Answer To My Life

s e v e n

When we arrive at the small restaurant, she leads me to her usual spot and even pats on my seat as if preparing it for me. She sits across from me and a waiter quickly comes over, handing us our menus and filling our glasses of water.

"What are you ordering?" I ask nervously.

"Loosen up, Idalia! I never noticed how stiff you are. Order anything you'd like. I'll pay."

"No! You can't pay for me, I can—"

"This is technically a date that I asked you on, so yes, I'll be paying," she tells me, winking when she's done.

I lighten up at the sound of "date," because I feel hopeful that maybe I have found my Tumblr crush in person.

"Ok, if you say sooooo," I tell her, dragging out the sound of "o."

A few minutes later, the waiter asks for our orders and I order Zara's recommendation of the original burger. She says it's the best in town, maybe even the world, which makes me laugh.

The waiter tells us, "my shift will be ending soon but we will have another person that will finish helping you two out."

"That's no problem!" Zara says, "thanks for being a good waiter."

I smile in the back of my mind, happy, because though it's a small thing, she's kind toward servers and employees. In the past, I had gone out with a guy before I realized how gay I was, and he had been the rudest person ever to everyone.

As we wait for our food, we make small talk and she tells me more about her art. How she's been working on multiple pieces for a few years and she hopes to pursue a career in it after high school.

I trace what she says to any possible sources that my crush may have said on Tumblr, finding a meaningless match between both enjoying art, as my crush is more involved in music than this kind of art.

I enjoy talking to her nonetheless but when someone arrives to serve our food, I'm a bit shocked to say the least.

"Hey, Marina!" I greet her.

She says, "hi Idalia."

The way she says my name is soft, just like her presence. She's in her uniform but looks gorgeous anyways, as it doesn't take away from her beauty. As she hands us our orders, her sparkling blue eyes remind me of the way the ocean glitters with the sun's appearance on it. It's dramatic, I'm aware of that.

When she slips the dish of food in front of me, I take it from her and our hands brush against each other.

She instantly pulls away and says, "I hope you two enjoy your meal!"

"She was acting weird, right?" Zara asks.

"I didn't even notice," I say honestly, and I take a long sip of water as Zara eyes me suspiciously.

"Is she an ex-girlfriend?"

"What? Where did you get that from?" I question immediately.

"I don't know. You two seem close and like something is going on. Is something going on?"

"No! I don't even really know her. We share one class together," I respond.

"Ok."

"I'm sorry if I made it seem that way. We're not even friends," I tell her right away.

"Calm down," she says, "I'm just teasing you at this point. Let's eat."

  I begin to eat, but I feel a pair of eyes on me. I decide to turn in its direction, and I find it's coming from Marina who's staring at me. She, of course, hastily looks away but I'm almost certain of the fact that she was within enough distance to have heard our entire conversation.

I practically shove the burger into my mouth and though, like Zara said, it's mouthwatering and delicious, all I can focus on is Marina's innocent gaze. When Zara and I continue our conversation, I force my mind to stop wandering over to the thought of her.

  At the end of our meal, Zara says, "so, I was wondering. . ."

"What?"

"I normally don't do this but do you want to go on a second date?" She asks.

"Oh, that's forward."

"No, it's not," she says, rolling her eyes. "I just don't like playing games. I need to know whether you're into me or not."

"Um..." I trail off awkwardly as I look around the diner, hoping that I'll find an answer somewhere.

Sure enough, I see Marina grabbing her bags and strolling across the diner. She quietly shuts the large door and I see her start walking ahead, probably to her home.

"Hadn't she just started her shift? It's weird that she left so suddenly," I ask Zara.

"So, you care more about her? I guess we shouldn't have a second date!"

"No, no! Wait!" I quickly tell her as she starts to stand up.

"Why should I waste my time?" She questions harshly.

"You won't be wasting your time. I'm sorry."

"Fine. I don't give second chances though," she tells me.

"I understand."

"So, second date? Yes or no?" She asks.

"Sure," I respond hesitantly.

She eyes me suspiciously but ultimately says, "ok. I'll text you the details."

She gets up, and leaves me there alone as if she's already tired of me. The door slams loudly behind here as the bells above the door start to ring, bringing the attention of everyone in the diner. I sigh to myself, wondering where I messed up.

"Marina," I whisper.

From the moment I had seen her, I had slowly started to ignore Zara and everything she had to say. Honestly, I can't blame her for getting angry with me.

"She should work on her anger issues though," I add, laughing a little at that.

I try to neatly organize both her and my plates, making it easier for the waiter to pick everything up. I stand up and walk to the door, finally getting the courage to leave. I turn around before I leave, and I smile at the details of Marina's work place.

I leave when a crowd of people practically push me out so they can walk inside, but I don't bother getting to caught up on that. I walk home, with a smile on my face but what leaves me confused is whether the smile was for Zara. . . Or for Marina.