Twisted Valentine

Baited

✽ Mandy ✽

My night off should have felt like freedom. Instead, it felt like I had been left behind. I sat on my couch with a mystery movie playing and a bowl of popcorn on my knees, but I kept pausing the screen just to listen to how quiet my apartment was. I was twenty-three. I worked at Clover & Steel. I went to Blackthorne Institute of Pastry Arts whenever the diner schedule allowed. I had Rosa at work. I had classmates who knew my name and nothing else. I talked to people all day, but the minute I came home, the world closed. The movie hit a scene where the detective met friends in a booth, laughing like they had nowhere else to be. I stared at them and felt an ache in my chest.

I didn’t have real friends.

I had people I worked beside. People I nodded at. If I vanished for a day, it would be noticed as an inconvenience, not a concern.

“Pathetic,” I said to the empty room. I looked down at myself like I was judging a stranger. Sandy blonde hair, messy from a long day, still holding the faint scent of fryer oil. Light eyes that had been too alert lately. Pale skin. A slim face and a stubborn chin. An oversized sweater that made me feel safe because it hid me.

I didn’t want to hide tonight.

I grabbed my laptop. I had accounts on a few scrolling apps, but they were noise. I wanted something that felt closer to a community, something that might turn names into actual people. I searched and found a local social platform called NeighborNest. It promised ‘friends, updates, and city connection’. It felt corny, but I signed up anyway.

Mandy Rivers. Blackthorne City. Pastry student. Diner server.

A blank profile appeared, and it looked like an accusation. The site suggested ‘People You May Know’. I found Rosa instantly, with bright lipstick and a grin that looked like trouble. I sent a friend request, then added two classmates from my kitchen lab. My fingers hesitated over the button each time. For a minute, I hovered over the ‘Create Post’ box, like it was a spotlight aimed at my face.

“What would I even say?” I wondered aloud. I typed: Hi, I am Mandy! And then deleted it. I typed: New here! And then I deleted that too. Finally, I posted something harmless:

👉Starting pastry classes again. Any good late-night study spots in Blackthorne City?

It wasn’t brave, but it was real. I refreshed the page, then shut the laptop halfway as if someone might shout at me through the screen. I loaded the app on my phone, and a moment later, it buzzed. Rosa had accepted my request and reacted with a tiny cupcake icon. Then she left a comment on my post.

👉Rosa: Happy to see that you are finally joining the world. We should get coffee sometime! Just not the diner!

I smiled, surprised by how much one silly notification helped right then, too. I sat back and realized I still had a night off and nothing to do with it. I flipped open the laptop and opened an app I heard about around campus. RainDate. A dating app with a little umbrella logo and a heart underneath it. I rolled my eyes, then hovered my cursor over it anyway. I didn’t want a dramatic romance. I just wanted to talk to someone who didn’t know me as ‘Mandy from the diner’. It took me all of twenty minutes to set up a profile. My age, my interests, my ideal date and partner. I filled in the basics and stared at the photo section until my face warmed. I took a deep breath and went into the bathroom. I brushed my hair, added a tiny bit of lip gloss, and fixed the oversized t-shirt. Then I stood in front of the sliding door and took a few photos. I tried to smile like I meant it, but to be honest, each photo just looked stiff. I tried a few more times and then uploaded one that didn’t look too bad. And then I stared at the screen for a full five minutes before I unpaused the movie.

“Don’t go in there!” I shouted out as the female lead slowly pushed open the door. I rolled my eyes, and then I heard it. A soft sound. I paused the movie and listened. When I didn’t hear anything further, I made a move to unpause the movie, and that is when I saw the little umbrella in the corner of the screen. Lit up with a notification. I had a new message from some guy named David. I didn’t open the message; I checked his profile first. David had dark hair and a wide smile. His main picture showed him on a basketball court, jersey on, arm lifted mid-shot. His bio said he played for Blackthorne College on a scholarship.

Interests: rain, mystery movies, tacos, biking, and green.

Dislikes: sweet treats, especially chocolate.

I blinked at that last part, then opened the message.

➤ David: Hey. Your smile looks real. That is rare on here.

➤ Mandy: Hi. I am new.

I softly cursed myself for such an awkward reply. New to what? New to the app? New to smiling? I groaned.

➤ David: Welcome to RainDate. What are you up to right now?

➤ Mandy: Just watching a movie. What are you up to?

➤ David: Just got home from a session on the court. Basketball court.

➤ Mandy: Oh, you must be beat.

I cringed as I hit send. There was seriously something wrong with me.

➤ David: What made you decide to join RainDate?

➤ Mandy: I heard about it and was a bit curious.

I certainly wasn’t going to tell him that I was feeling lonely.

➤ David: Interesting. But are you looking for romance or just a hookup?

➤ Mandy: Romance. You?

➤ David: Romance. I have been on this app for about three months now, and to be honest, I have yet to find someone who interests me.

I stared at the screen with a frown. Was that his way of saying I wasn’t interesting?

➤ David: Until now. There is something about the look in your eyes that intrigues me.

➤ Mandy: Oh?

➤ David: Yeah…I am looking forward to getting to know you, Mandy.

And that was how we spent the next three hours chatting back and forth. Exchanging information about our lives. Our classes. Our interests. And by the time we said goodnight, I didn’t feel as alone as I had before. In fact, I couldn’t stop smiling as I got ready for bed.

✽✽✽