This is awkward. I’m walking with the girl who I really like... but she’s clueless about how I feel about her... Not only that, but even Rose, her best friend, doesn’t even know how she feels... How do I say how I feel? I can’t exactly say, “Hey Mattie! I’ve been crushing over you for like a month now, wanna go out sometime?” I must be thinking about this too much because she starts looking at me a bit confused.
“You ok there Jake?” she says, breaking the silence, “You look a bit puzzled”
“Oh, sorry, must have spaced out a bit there” I laugh “What were you saying?”
“I was just saying how I’m kinda sad that we aren’t in psychology now... I really enjoy Freidman’s lessons, call me sad, but I look forward to them” she replies starting to laugh
“Yeah, it’s a shame really, I would’ve sat and done the lesson given the chance, but I guess there’s no real point if it’s just us two, and hey! We get a free out of it, so it can’t be that bad...”
“I guess you’re right, he probably has a metric tonne of marking to do...” She replies, thoughtfully
Ok, small conversation is good, I’m getting somewhere here... I think...
For the next half an hour we chat and do what we need to do in town, all the time racking my mind for things to say to her. I know I have to act now. Today. I may not have another chance like this... so I can’t waste it...
We walk by the fountain in the middle of the town square, Not many people are around because it’s almost paralysingly cold. Of course, I’m always cautious with the weather and I’m currently toasting pretty nicely wearing my ski coat and thermal layers in addition to general clothes. We allow ourselves to sit down on the edge of the fountain for a bit to talk some more as we have plenty of time to get back to college before our next lessons. Now’s my chance... Surely... We’re alone, nice location...
“You know, I’ve always loved sitting here in winter, and it’s finally nice to share it with someone...” Mattie says, admiring the backdrop
This is what I’ve been looking for. This is my chance.
“Yeah... it’s spectacular... and I agree, it’s nice to share it... with you...” I begin, “I always like spending time with you, and I would like to know... I guess... If you would consider going out with me...”
Well that was rather fluent. Snowflakes start to fall from the sky as she looks at me. I can’t tell at first what her reaction is. It’s difficult to judge really, she looks somewhat in disbelief and also somewhat in shock, but at the same time she isn’t amazingly shocked. Her smile confirms what she says next before her lips begin to speak.
“... I thought you’d never ask... I’d love to” shooting a wide grin at me
The words take a couple of seconds to process before I smile back. I’d done it; and by what she said, it looks like she has been feeling the same way for a while also. We embrace. The embrace feels so much different now. It actually means something other than friendship. More than friendship.
“Oh shit... we better get moving... 2nd period starts soon...” I realise
“Oh right... yeah!” She also realises, eyes widened in worry
“Worth being late for though... right?” I joke
“You can say that again...” She laughs
We link hands in a clamp like grasp and start running back to the college building, leaving a footprint snow trail behind us.
