I want stories!!