The Follow-Up
This time on The Romantically-Inclined Survival Guide, we conclude the Rejection story. In this case, the girl of my teenage dreams and I follow up on our date.
Well boys, this time it isn’t all rainbows and fairytales.
Simply put, this is an anti-climatic conclusion to a story about hope,
rejection, and the lessons learned from a pretty hard fall.
"I need you,
Need you baby.
This craving makes me crazy.
I'm dying inside.
Baby make up your mind.
I need you,
Need you baby.
I'm holding on but baby.
I'm dying inside.
I cannot hide my need."
-Tyrone Wells
…
I woke up the next morning faster than ever. As soon as my
alarm clock went off to the tune of Disney music, I sprang out of bed. I was a
boy with determination, purpose, and general excitement about the day ahead-
and then I remembered it was Sunday… Immediately, I sunk back down into the
covers, hoping this terrible nightmare would end and I would wake up to a
bright and shinning Monday morning.
That was clearly strange thinking, I now realize, but when
you, in the last 8 hours, secured a second date with the girl of your teenage
dreams, you would be ready to see her in the halls between classes too. I
wasn’t dreaming, and so I managed to crawl out my bed, now in the form of a
drowsy, teenage lump. I loafed over to the sink and then realized today might
be worth it after all. I needed to plan, of course, for the next week. The week
when I would engage in what I shall phrase “the follow-up” stage. This stage is
critical in the dating world. It is the stage where rules of thumb such as
“wait three days” or “let her make first contact” drive entire plots in
Hollywood movies. The follow-up is the stage where you either make it happen or
lose it all if you can’t muster the mojo and confidence to ask the dreaded
question that simply begs for rejection: “So… what are you doing this Friday
night?” Let the planning commence.
