Chapter 5: Cold Approach
Interview Location: Jason's Bedroom -- Jason Pritchett
He's sitting backwards on his desk chair, arms folded over the back of it.
"I told Tommy I needed to meet a girl. Not a specific girl. Just, a girl. And he looked at me like I had said something stupid, which I had not, and said just talk to one. Like it was that simple. Then he said some other stuff that I won't repeat but the general message was: you look good now, act like it. So. That's what I did."
It came up at lunch on a Wednesday.
"I need to get a girl," Jason said.
Tommy put his fork down. Thought about it for a second. "Just talk to one."
"You say that like it's easy."
Tommy looked at him for a long moment. "Have you seen you?"
Jason didn't say anything.
Tommy leaned forward. "Okay. Tomorrow. Every class, every lunch -- if you see a girl you think is cute, you walk up and say something. Ask for her number, her MySpace, whatever. Just talk. And avoid big friend groups, don't approach someone when she's sitting with five people, that's a different situation."
Jason nodded slowly. "Any other advice?"
Tommy sat back. "Dude. You're good looking. Stop acting like you're not."
He said it the way he said most things, like it was just a fact and the conversation about it was already over.
Interview Location: School Hallway -- Jason Pritchett
Morning before first period. Backpack on.
"Tommy's right. I know he's right. I spent fifteen years being the big kid and building a whole personality around not trying things so I wouldn't fail at them. That's done now. New school. Nobody here knows that version." He pauses. "I'm going in."
* * *
First period was English. Jason walked in and scanned the room the way he'd been doing since the first day, just taking stock. About three rows over he saw her.
She was small, dark hair pulled back, glasses, a stack of books on her desk that was clearly more than the class required. The kind of girl who looked like the smart girl in a movie except in real life that just meant she was actually smart and also happened to be cute.
He sat down next to her.
"Hey," he said. "I know you don't know me, but I walked in and saw you and I just wanted to say you're pretty. Can I get your MySpace?"
She looked at him. When she spoke it came out low and a little fast, like she was deciding and talking at the same time. "I'm not really looking for anything right now. Sorry."
"That's cool," he said. "I just wanted to say it."
She looked at him like she wasn't totally sure what to do with that. He gave her a small smile and faced forward, and the teacher started class, and that was that.
Interview Location: School Hallway -- Jason Pritchett
Between first and second period.
"She said no. That's fine. She said it low and fast which tells me she was at least a little nervous, which means it wasn't a hard no, it was a right now no. I'm not going to push it." He pauses. "One down."
* * *
Second period was History. Jason walked in and a girl in the second row looked up at him and smiled before he'd even sat down.
She was light-skinned, curvy, with that easy confidence that comes from knowing exactly who you are. He found out later she played volleyball, which made sense.
He sat nearby and she glanced at him again. "You're cute," she said. And then immediately, before he could say a word back, "I have a boyfriend."
Jason laughed. "I didn't even say anything yet."
"I know," she said. "I'm saving you the trip."
"Fair enough."
She studied him for a second. "You're new, right? Like this year?"
"Yeah. Moved here over the summer."
She nodded, like she was working through something. "Most people here have known each other since middle school. So if you're trying to meet someone it's hard if you don't already have a connection somewhere."
He looked at her. "You're very helpful for someone who just told me they have a boyfriend."
She smiled. "There's a girl named Selene. She sits at the outside tables at lunch. She knows basically everyone and she's good at connecting people. Tell her Maya sent you."
"Why are you doing this?" he asked.
"Because you seem decent and you're new and most people here won't think to help you." She shrugged. "Selene. Outside tables. Don't go without something to say about yourself."
The teacher called the class to order. Maya faced forward. Jason sat there for a moment thinking about it.
Interview Location: School Cafeteria -- Jason Pritchett
Inside at a table before heading out. Tommy is across from him.
"Maya. She has a boyfriend, she called me cute before I opened my mouth, and then she gave me a useful lead. That's a good interaction." He pauses. "Tommy thinks this whole thing is funny. He's been smiling since I told him about the Selene thing." He glances across the table. "He can come with me or stay here." A beat. "He's coming with me."
* * *
The outside tables were around the side of the building past the main cafeteria, a row of picnic tables under a covered walkway. More relaxed out there, smaller groups, a different energy.
Selene was easy to find. Not because she was loud, but because she was the person everyone at her table was turned toward. She was Latina, medium height, natural hair loose around her shoulders, big hoop earrings. She had a look on her face like she found most things mildly entertaining and was deciding whether to say so. Pretty in the way that takes a second to register because the first thing you notice is that she seems very sure of herself.
