25I could hear the swish of long, gently curled, tumbling black hair as I shuffled nervously towards her. Snippets of her divine, silky smooth voiced conversation drifted along the stale air of the corridor. I glanced up and saw her, I took courage in the fact that the rest of the corridor was deserted, except for her and four of her closest friends. I gathered my courage and stammered out her name,
" .J. " She turned around slowly and fixed her vivid green eyes on me, before saying in that gorgeous voice of hers,
"Yes?" I was paralysed, and I could see my only chance slipping away, so I tried my hardest to get the words out,
"D'yawannagooutwime?" This time her voice had a touch of exasperation to it.
"Pardon?" I tried again, more slowly this time,
"Do you want to gooutwime?" The end of my invitation was once again garbled. She turned back to her friends and they whispered for what seemed like an eternity before, suddenly, after an unexpected peal of her glorious laughter, she turned back to me and said, voice like an angel, "Sure, I'll meet you at the bus stop tonight at eight-thirty, sharp. Be there, oh, by the way, who are you?" I was so shocked I could barely get my name out,
"uh...Scott.."
The rest of the day passed in a dazed blur, all I knew was that she had said yes! As I sat on the bus I contemplated my wardrobe, dismissing each item as it flashed before my eyes, there had to be something worth wearing. I knew I would find the perfect outfit hiding just out of sight, but when I ransacked my wardrobe for it half an hour later I was, once again disappointed. After much deliberation I was ready with fifteen minutes to spare. I had eventually decided to go for my best dark blue checked shirt (that decision alone had taken me twenty-five minutes, and another ten to iron it.) I was also wearing my newest pair of light, pressed khaki slacks (this time I had only taken quarter of an hour). My hair was parted to perfection, you could use a ruler on the parting it was so straight, and I had scrubbed my face and brushed my teeth three times, just in case.
I stood at the bus stop and looked at my watch for the nth time that minute, it read 8:29. Only the second hand had moved, and that only by about five places. I heard an engine rumbling noisily past me and I glanced up at the number of the bus, 83. This was it! I reached instinctively for one of the three pens I kept in my top pocket at all times, and fiddled anxiously with it.
She was descending the steps of the bus, her hair was curling past her shoulders and the jeans she wore hugged her hips like they were in love with the figure they were worn on. She was wearing a scarlet blouse that looked like it had been made for her.
As I stood, stunned by the vision of loveliness standing right in front of me, I heard her voice cutting through the mists in front of my eyes, "Hey, Scott, are you afraid of heights?" Wow! What could we be doing? I cleared my throat, "No. why?" "Yeah, well. your fly is!" she burst into peals of delighted laughter, as my ears got redder and I felt my face begin to burn. I fumbled for my fly, but it was still firmly in place, it had all been a joke. I wanted to join in and laugh with her, but I was humiliated. "Hey, lover-boy, d'ya wanna go buy me a coffee now?" "Sure" I say, trying to be all cool, but "Oh no" I pat my pockets desperately, "I think I left my money at home, I'm really sorry" I'm ruined now I think dismally. "Hey, Lover-boy, don't get your knickers in a twist" she giggles quietly to herself "It's the 21st century, feminism rocks." I could tell by her face that she was not, however, impressed.
The rest of the date passed in a blur, going from bad to worse. First she flirted with the coffee guy, then as we were walking down the street, all the builders wolf-whistled at her, and she, instead of being annoyed, gave them a wink and threw them a kiss. As I escorted her back to the bus station, the worst scene of the whole night unfolded in front of my eyes. I saw a guy in the distance who waved at us, or more precisely, at her. She took off towards him, and as I stood watching they embraced, the way people do in all those old movies. The way I wished she would greet me. She looked back at me with a rapturous smile and I, completely deflated, turned away, to be greeted by the sight of my bus rumbling steadily away from me. I resigned myself to an hour of sitting in the freezing cold bus shelter. Depressed I shoved my hands in my pockets and felt the smooth exterior of my wallet. I sat and watched the rain come pelting down as I thought over my failings. Why on earth would someone like her ever want to go out with a geek like me?