I was going on a date, was it a date or was it not. It was confusing. I mean it was not really officially a date but it seemed it. Well I got an uber to the longboard shop. My mum is so suspicious about me when I go out late. So I told her I was going with my friend Vikram and a couple of others. He is so trustworthy that my mum would let me go to an underground rave with him. Fortunately he was not there because he is the worst wingman ever. Anyway at the longboard shop I grabbed my board that I had left there and boarded to the theatre. When I got there I was waiting for my maybe date. I was nervous so I started boarding around. A security guard came up and yelled, “No boarding or I will take your skateboard!” I was so close to telling him it was a longboard but I didn’t.
Anyway it was about 9:25 p.m. and I was nervous I was going to get stood up. I mean it wasn’t really a date but I was still worried. I mean it seemed so impossible I was going to see a movie with this girl. She was so far out of my league it was ridiculous. I mean I was pretty sure she just viewed this as a platonic movie. But we were seeing Paper Towns, that is not a platonic movie to see. I was just sitting there as about 30 teenage girls walked past. There was a guy sitting on the bench across from me and I swear he thought I had been stood up. Just as I sent her a snapchat asking where she was I saw her.
Now I am not going to do the whole routine of how beautiful she was or anything like that even though she was but that’s too cheesy. But as a teenage boy I will say, she looked good! We made some small talk about how her little sister thought she had a boyfriend. When I heard that I was scared. Was this some kind of secret girl signal that I shouldn’t make a move or what?
We walked inside and this is where my English roots came in handy, I had bought both tickets and we just went in. When we got into the theatre, auditorium 4, I looked around. There were no guys anywhere. We made small talk, I think I slipped a couple of compliments in, but I can barely remember what about because I was so nervous. I could feel my heart beating so loudly. I am not usually like this but this girl was special, all I could think of was how out of my depth I was, and how out of my league she was. I made her laugh a couple of time and that made me feel better. She kept fiddling with her bag and I wasn’t sure whether it was because she didn’t want to be there or for some other reason. The lights went down and the movie started.
I kept thinking about whether I should make a move or what. I decided to go get a drink for myself and she asked for a slushie. She gave me a 20 to buy the drinks as I had paid for the tickets. I bought the drinks and paid myself. When I got back I gave her back her 20 and told her it was the change. I was hoping she was just going to put it in her purse but she realized that I had paid. I have been taught from a very young age that if you take a girl on a date you have to pay. This wasn’t officially a date but it was close enough. She was surprised I had paid but flattered I hoped.
I kept telling myself that the next time this or that happened in the movie I was going to do the whole yawn and put your arm around her. I kept chickening out and procrastinating but finally I built up the courage to do it. In regal cinemas you can lift up the armrest but it is tough to do so. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to lift it and would like an idiot. I lifted it up and put my arm around her. This is where it is the worst part from a guy’s point of view. You don’t know whether she is too scared to say no or really uncomfortable. About ten minutes later she went to the bathroom. I didn’t know what to feel. Maybe she was calling her friend complaining. Anyway I decided that when she got back I wasn’t going to keep my arm around her because she seemed really uncomfortable. When she got back we just held hands. This probably seems silly but for a guy the first move is the worst. After that you kind of know what to expect. The movie ended and we walked out. I was going to give her a goodbye kiss but she said her dad was nearby and the only thing scarier than teenage girls is their dads. I was so nervous about what to do I forgot my longboard. We just hugged and she left. For most this story seems kind of silly. But to a guy the first date (maybe, kind of, was it a date?) it is the most terrifying thing. I still don’t know what’s going on. Maybe she is creeped out and thought it was really stupid of me. Anyway, that is the guy’s perspective.