What would you do if a Walkman landed at your door with instructions of a quest you must follow to reveal your secret admirer?
What if you didn't have the ability to connect and communicate with the world around you?
What if love came wrapped up in...
I look up to see Carter sitting in a booth waiting for me, looking on at me. He's nervous and fidgety. Which makes me all the more uneasy. I slide into the other side of the booth. I don't want to make eye contact with him. Like this strange guy know all this stuff about me, but I don't know him. Not really... not at all.
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"So," we both say at the same time. Then we are both silent, like no, you go first.
"I think you have some explaining to do," I tell him.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Silence. "Hmm, actually, could you go first?"
Why does he want me to go first? I didn't start all this, he did. I'm starting to see why, with the tapes and the elaborate scheme, he can't seem to function as a real life boy who tells people how he feels or thinks.
"Me?" He nods back. "You sent me the tape, right?"
Carter reluctantly agrees. Okay. Well, this is a disappointment. I was thinking this was some magical thing, and he can only reluctantly agree to it? I don't think so. "Do you have anything you want to say about why you did that?"
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He thinks. But he's so fidgety. "Sorry, I'm just really nervous."
"Because you like me?"
He nods, but it's like I'm interviewing him. Like I'm trying to get blood out of a stone. "Yeah, that's why."
"Do you want to maybe, oh, I don't know, continue that thought?" I'm just staring at him in shock. He's just coming across so dumb and with absolutely no sentiment. It's making me sad.
"I just liked you, Francis. And I thought this was a good idea." He's now saying it like it was a bad one. Probably because of my reaction. But what am I meant to do? He dragged me into this. He sold me a dream. I should never have bought it, but I did, and here I am. He can barely return words, let alone dreams. This is so awkward.
"So, are you still my secret admirer?" I ask him.
He nods promptly. "Yeah, how about we go on a...date?"
"Well, you're not secret anymore." I try to laugh to lighten the mood. But it's just bad. What do I do? I should say yes, maybe he just needs time to warm up. He's like a very old computer. But I don't really want to repeat... repeat whatever this is. But I can't help myself. What can I say, I'm too tolerant of dreams. "Sure. Where?"
