Not Scared Anymore

Chapter 7 - Kevin

Kevin was on a bad double date and needed an escape. Jared had convinced him it would be a good idea, so Kevin found himself sitting beside a rather plain looking woman, struggling to involve her in conversation, while also looking like a total dud beside Jared. Things between Jared and Katy were going very well, and Jared was acting very smug about it, while still being abnormally charming. 

Kevin's date, Sharon, was absolutely boring him to death. He was always scared of how girls would react to his real self, but seeing no future with her, he decided he might try to be open about himself and see how she reacted. Even if she didn't like it, no loss. If she did, well, the date had no where to go but up.

"So, Sharon, do you like playing games or anything?"

"Well, I like playing card games."

"How about board games?"

"Not really."

"Video games?" She shook her head.

"Role playing?" Her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened at this suggestion, so he felt he should elaborate. "You know, like dungeons and dragons or anything like that?"

"Oh gosh, I've never tried anything like that before! I'm not sure if I would be very good at it, I don't have much of an imagination."

"Oh. Do you read much?"

"I like reading biographies, especially of world leaders. I find learning how they reached their goals and became household names to be very interesting."

"Do you read much fiction?"

"Not very much, sometimes I might read a historical novel or something like that."

"No fantasy or sci-fi? Romance novels? Thrillers?"

"Oh no, I struggle to read those. I don't do well in made up worlds, and I don't like reading romance novels. They are just too unrealistic for me."

"Hmm. Okay. The 'unrealistic', as you say, is basically my bread and butter."

"Really? How come?"

"It's like living another life, a different life. Every time you open a book, you are transported to a whole new world and follow the adventure of the hero or villain. You learn so much, and I find it opens you up to have a better world view, and to be more accepting of people's differences."

"But don't you find it weird when aliens are the main characters? How do you even relate to that?"

"Well, if you can't, I'd say either the author has done a terrible job, or the reader is struggling with narrow-mindedness." He looked over the table to see Jared giving him some serious side-eye. Oh man, I just insulted this girl right to her face didn't I? "But the best part of reading novels like those, is that I have lived thousands of lives within my own."

Sharon was quiet for a moment as she thought it over. "Wouldn't that make you dissatisfied with your own life then? Or is it a symptom of that dissatisfaction that you continually try to escape into others?"

Whoa, this girl is getting deep. "No, I would say it improves my life because it allows me to live my own life better. It can help me brighten up the dark days, and definitely keeps boredom at bay."

"Oh, I like to be productive to keep away the boredom. Usually by knitting. That way I keep the boredom and the cold away!" She laughed at her own joke, and Kevin chuckled to be polite.

Realizing that asking for specific hobbies was not leading to much success, he made one last-ditch effort: hypothetical conversation starters.

"Okay, hypothetically, if Jurassic Park were real, would you visit it?"