So I read a text post a few minutes ago about movie romances, and how the characters typically meet in an embarrassing way, but later learn to accept that moment, because that’s when they met their significant other. The post continued on to say that the writer accepts that love is moot and that this sort of thing is rare if not impossible.
It made me think about how I met Paul, because it was definitely one of those embarrassing moments where, when recounting it to someone else, they’re usually surprised that we ended up dating.
After the first Anime Club meeting of my freshman year, I was invited to follow some upperclassmen to the late night dining hall for a bite to eat. Desperate for friends, I agreed.
At my university, people can tell immediately that you’re a freshman, because they tend to wear their ID cards on a lanyard around their neck for easy access. I was doing so. So, we’re all sitting there, hopefully having a good time. I don’t remember much about the conversations, I was probably trying to look impressive, but I do remember that I had gotten a smoothie.
I was fucking excited for this smoothie. It was covered by meal plan, so I didn’t even have to pay for it, and I rarely ever had smoothies back home. Fuck YES for the smoothie.
But then, a girl from this group of cool upperclassmen commented on the fact that I was wearing my lanyard around my neck. To demonstrate that it was not the cool kid way, she leaned over to yank it off of my neck— and accidentally spilled my smoothie.
Distraught, 18 years old, and already nervous because omg dinner with upperclassmen and alumni, I panicked and tried my very best not to cry like a toddler, because omg, my smoothie.
Paul was there. I’d noticed him when we’d all arrived at the dining hall, and I even thought to myself, “Wow, that kid’s cute. No way he’s single.” He was actually sitting to my right, and immediately started panicking right along with me, and saying, “No, no, no, don’t cry! She’ll buy you another one, don’t cry!”
HOW FUCKING PATHETIC AM I, but he managed to calm me down. He admitted to me sometime later that he was so quick to comfort me because he didn’t want his friends to scare me off.
But yeah. Maybe it’s not the norm for weird embarrassing encounters to lead to loving relationships, but it worked out this way for me, even if I did almost have a breakdown over a strawberry smoothie.
So, idk, if you think something is embarrassing, keep on truckin`, because there’s always a 50% chance you’ll end up sleeping with the person involved? Idk man, there’s a moral here somewhere, I’m sure.
edit: I drew a picture to go with the story
