Swipe Story

Chapter One

LuElla stared hard at the tiny screen in front of her. She tapped her pointer finger on the side of her apparently outdated Galaxy S5 and contemplated if writing that she was an anime nerd was socially appropriate for an online dating profile. She pulled her lips together into a thin line and rolled onto her stomach on the white day bed her parents had bought for her 3 years ago before starting graduate school.

"Just put whatever you want," her best friend, Katie, had said to her when they were at school. "If you're going to find someone who likes you for you, they have to like what you like. I hope you find someone that likes Kpop as much as you do."

Thinking of her best friend made Lu smile despite the ball of nerves tangling deep in her gut over finding the right words to describe herself. Lu had always been introverted and too innocent for the world. She read books on Friday nights when everyone else on campus went to parties, slept early on weekends, and even woke up early to get her day started when everyone else slept in til noon. She had little to no dating experience, but the nerd in her craved the companionship and love that her book protagonists had.

"Haaaa, why is this so hard?" she mumbled to herself as she erased what she wrote for the fifth time.

She wanted to give up and just go back to reading her Wattpad stories about paranormal lovers and regal lady knights, but she was still feeling sad and upset over what had happened earlier today in the library with Eric Lin.

Ah, Eric Lin. The definition of perfection in the eyes of a girl who liked nerdy boys with glasses. Eric was a few years older than her and was tall too. The glasses he wore framed his face perfectly. He was sweet and considerate and always waved and went out of his way to say hi to LuElla in the halls. LuElla loved that he seemed to be independent and laid back. The only thing she could find fault with in Eric Lin was his negative attitude and lack of passion for anything and everything he did. He always complained about school and had no desire to do anything. But, what did that matter when one was in love? And LuElla was pretty sure she loved him. She had never had a crush on someone last more than 2 weeks before and it had already been almost an entire year. She was sure Eric Lin was her soul mate . . .

Until earlier today. LuElla and Katie were studying in the school library for their upcoming exams when they bumped into Eric in a study room on their way out. He was like he always was: gorgeous without even trying to be and extremely chill and laid back. Then LuElla asked him a question and the negative words that came out of his mouth were too much for her to listen to.

<3

"Oh, hey Eric!" she started saying, a giant, silly smile on her face. "I just wanted to remind you that our group is meeting up next week after exams to hang out. Are you still going?"

Eric Lin was standing in front of a study table and he leaned against it, crossing his arms in front of his chest, looking mighty handsome. But then he shook his head and sighed.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't want to. I don't understand why Adrian put us in the same group. I already know who you are, I don't need to get to know you more."

And just like that, the smile dropped right off her face.

"I . . . I mean, that's true," she said weakly. LuElla tried to recompose herself and stay positive. "But! You don't really know the others in the group. This will be a good chance to just relax and learn more about each other."

Eric shook his head and looked down at the study room floor.

"I don't know," he said again. "I really don't want to go."

At this point, LuElla didn't know what to say to salvage the situation. She wanted to believe that what he said didn't mean anything. That she still had a glimmer of a chance at forming a closer relationship with him, of really falling in love with him. Unfortunately, a small, yet really loud voice in the back of her mind was telling her "HE IS NOT INTERESTED" in all caps.

And, as if a dam had broken open, a sudden flood of painful reality hit her. LuElla started recalling all the moments where she tried to initiate a conversation or a date with him and realized he had never been interested in her since the beginning. All those messages asking him to hang out or asking how his day was were left either unanswered or with meaningless one letter syllables.

She felt heartbroken and genuinely sad. Never had Lu ever tried so hard to get to know a guy. In all her 24 years of life, she just wanted to be loved and thought Eric might one day come to like her if she tried to be more confident and outgoing. Hearing him say he didn't want to know more about her stung her already delicate and innocent heart.

"Lu?" Katie nudged LuElla's elbow. She was concerned with LuElla's sudden silence. LuElla managed a small smile at her friend before turning back to face Eric.

"That's ok," she said lamely. "Just let me know if you decide to go or not so I can tell the group."

Before Eric had the chance to reply, LuElla had hooked her arm through her best friend's and they briskly walked to the open elevator doors.

<3

LuElla shook her head to clear her memories of the library incident. She glanced back down at her phone between her fingers and at the blank description box that read: Tell us about yourself.

After the Eric thing, LuElla was in a petty mood and decided that she would definitely get a boyfriend. She decided that she would find love. She would show the world that there was someone out there who would love her! So, the first thing she did when she got home was download the one thing she told herself would never work for her - an online dating app.

And here she was, a few hours later, still trying to come up with a small paragraph to describe who she was. Did LuElla really think she'd find her soul mate on here? Maybe. She didn't know. The only thing she worried about was whether or not she would accidentally swipe left on him.