Awkward

Chapter 5: The Wonderfully Awkward Date

The evening crowd drifted in and out of the McDonald’s near MIT, filling the restaurant with a constant mix of chatter, laughter, and the occasional beep from the ordering kiosks.

Mike, Timothy, and Jimmy were just outside.

“You can do this, Tim. I got you,” Mike said, a mischievous smile forming on his face.

“Do I look like someone in need of a pep talk?” Timothy snapped back.

“Who knows?” Mike said. “Well, good luck on your date. With your girl.”

“Thanks,” Timothy said.

Timothy sat alone at a table near the back.

His foot bounced beneath the table. Then it stopped. Then started again.

He checked the time on his phone. She wasn’t late yet. He sat waiting.

A staff member approached his table.

“Would you like to order, sir?”

Timothy looked up. “Oh. Uh… not yet.”

The staff member nodded and walked away. Timothy let out a slow breath. He glanced toward the front window. Across the restaurant, Mike and Jimmy occupied a table near the glass. Mike noticed him looking and immediately gave a thumbs-up. Jimmy copied him a second later. The double thumbs-up somehow made Timothy feel worse. He quickly looked away.

A vibration buzzed from his phone. Nothing important. Just a notification. He locked the screen and rubbed his palms against his jeans as he looked around the restaurant.

Near the window, Mike leaned back in his chair.

“Look at him.”

Jimmy followed his gaze. Timothy was staring at the entrance.

“He’s nervous.”

“You think?” Mike said. “I thought he always sat like a malfunctioning robot.”

Jimmy snorted.

Mike shook his head. “I can’t believe he’s getting a girlfriend before me.”

“You don’t even know if they’re dating yet.”

Timothy’s phone rang. He grabbed it before the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Timothy?”

He sat upright. Anne laughed softly through the phone.

“I can’t find you.”

Timothy looked around. “Oh. Uh… I’m near the back. The table beside the wall. Near the menu board.”

Anne turned.

Their eyes met. For a brief moment, neither moved.

Then Anne smiled.

She ended the call and started walking toward him.

Anne sat down. She adjusted her position like the chair was wrong. It wasn’t.

“Hi,” Timothy said.

“Hi,” Anne replied.

Silence dropped between them.

Anne opened the menu. Closed it. Opened it again. She flipped through the pages slowly, then faster, like she was searching for something that wasn’t there.

Timothy watched her for a second. “Are you okay?”

Anne looked up quickly. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

After a slight pause she nodded again. “I’m fine,” she repeated.

He just nodded.

Anne avoided his eyes after that, focusing on the menu, then the table, then anywhere except him.

Timothy reached for his phone, stopped halfway, then put it back down.

Anne suddenly stood up. “I need the bathroom.”

Timothy blinked. “Oh. Okay.”

She walked away before the awkwardness could catch her again.

Inside the bathroom, Anne stood near the sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She leaned slightly forward, hands resting on the basin edges.

The door opened behind her. Jessie stepped in.

“Okay,” Jessie said immediately, reading her face. “You’re freaking out.”

“I just don’t know what to say,” Anne admitted. “I don’t want it to be weird. I just don’t want to mess it up.”

Jessie walked closer. “Stop trying to perform. Just be there.”

Anne shook her head slightly. “It’s not that easy.”

“It is,” Jessie said. “You’re just overthinking it.”

Anne looked down at the sink. “I can’t think of anything natural to say.”

“Then don’t think,” Jessie replied. “Just breathe.”

Anne hesitated. Then nodded.

Jessie held up her hand slightly. “One… two… three…”

They breathed together. Slowly.

After a few cycles, Jessie nodded once. “You’re fine.”

Anne exhaled. “Okay.”

“Go,” Jessie said. “Don’t freeze in there forever.”

Anne gave a small nod.

Timothy looked at the empty chair across from him. Then at the entrance. Then back down at the table.

Anne returned to the table and sat down.

“Hi,” she said softly.

Timothy smiled slightly. “Hi.”

Anne exhaled. “Sorry I couldn’t talk to you earlier. I just needed a moment.”

“It’s fine,” Timothy said. “I hope you’re okay.”

“Yeah,” Anne said. “I am now.”

A short silence followed. Then Anne straightened slightly.

“You asked me something earlier,” she said.

Timothy tilted his head. “Earlier?”

“About my major.”

“Oh,” he nodded. “Yeah. I did.”

“I never answered,” she said.

Timothy leaned back a little. “So what is it?”

Anne hesitated just for a second. “Robotics.”

Timothy paused. “Robotics?” he repeated.

She nodded. “Yeah. I like building things. Machines, systems…”

Timothy listened quietly. “That actually suits you,” he said after a moment.

Anne looked at him. “You think so?”

“Yeah,” he said. “It does.”

Anne looked at him for a moment. “What about you?”

Timothy shifted slightly. “Computer Science,” he said. “Same as my friends.”

Anne nodded slowly. “That suits you too.”

Timothy smiled. “You think so?”

Anne gave a small shrug, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

Timothy shifted in his seat. “I brought something,” he said.

Anne blinked. “Something?”

He reached beside him and pulled out a small paper bag and placed it on the table.

Anne looked inside. Chocolate cookies.

Her expression softened. “Oh,” she said. “I like this.”

Timothy relaxed slightly.

“Thanks,” Anne said quietly. She held the bag closer to her. Then she reached into her own bag and placed a small neatly wrapped box on the table. "I got something for you too.”

Timothy looked at it, then at her. “For me?”

“Yeah,” she said.

He picked it up carefully and opened it. A mug. Simple and clean.

“I didn’t know what you liked,” Anne said quickly. “So I just… went with something useful.”

“No,” Timothy said. “I like it.”

Anne looked at him for a few seconds, a small smile on her face. She blinked once, then let out a soft breath that almost sounded like a laugh. Timothy looked back at her. Neither of them looked away immediately this time. The moment stretched just a little longer than it should have, comfortable in a way that surprised both of them. Then they both looked down at the same time, as if the table suddenly needed their attention.

A short distance away, Mike squinted toward the table.

“I can’t hear them,” he said. “But I know it’s something serious.”

Jimmy leaned slightly forward. “Love-related,” he concluded.

Mike nodded. “Definitely love-related.”

Before they could continue, Jessie appeared beside them.

She looked at both of them.

“Aren’t you guys friends with Timothy?” she asked.

Mike and Jimmy turned toward her.