So, ridiculously crazy story that I still don't quite believe happened. I wonder if it will be as weird for you to read as it was to me. Probably not, but you've got to hear how strange it was anyway.
Brace yourself, this might be terribly complicated.
Last Tuesday: The university is welcoming incoming freshman this week, and today's activity was some sort of scavenger hunt. I planned on sitting in the student center on my favorite couch as usual during my break between classes, and one of the scavenger hunt stops was right next my spot. Walking up to it, eyes on the ground, I happened to glance up, and my heart stopped.
Two and a Half Years Ago: I was wandering around Lagoon, the local amusement park by myself. I felt like everyone else my age was gone. They pretty much were. The last six months had been filled with their farewells for two-year missions. I was thinking in particular about one boy, whom I had secretly liked through much of high school, as I began a quest to ride the Rocket and not scream when it made me feel like I was falling. I was in a pleasant mood, and as I got off the ride again, a now-familiar mechanical voice instructed me to follow the footprints to the exit. I looked at the ground, and noted to a girl walking beside me that there were no footprints to follow. She caught my joking tone and laughed. She joked about me following them when I, too, got in line again and I told her of my quest. She laughed again and introduced herself, her boyfriend, and the third wheel of their group joking to him that she had found him a date for the afternoon.
He was standing behind someone and looking at the ground. I shifted so I could see who she was talking to just as he looked up and our eyes met. There was electricity for a few moments as we held each other's gaze and my heart skipped a beat in shock. Everything but his red hair reminded me of the boy I'd been thinking of earlier in my reverie.
Over the next month, Rocket and I had a sort of whirlwind romance although he never kissed me.
I was twitterpated, head over heels in like. He was incredibly smart, planned on going into computer science (a nerd!), and we had all sorts of other things in common. After a date I had planned went horribly awry, he left and I never saw him again. I was heart broken. I would text or instant message him from time to time at first to try to get him to talk to me again, and then to find out what it was that had made him cut me off so completely, so suddenly. He only answered me a couple times with very vague, short explanations. The last thing I heard from him was that he had just received his mission call to Paris, France.
Last Tuesday: He was looking down and for those two seconds, memories raced through my mind. I stood in horror as every cell in my body retreated from the idea that Rocket, of all people, was here operating the scavenger hunt booth. Then, he looked up.
My wide-eyed stare lasted a moment or two longer as I struggled to understand and regain control over myself. It was not Rocket. I smiled, probably in an extremely awkward fashion, and walked stiffly over to my couch. My two seconds of terror had still shaken me to my core, and the realization that the memory of Rocket still had so much power irritated me. I got my computer out and began work on my writing assignment, but my eyes were drawn to guy-who-looks-so-much-like-Rocket five times in as many minutes. Though I calmed down and regained my usually unshakable self control, his presence would not let me concentrate on my writing.
I noted the activity his booth hosted--the Towers of Hanoi, a logic puzzle that most of the incoming freshman had a great deal of trouble with. I figured the solution in my head. It wasn't particularly hard. I watched the guy as he watched the freshmen struggle over it, and I formed a desire to discuss it with him.
So I did. I got up my courage, walked over, and asked if I could try it. He agreed and I quickly solved it using the solution I had worked out in my mind as I watched. When I finished, I asked him what his thoughts were as he watched the freshmen struggle with it. A highly interesting conversation was born. One just like the ones I used to have with Rocket.
We talked for over two hours.
Just talking to him, I could tell that he is really smart. He is a computer science major. We had all sorts of other things in common. The clincher? He went on his mission to France. I just couldn't get over the similarities to Rocket and he looked so freakin' much like the dude. I wondered if they might be related, but from what I gleaned from him, they aren't. I still couldn't get over it, and I had to admit, my curiosity had been piqued.
So I agreed to hang out with him the following day.
No comments:
Post a Comment