Hi

It’s the first day of college orientation

And all through the plaza

Good cheer and laughter was heard

From all the future scholars

She retreated to the corner

Hugging close to the wall

Her introverted soul

Couldn’t thrive

In social situations at all

She cowered

Rocking awkwardly

Nursing her drink

Quiet as a mouse

Afraid of what the socially competent would think

She swayed rhythmically

Keeping her eyes low

Unaware of someone

Captivated by her glow

She could feel eyes on her

Intently

Intense

If she looked now it’d be over

It would kill the suspense

She took a deep breath

And decided to take a chance

Slowly

She raised her eyes

In search of the glance

Meanwhile across the room

Near the speakers

The music booms

He stands with his friends

But they have no clue

Of the boredom he feels

Day to day

A rerun of the same routine

Tick

Tick

Ticking

Away

These people were his friends

But they were all the same

Lived by the same rules

Similar ambitions

A one track mind

How they talk

How they think

Sometimes he would ponder

If proximity was their only real link

He scanned the crowd

Nothing unique

Nothing new

His eyes drifted to the dark edges

The outskirts of the partying crowd

And that’s when he saw

You

She thought

Silently in her head

But she could be wrong

Her stomach felt a slight ping of dread

She tried to glance around her

As inconspicuous as she could

Her eyes floated back in his direction

She wondered if his would

They did

He locked eyes with hers

Offering a friendly smile

Ignoring his palms glazed with layer of sweat

Be cool he thought

And stoic as a god

She smiled back at him

What were the odds

That he’d find a kindred spirit

Someone whose energy glowed just like his

She’s beautiful

Collected

Radiant

He has to meet her

The time is now

And yet

She offered him a smile

Blood rushing in her ears

Hoping she wasn’t shaking

As hard as it appeared

Her heart was starting to pound as she saw him

Whisper to a friend

For sure the teasing and mocking

She thought

Was about to begin

He needed to slip away

To separate from the crowd

He murmured something to his friend about needing to mingle

What he really needed was space

He needed to pace

To hype himself up

To make his move

He walked around the perimeter

Trying not to draw attention

He shuddered at the thought

The mere mention

Of screwing this up

And letting her get away

He’s coming this way

Everything inside her began to scream

Should she run

Or embrace the possibilities

And all the uncertainties

Buzzing around her

Made her dizzy

She was losing air

Her heart beating in her throat

She took little sips of her drink now

Fearing the anxiety would cause her to choke

He was a few people away now

And now he was at a loss

He hadn’t thought this through

At all

This far

He managed to keep his cool

He avoided interference

He was composed

He was smooth

And now that she was standing

About 3 feet away

He berated himself

As he couldn’t think of anything to say

He stopped

Oh gosh he’s changed his mind she thought

Her eyes welled up with tears

She was frustrated

She’d gotten her hopes up

It was worse than she feared

Maybe she was more appealing to him

A million miles apart

And now that he was closer

He realized

She was no real work of art

She looked over in his direction again

He offered a tight lipped grin

All at once her confidence was shattered

Self doubt has taken another win

Morose she turned

Hanging her head in defeat

She started to walk away when

When

She’s leaving

He panicked

He did what he thought was best

He raced a few steps forward

And grabbed gently at her arm

She turned rather quickly

And was filled with alarm

As

Her drink splashed onto him

Surprised

She had dropped her cup

You are such a dunce

She screamed at herself

You’ve always been such a klutz

She stuttered through an apology

And reached down in a rush

Slamming her head into his

As he also tried

To retrieve her cup

She lost her balance and fell

He slipped in more punch

He fell to his knees

Neither could seem to get up

She looked at him wide eyed

Unsure of what to do next

The bottom of her red dress was soaked

So was the front his gray vest

She could disappear

He had failed at his task

To sweep her off her feet

Which he did quite literally

The only thing he could do was laugh

He laughed at their messy clothes

He laughed at her awkward grin

He laughed at the hilarious predicament

He found himself in

She stifled a chuckle

From her position on the floor

One look at his gorgeous smile

And she started laughing some more

This meeting was perfect

They’d made a huge mess of it

But in that moment

Both of them damp and sprawled on the floor

Nothing felt as authentic

When the giggle fest over

To him she was breathtaking

To her his charm was captivating

And all the nervousness

Could finally begin to subside

He rose carefully and reached down to help her up

On her feet she smiled and uttered the greeting

“Hi”