Oops, My Boyfriend

Chapter 2

I chose to stay at the same university for my graduate studies as I did for undergrad, not for any particular reason other than the fact that the university offered benefits for alumni, which seemed like a safer choice.Every time I started a new phase in life—like entering middle school, high school, or college—I was always bursting with excitement.So before the semester began, I was full of passion and planning everything meticulously, focusing on two main objectives:To really buckle down and study hard (I've always been ambitious).To finally find myself a man.Since the campus was already familiar, I didn't need any time to adjust and hit the ground running on my quest for love.My motto was: better to approach a thousand wrong guys than miss out on one right one.Isn't there a saying, "Haste makes waste"?I searched everywhere: the cafeteria, the supermarket, the student life center, the botanical gardens, the buses. I was so desperate that I even lingered outside the men's restrooms, hoping for a "fateful encounter."Eventually, I decided to try the ballroom at the student activities center, commonly used for dances and other social events. I had never been there during my undergrad because it was rumored to be filled with desperate individuals. Now, however, I was just as eager.Armed with a ticket someone had given me, I ventured forth.Initially, I was quite hopeful, imagining finding a man with incredible dance skills.There's another saying: "Ignorance is often the companion of the fearless."My fearless entry only proved how naive my hopes were.A quick survey of the room divided the attendees into three types:The creepy type, with sleazy glances and lecherous smiles.The gloomy type, obviously overstudied and spiritless, utterly deflated.The confused type, dancing as if they were having spasms, heads bobbing like they were about to detach.Clutching my ticket, I nearly tortured myself watching the whole scene."Hey, do you have a dance partner? If not, wanna dance together?" came a hopeful voice in this supposedly romantic setting.I turned to face him.He seemed nervous, and I was too.I couldn't see his face clearly, only the gap between his two front teeth.A dark gap wide enough to stuff five chives through.He said something else, but I didn't pay attention; I felt like I could hear the breeze whistling through that gap.I blurted out "No thanks!" and fled.I was extremely disheartened. Thinking about the day's disappointments, and then about the entire month's, and even my four years at college, my sadness rolled into a giant snowball that wouldn't stop growing.As I passed the ticket booth on the first floor, I doubled back.I'd been in there for less than ten minutes. A five-dollar ticket—surely I could get a refund?"Excuse me, could I get a refund for this ticket?" I asked.The guy at the booth looked up and said, "Are you joking?"