Alphabet Soup

Oblivious

Oblivious

        Patrick scowled at his friends as they laughed at his claim. This happened every single time he ever even suggested that he would finally tell Amy how he felt about her. Although it was true that he still hadn’t made his move, he really wished his friends were at least a tad more supportive. The way they acted sometimes made hyenas look like the most humorless creatures on the planet in comparison. 

        The small cluster of boys eating lunch with Patrick finally calmed down. They muttered sincere apologies for the outburst. Judging from their twitching grins, these was a strong chance that another round of baying laughter would explode into the air in a little while. Patrick’s best friend, Francisco, gave him a pat on the back. “Aw come on, Pat. You know we’re just having a bit of fun. It’s not like we have that much luck with babes either.”

        The other boys nodded their heads in agreement. Patrick rolled his eyes. Now they were just getting desperate for some way to show they were still on his side. Patrick turned his attention to his styrofoam lunch tray, hoping for a worthy distraction. He was in luck: today was pizza day. Patrick picked up his allotment of the cheesy deliciousness before responding. “That’s pretty big talk coming from Mister One Shot. You and I both know your soccer skills have nothing to do with that nickname.” Patrick took a large bite out his pizza slice, watching as a long stream of cheese stretched its way from his lips to the rest of the slice like the world’s most unhealthy noodle.

        Francisco grinned widely as his comrades chuckled at him. “What can I say, I have a gift.” Patrick wished he had some of his friend’s luck. The Mexican had something about him that made girls throw themselves at his feet. Maybe it was his accent. Maybe it his impeccable sense of humor. Or maybe girls were just weird. Patrick honestly had no idea how the other gender could be so strange. Even his own mother had a mysterious mind in his opinion.

        One of the other boys, a slender sixteen year old who seldom spoke outside of his class except during Robotics Club meetings, gave a suggestion. “Perhaps you could give our romantically troubled friend some advice.” Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group. All of the boys leaned in towards Francisco slightly. Whatever his secret technique was, it almost never seemed to fail. One moment Francisco would be single and then the next BOOM, instant girlfriend out of nowhere. 

        Francisco kept them all in suspense as he took a swig of his gatorade. Setting down the bottle, he whispered to his friends in a conspiratorial tone. “You guys want to know the almighty secret of how to make chicks swarm to you like kittens running to a bowl of fresh cream?” The boys nodded vigorously and let out a simultaneous chorus of affirmative answers ranging from yes all the way to no shit. “You guys remember when Mrs. Lewis gave us that chance for extra credit? We had to write an essay that was due the next Monday, but everyone did it. That’s because all you have to do when life gives you candy instead of lemons is to take it and eat it.”

        So all he had to do was ask her out? All this time, Patrick had been to terrified to ask Amy directly. He had just dropped hints that seemed as noticeable as neon yellow colored elephants speaking Japanese. Those had never worked. Perhaps this more direct route really was the answer. There was no way to find out except to give it a shot. Patrick thanked Francisco for his advice before devouring the rest of his lunch. He would need plenty of fuel to keep his brain in gear while he mulled over exactly what he would say. As Patrick wiped some stray tomato sauce from his lips and headed off to English class, he knew that this was going to take a while.

        Three hours later, Patrick was dismissed from his last class. He still had no clue what he should say to Amy. Every time he thought about how she got the cutest dimple in her left cheek when she was happy or how her blonde hair flowed behind her like a flag made of strands of gold, he could barely speak coherent English. He had to act today though; if he waited too long he would lose his nerve. Patrick rushed over to the social studies hallway, hoping that Amy hadn’t gone home yet. It was a miracle Patrick could even find her locker; he had only met Amy here once or twice when they had worked on their Animal Farm project together. 

        Amy was just shutting her locker when Patrick practically toppled into her. The two teenagers exchanged rapid apologies as they steadied themselves. Patrick did not look like himself today: his normally neat and tidy hair was sticking up all over the place. He kept fidgeting until Amy felt anxious just watching him. The poor guy was so jittery that he might as well have had a colony of fire ants partying under his clothes. “Are you okay, Patrick? You seem a bit nervous. I haven’t seen you this shaken up since Katy fainted in the middle of the fetal pig dissection last year.”

        Patrick smiled shakily at her. “I’m fine. It’s nothing.” He pursed his lips slightly and adjusted the straps of his navy blue backpack. “Hey, could I ask you something?”

        Something must really be bothering Patrick for his voice to sound so shaky. As cute as Patrick sounded when he got flustered, Amy still managed to keep herself from gushing over him. The last thing Patrick probably needed was someone ignoring whatever was bothering him. “Of course.” Just as Patrick was about to respond, Amy’s phone gave a loud ping from inside her purse. Patrick was kind enough to wait while she checked her text. “Shoot, I forgot I promised Sheldon that I would meet him after school today.” Amy blurted out a quick promise to help Patrick tomorrow as she sprinted to her car. She had promised to watch over Sheldon’s little sister while he visited his mother in the hospital. There was no way Amy would let down someone in need if she could help it.