Love Is In The Smoke

Crazy Introductions With A Pinch Of Awkwardness

ABIGAIL

“Excuse me?”

“I, um, I meant…”

I looked at hot random guy from the first day of college. Confusion and fear marked his countenance, his eyes looking everywhere but at me. He was nervous.

As fuck.

“Well, I know it was my fault that I came crashing right into you, but you could at least be a little less rude about it, you know, since all my drink spilled on me and not on you.”

“Abigail, I think you should-” Natalie interfered, but I cut her off.

“Let me finish with this gentleman over here first, Nat.”

A lot of people were looking at us now. I heard some students laughing and hooting, but I couldn’t care less.

“Yes, I know, I…I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I don’t know why I…fuck, I’m sorry.”

Hot random guy from the first day of college was a mess. He seemed scared, as if circumstances had rendered him at the receiving end of a downpour of tragedies. I don’t know why I felt sad when I looked at him. There was something about his presence, I realized, that forced me to look inside myself and lament over everything that was wrong, that had been wrong.

“What a darned day,” I lamented.

I didn’t know what to say further, so we kept quiet. For a long time. The students had started to disperse.

“Well, you’re certainly not going to wander around like that, are you?” He said when we were almost alone in a considerable radius, his eyes sweeping me up and down.

I followed the direction of his gaze and immediately realized what he meant.

The pale gray of my tee had gone darker with all the liquid it had absorbed, clinging obscenely to my chest and all but clearly showcasing in all its glory the black bra I had chosen to wear. My insides were all sticky, my attire smelled strongly of fruit, and to my utter dismay, I felt a few pesky fine streams of juice making their way down my stomach and into the holiest of the holy.

I flew my arms around myself in a pathetic attempt to save and cover up what was left of my slipping modesty. I wanted to curl up and die.

“You’re telling me this now?” I almost cried.

“When the fuck do you ever listen to me?” Natalie screamed and I knew she was being serious.

“Listen-” Hot random guy from the first day of college intervened. I was in no mood to listen though.

“What the hell, I’m leaving for fuck’s sakes.” I was crying.

I turned around to walk away, when I felt hot random guy from the first day of college snake my wrist in a death grip.

“What is with you? Let go,” I wailed, but he didn’t give up.

“Listen to me,” he said with steel in his voice and I was forced to look at him.

“It will all be a mess by the time you make it back, and you know the kind I mean. I have a jersey here in my backpack. Wear that for the time being. Here,” he said, taking his backpack off and unclasping the hooks to take the jersey out.

I looked at him wearily, suspiciously, even though I knew what he suggested made sense.

“Take this, Abigail. I won’t ask again.”

His voice was commanding. As if he wouldn’t take no for an answer. As if he would take what he wanted.

Too mesmerized to reply, I simply nodded, took the jersey and the backpack and went into the nearby washroom to change.