Page 39 of Clichés & Curses

Tracy came back just in time with our drinks.

‘Here you go. Water and a root beer,’ she said, setting down our drinks. ‘Are you two ready to order?’

I nodded at her. ‘I’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs, please. What about you, Aiden?’

‘I’ll have the chicken tenders, with French fries and mashed potatoes on the sides,’ Aiden told Tracy.

She quickly jotted down our orders and left.

Time for the awkward talking of the first date part of the night.

‘The diner looks cute,’ I said, looking around the place. ‘It reminds me of Radiator Springs.’

‘Radiator Springs?’ Aiden asked, his eyebrows scrunching slightly.

‘You know. FromCars,’ I clarified.

He just shook his head. ‘Doesn’t ring any bells.’

‘It’s okay,’ I reassured him. How does someone not know the movieCars? Or maybe, I just have a bigger obsession with Disney than your average person. Though I couldn’t help, but add it to the list of things we were incompatible about.

‘How did you get close to the track team by the way?’ Aiden asked finally, breaking our awkward silence.

‘I was roommates with Nina during our freshman year when we were living in the dorms. When we lived off-campus during my first semester of sophomore year, my classes on Wednesday ended almost at the same time as her training, so I just stayed back and waited for her instead of going home first. Then, they decided to invite me to dinner with them whenever they went out, and the rest is history.’

‘So, you’re like the honorary member of the track team?’ Aiden said, taking a sip of his root beer.

‘I guess you could say that,’ I shrugged. ‘What about you? How did you end up living with the track team?’

‘My brother attended the same college as us. We were living in an apartment together until he graduated last year. I was justgoing to stay in our apartment and find a new roommate, but then Lucy said they had a room available at the house. So I thought, why not.’

‘How did you know Lucy?’

‘We had a class together and we ended up being in the same group for one of the assignments. She had invited me to one of the house parties and that was how I got to know the rest of the team,’ he continued. ‘And when I told them I was looking for a new roommate, Lucy offered me a room in the house, since a senior was moving out.’

‘Oh right, Josh was living with them,’ I said, remembering the senior he was talking about. ‘And how has living with them been so far?’

‘Pretty good. Apart from the occasional parties that they throw, they’re pretty good roommates.’

‘Well, I’m glad to hear that.’

Tracy finally arrived with our food. Two plates filled up both of her hands before she set them down on the table. ‘Here you go, darlings. Enjoy your meal! Let me know if you need anything else.’

We thanked her and started on our food.

The spaghetti was pretty good. Of course, I still preferred the one at the Italian restaurant on my street, but this was enough to satisfy my cravings.

‘Do you want to try?’ I asked Aiden, offering my plate to him.

‘It’s okay. I don’t really like spaghetti.’

I instantly stopped chewing my food.

Each to their own food preference, but how am I supposed to be with someone who doesn’t like spaghetti?

I decided to try again. ‘Are you sure? It’s pretty good.’

‘I’m sure. You can try my chicken tenders if you want,’ he said instead.

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