Awkward

Chapter 3: The Weekend Walk Part II

Anne and her friend sat on a bench a short distance from the ice cream stand.

“This drink is so good,” her friend said, lifting the bottle of carbonated soda slightly.

“It tastes better than I thought it would,” she added after a sip.

Anne gave a small nod. “You thought you were going to regret it.”

Her friend laughed softly. “I did. Honestly, I thought it would just be pure sugar overload.”

Anne smirked slightly. “And now?”

“Now it’s actually a better choice than I thought it would be,” her friend admitted.

Anne let out a small laugh. “Funny.”

Her friend kept talking, but Anne had stopped listening. Her eyes had settled somewhere else entirely. Her friend noticed mid-sentence, glancing at Anne’s face, then following her gaze. No words crossed between them. Only smiles. After a moment Anne turned back. Her friend did the same, though neither of them fully returned to the conversation.

“I saw the way you were looking at that guy over there,” her friend said, a small teasing smile forming. “Do you like him or something?”

Anne paused. “What?”

“I said I saw you looking at him. Do you like him?”

Anne looked away. “I don’t.”

Her friend raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Anne adjusted the strap of her bag. “I don’t know,” she added after a moment. Then quieter: “I just noticed him.”

“So that means you like him.”

“Does it?” Anne replied almost immediately.

Her friend held her gaze. Anne shifted on the bench. Then she exhaled slowly.

“Well.” A small nervous smile broke through. “Okay. So what if I like him?”

Her friend let out a short chuckle, then settled back with a teasing look.

“You’ve been staring long enough,” she said. “Go talk to him.”

“No.” Anne shook her head immediately. “There’s no way I’m doing that. I can’t just walk up to a boy. That’s not how it’s done. If anything, the boy is supposed to come over if he wants to talk.”

Her friend tilted her head. “Really? Do you think he’s just supposed to read your mind?”

Anne frowned and looked away.

“If you like him, just go talk to him,” her friend continued. “That’s a total stranger right now. If he leaves, the chances of you seeing him again are almost zero.”

“You’re overthinking it,” her friend said softly. “If you like him, just say something. Worst case, he doesn’t feel the same. Best case, you stop wondering.”

Anne looked at her.

“You’re still sitting,” her friend added.

“So?”

Her friend sighed and leaned in. “Let’s go together. I’ve got your back.”

She stood up, brushing her clothes. “Come on.”

Anne sat for a moment longer. Then she exhaled.

“You’re really serious about this,” she muttered.

“Very,” her friend said.

Anne stood up.

“Just walk with me,” her friend said gently.

They walked slowly away from the bench. Back at the ice cream stand, Jimmy spotted the girls heading toward them before anyone else did.

He nudged Timothy. "It's the girls from earlier. They’re approaching us”

His hand tightened around his phone. Mike glanced between them and pressed his lips together.

The girls stopped In front of them. Nobody spoke immediately. Then Anne managed a quiet “Hi.”

“Hi,” Timothy replied, a beat late.

Mike turned slightly away, jaw tight, working very hard not to laugh. Jimmy found something interesting to look at on the menu board. Anne’s fingers worked the strap of her bag. Beside her, her friend bumped her shoulder once. Anne drew a short breath. “I was wondering,” she began, then paused. “Maybe we could hang out sometime. Somewhere a little less crowded.”

Her eyes moved briefly toward Mike and Jimmy.

Timothy blinked. “Just us?”

Her face warmed. “Well…”

“A date?”

“No!” She caught herself. “I mean…”

Her friend turned away, hand covering her face.

Anne let out a short laugh. “Actually, yes.”

Timothy stared at her for a moment.

Then a small smile appeared.

“Oh,” he said.

“And I’d appreciate it if you got me an ice cream too.”

She said, her grip tightening on her bag.

Timothy chuckled softly. “Sure. What flavor?”

She thought for a moment.

“Vanilla,” she said. “I like vanilla. It’s not that the others are bad, I just prefer it. Chocolate too, sometimes.”

Timothy smiled. “I’ve been having trouble choosing one myself.”

He paused.

“Maybe I’ll go with vanilla too.”

A small laugh escaped her.

Timothy turned slightly toward her friend. “Should I get one for your friend too?”

Her friend’s eyes widened. “Wait, seriously?”

“Sure.”

“I like this guy already.”

Anne looked immediately embarrassed.

Mike leaned toward Jimmy. “This is interesting.”

Jimmy watched the whole thing with a quiet smirk.

Timothy stepped toward the stand. The small queue barely registered.

“Good afternoon,” the vendor said.

“Hi. Five scoops. Two vanilla, two chocolate, and one vanilla again.”

The vendor raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of vanilla.”

Timothy shrugged. “I think it’s a good choice today.”

The vendor handed them over one after another. Timothy balanced them carefully and made his way back.

He handed them out. Anne’s friend looked especially pleased with hers.

“Vanilla,” Timothy said, handing one to Anne.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

“You’re welcome.”

They both focused on their ice cream for a moment. Then Anne cleared her throat.

“I should probably give you my number. So we can figure out when to hang out.”

“A date,” her friend said immediately.

Anne turned toward her. Her friend raised both hands. “What? It is a date.”

Anne rolled her eyes. Timothy smiled.

“Okay,” he said. “That sounds good.”

He pulled out his phone. Anne stretched out her hand. Timothy looked at it for a second, then understood.

“Oh.” He handed her the phone.

She looked at the screen. It was locked. She held it back toward him.

Timothy blinked. “Right.” He unlocked it and handed it back.

Anne entered her number, saved the contact, and returned the phone.

“I saved my number,” she said. Then after a pause: “My name is Anne.”

Timothy looked at the screen, then back at her. “Anne,” he repeated.

She gave a small nod.

Her friend nudged her. “We should go.”

Anne looked at Timothy once more. “I guess we should leave now.”

“Yeah,” Timothy said.

They turned and began walking. A few steps out, Timothy called after them.

“Wait.”

Anne looked back.

“What’s your major?” he asked.

Her friend smiled before Anne could answer. “You can talk about that later. On your date.”

Mike watched them disappear into the crowd of students and let out a quiet amused breath.

“Let’s sit on that bench over there,” he said, pointing ahead.

They walked. The bench was just around the corner, under a bit of shade.

Mike noticed Timothy was not watching where he was going. His eyes were on his phone.

“What are you staring at?” Mike asked.

Timothy did not answer right away. Jimmy tilted his head to look. Mike leaned in closer.

“Oh.” A short chuckle. “Staring at that girl’s contact already?”

Jimmy looked properly now.

Mike shook his head. “It seems this is the first girl’s contact you’ve ever had in your whole life.”

Timothy looked up slowly. He tilted his head at Mike.

“I get it, Mike. You’re sad. So sad because you don’t even have a girl’s contact,” Timothy continued, a faint smile on his face. “Or a girl in your life."

Jimmy let out a short chuckle. Mike straightened immediately. “Oh please. Don’t act like you’ve suddenly become an expert.”

Timothy shrugged. “Just saying.”

“Keep talking.” Mike leaned slightly closer as they walked. “I’m already making my plans. Just wait. You’ll be shocked when I get a girlfriend.”

Timothy glanced sideways at him. “Shocked?”

“Yeah,” Mike said firmly.

Timothy gave a small laugh. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t reject you first.”

Jimmy chuckled again, shaking his head as they reached the bench.