Page 39 of Studious
I shake my head. “No. No one ever asked me, and I didn’t ask them.”
“Were you too shy?”
“Yes. And I was focused on my studies. The socially awkward don’t do well at parties and things like that. I’ve been to a few weddings and b’nei mitzvahs, but I stayed away from dancing.”
“Do you think you’d like to dance?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I like music.”
“Dancing’s fun and sexy. You can feel the rhythm in your body, and you get to be close to people.” He gives me an evaluating look. “I think we’re going to take you dancing.”
I open my mouth to say no, then remember I’m not doing that right now. “Okay.”
“You don’t need to be a pushover, Alden. If you really don’t want to do something, that’s fine. Speak up for yourself. But I’m going to ask you to try new things, because it’s good for you.”
I gulp. “Okay.”
He taps my desk with his finger a few times. “I have to go to court now, but today’s homework is to talk to a stranger. Not just any stranger. Not, like, a waiter or cashier. It needs to be someone you don’thaveto talk to for a transaction. Someone you could potentially take home with you—or go home with. Maybe they’re sitting on a park bench. Or by themselves in a restaurant.”
I want to ask how I figure out who to pick, but that might be the point of the exercise. Maybe I’m overthinking this. “Okay,” I whisper.
He grins at me. “I’ll check in on you.” And he leaves in a cloud of handsome man.
I go back to entering numbers on a spreadsheet, waiting for a decent time to go to lunch. Might as well get my homework done early.
Danny’s words echo in my head as I walk into the coffee shop in the basement of our building. Although most people grab what they want and go, there is some seating. Being new here—and being me—I haven’t hung out here much, and anyway, I don’t know how to go up to someone and talk to them.
This is going to be a disaster.
But I need to do it and report back. I suppose I could just say that I did it, but I’m not one for cheating. And I like how Danny is trusting me to give it a shot.
After I get my drink and sandwich, I take a deep breath and scan the room. A kind of cute guy is sitting by himself playing on his phone. He’s got a vibe about him that I can’t quite read, but I can’t read anyone well. So I might as well try.
“Is this seat taken?” I ask, pointing to a place next to the guy at the long counter. The coffee shop is empty enough, it being not quite noon yet, that I have plenty of places to choose from, so it’s obvious I’m trying to pick this guy up.
Not that I know how to do that.
The guy looks up from his phone and smiles at me. “Um, no. Unless you want it. And then it would be taken by you.”
I nod repeatedly. “Okay, yeah.”
This is going well. He didn’t say no.
I don’t know if he’s gay, but that’s okay. I can just talk to a stranger. That’s the assignment.
Settling in next to him, I take a sip of my soda. I open my mouth to try to start a conversation, but the guy beats me to it. “Have you heard about our lord and savior Loki?”
I try not to groan. “Um?”
“I’m a follower of Loki. Here, I have some literature.” He pulls a pamphlet out of his bag and slides it over to me.
Great job picking someone, Alden.
But I dutifully take the pamphlet, because I’m not going to be rude, especially when I’m the one who came up to him, not him to me.
Danny laughs hard when he finds out what happened. It’s the end of the day, and he’s in my office again, his big body taking over the space.
“Good for you,” he chokes out, when he can finally talk. “That’s part of the process. You have to figure out which people you actually want to spend time with and which ones you don’t. You found one you don’t.” His face softens. “But I’m proud of you for approaching a stranger. Full marks.”