Jason walked over with Tommy a half step behind him.
"Hey," Jason said. "Maya told me to come find you."
Selene looked up at him. She took him in for about two seconds.
"Sit down," she said.
He sat. Tommy sat next to him. The other people at the table shifted slightly, making room the way people apparently did around Selene.
She folded her hands on the table. "What's your name?"
"Jason."
"Jason what?"
"Pritchett."
She nodded, filing it. "How long have you been here?"
"Six weeks."
"Where'd you transfer from?"
He told her. She nodded again and looked at Tommy. "And you are?"
"Tommy," he said. "I'm moral support."
She looked back at Jason. "Moral support." She pulled her lunch toward her like they were settling in for something. "Tell me what you're actually looking for. Not what you think you're supposed to say. What you actually want."
Interview Location: Outside Tables -- Jason Pritchett
Still at the table. Selene is visible in the background.
"She asked me what I actually wanted. Not in a weird way. Just straight. Like she'd sat through a lot of people giving her the wrong answer and was done with it. I gave her the honest version."
* * *
The questions came one at a time and she listened fully before she responded.
"What kind of girl are you into?" she asked.
"Confident," he said. "Someone who knows what she wants. I'm not into guessing games."
"What do you do? Like outside of school."
"Music. I play guitar, I write songs, make beats with my friend."
She tilted her head. "What kind of songs?"
"Everything"
"Can I hear something?"
He pulled up his MySpace on his phone and slid it across the table. She put one earbud in and listened. Longer than most people did. When she took it out she slid the phone back without saying anything right away, which he was learning meant she was actually thinking about it.
"You made that?" she said finally.
"Me and him." He nodded at Tommy.
Tommy pointed at himself. Selene looked at him once and looked back at Jason.
"Are you looking for something casual or something real?"
He thought about it for a second. "Something real. But I'm not in a rush. I just want to actually know someone."
She nodded. Then: "What's something you wouldn't say about yourself on a first impression?"
He looked at her. That one took a second. "Six months ago I weighed a lot more than I do now. Like a lot more. I'm still figuring out how to be this version of myself in situations that used to scare me."
She looked at him for a long moment. Then she said, "Okay. I have three people in mind. I'll find you tomorrow."
"That's it?" Jason said.
"That's it." She picked up her fork. "You're easy. Some people I talk to for forty minutes and still nothing."
Tommy leaned toward Jason and said quietly, "She's good."
"I know," Selene said, without looking at him.
Tommy sat back.
Interview Location: Outside Tables -- Jason Pritchett
Still at lunch. Tommy is eating. Selene has moved on to another conversation.
"She asked me what I wouldn't say on a first impression. I don't know why I told her the truth. It just came out." He pauses. "And she didn't make it weird. She just nodded and moved on. I like her. Not like that. Just as a person. She's operating on a different level than most people here and I think she knows it."
* * *
She found him in the hallway the next morning before first period, like she'd timed it exactly.
She handed him a folded piece of notebook paper. "Three names," she said. "What I know about each one is on there. You pick one and I'll introduce you. You try to go after all three at the same time and I'm out."
He unfolded the paper.
The first name was Priya Nair. Under it Selene had written: Junior. Runs track. Top of her class but not annoying about it. Has been single since freshman year because she says she hasn't met anyone interesting. Likes music -- don't lead with the song, let her find it herself. Very direct, so don't be weird when she is.
The second name was Dominique Carter. Under it: Senior. Yes, older. Drama kid -- not actress drama, actually creative. She went through something hard last year and came out different. She doesn't have time for games so don't play any. You'd have to be real with her from the jump.
The third name was Camille Osei. Under it: Junior. Mixed. Quiet but not shy, there's a difference. Reads a lot. Three years here and most people still don't really know her because she doesn't perform for anyone. If she actually talks to you it means something. Hardest to get to but probably the best match.
Jason read it twice. Then he looked up.
Selene was watching him. "Well?"
He folded the paper and put it in his jacket pocket. "Give me a day."
She nodded once. Then she walked off down the hall like she had twelve other things to handle, which she probably did.
Interview Location: Jason's Bedroom -- Jason Pritchett
After school. The folded paper is on the desk in front of him.
"Three names." He looks at the paper. "Priya, Dominique, Camille. All completely different. Selene didn't give me an easy choice, she gave me an actual choice, which is somehow harder." He picks up the paper, unfolds it, reads it again. "Tommy thinks I should go with Priya because she runs track and he thinks athletes are competitive in a good way. I think Tommy just likes athletes." He sets it down. "I'm going to sleep on it."