Adrian walked down the hall with his bespectacled eyes dead-set on the floor, hoping nobody would notice him. He wasn’t exactly a shy boy; Adrian simply didn’t like unwanted attention. He wore a thin pair of glasses, a dark blue shirt, and black jeans. Adrian swiftly shifted his head upwards, moving his blonde bangs away from his eyes, and realized that he already arrived at the school cafeteria. As Adrian gazed upon half of the student body conversing and eating lunch, he spotted his usual table along with his two best friends: Matt and Morgan.
Matt and Morgan were Adrian’s oldest friends, knowing them since the third grade. Matt sported a white shirt, white pants, and his favorite red leather jacket; his brown hair slicked back one side and hanged loose on the other, covering his right eye. Throughout all these years, Matt still had his surfer accent and love for red. On the other hand, Morgan was completely different. Her rich family spoiled her and taught her the life of an upper classman. She donned a frilly black blouse and black slacks along with a designer belt. Morgan, who had dark, curly hair, found comfort in speaking casually with her friends, though her fancy accent never faded.
Adrian began walking towards them, but his path was blocked by Francesca, a girl he shared a couple classes with. She stood right in front of him, completely aware that she preventing Adrian from moving any further. He tried to walk around her, but Francesca moved in the way every time. Having Francesca in front of him like this made Adrian notice her appearance. Her dark hair barely passed her neckline, a trait many people admired for its simplicity. On her pale face was a tiny beauty mark to the right of her lips. She dressed casually with a light blue blouse and black pants. Francesca was definitely pretty and really kind, but Adrian tended to ignore her due to his apathy to attention.
After several futile attempts get away from her, Adrian caved and asked, “Um, do you need something from me Francesca?”
“Kinda, I wanted to ask you out on a date, but it looks like you don’t wanna talk to me,” answered Francesca.
“A date!? With me!?” yelled Adrian.
Francesca raised her finger and poked him on the nose. “Who else but you!? Honestly, I think you’re pretty cute, but you never even let me get close to you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. The way you look down in the halls, how you always rush to class, you ignoring me whenever I look at you, you’re trying to avoid me! What’s up with that!? Do you hate me?”
Adrian frantically waved his hands in the air. “Of course not! I treat most people like that! I just don’t know you very well, that’s all.”
“Great, you don’t know me very well! Let’s fix that by going on a date!” chirped Francesca.
Adrian started scratching his head in confusion. “Sure, I guess. I might not be a very good date though. I mean, I’ve never even been on a date before.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll guide you through the entire thing. We’ll keep it simple with a movie and a walk through the park.” Francesca checked her watch and gasped. “Dang, I gotta go! I need Jessica to help me review for the test next period! Meet me at the theater at four o’clock, see ya later!” The brunette turned around and ran for the door.
The now befuddled Adrian stood there dumbfounded. He suddenly found himself surrounded by his best friends.
“What’s wrong, dude?” asked Matt, wrapping his arm around Adrian’s shoulder. “Morgan and I were just chilling at the table and before we know it, Francesca is talking to you! What’s that about?”
“Apparently, she wants to go on a date with me,” replied Adrian.
“Dude, that’s great!” exclaimed Matt.
“How wonderful, darling! Oh, how I wish I could be the next one to find love,” added Morgan.
“Um, I don’t love her, Morgan, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t love me,” corrected Adrian, “Francesca just asked me out on a date and I didn’t want to be rude, so I said yes.”
Morgan gasped. “Darling, don’t say that! You should never disregard love! You must find out if Francesca is the one! During your date, talk about her and only her! Ask her a lot of questions and learn more about her. Trust me darling, we fellow girls absolutely adore talking about ourselves. I know I do.”
“Morgan’s speaking a load of bull!” shouted Matt, “Just act cool during the entire date. Act like you don’t care and Francesca will be hangin’ onto you like algae on a surfboard.”
Adrian tapped his chin until he replied, “I’ll think about it.”
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Adrian and Francesca strolled through the deserted park at 4:30 p.m. Unfortunately, Francesca forgot that the movie started at three o’clock instead of four. She let out a large, disappointed sigh. “Aw man, I can’t believe we were late for the movie. I really wanted to see Kill Phil 4.”
“Oh no, this date is already sucking!” thought Adrian, “I need to think of something to say. Hmm, Matt said that I should act cool and not care. Don’t think I can pull that off, but I might as well try.”
“Yeah, whatever,” responded Adrian, casually flipping his blonde hair.
“Hey, since we missed it, we can start talking! What should we talk about?”
“I don’t care.”
Francesca pouted and placed her hands on her hips. “Wow, so far, you’re being a really bad date! Even on a date, you’re still ignoring me! Just admit you hate me so you can leave and I can sit on that bench over there, bawling my eyes out because of a big jerk called Adrian!”
Adrian flinched at the harsh words pounding his eardrums. “She might be guilt tripping me, but it still hurts. Thanks a lot, Matt.”
“I’m sorry! I wasn’t acting like myself!” yelled Adrian. “Just forget about what I said before. I promise that I’ll be more caring from now on. In fact, I’ll start the conversation.”
Francesca wiped her forehead and sighed in relief. “Phew, good to know that you’re not an actual jerk. So, ask away!”
Adrian slowly took a deep breath. “What’s your favorite food? Favorite childhood memory? Favorite movie? Blood type? Do you like playing games? The mall? How about checkers? Hot days or cold days? Spicy or mild? What’s your family like? Are your grades okay? Do you have money? Are you poor? Do you see a future for us? What’s your weight? Is that beauty mark real? Have you dated a lot? Are you still a vir-”
Francesca placed he finger over Adrian’s lips. “I’m going to stop you right there because I know the questions would have gotten worse if I didn’t.”
“Sorry again,” apologized Adrian. “It’s just that I don’t know what to do on a date, so my friends gave me some advice. You can see how that worked out. I guess I’ll leave now before embarrassing myself any further and making you hate this date even more.”
The blonde turned around to leave, but he felt a gentle hand grasp his wrist. “Wait, don’t go yet. I really do like you and want to spend time with you, the real you. Ignore whatever your friends said and just be your natural self. You gotta remember, the reason I asked you on this date was because of you, not the you your friends told you to be.”
“Wow, thanks for saying that. You have no idea how great it feels to just relax now, but I still don’t know what to do on a date,” answered Adrian.
“Well, dates usually involve this.” Francesca stood on her tiptoes and gave Adrian a light kiss on the cheek.