The Second Choice: A Short Story

“Man I really don’t want to go with him,” Veronica said, rolling her eyes as she shuffled through the large pile of clothes on her floor.

She grabbed a random article of clothing and ran to the bathroom. Moments later, she came out wearing a tight black dress with Old Skool white Vans.

A small ringing sound from her phone tells her that he’s here. Noah, the boy she considers a second option. Walking to the door, she sees an expensive-looking car outside the window.

“Hmm, maybe he’s not too bad,” she thought to herself.

She opened the door and forced a smile. Looking him up and down, she saw a tall, Blasian boy with pretty greenish eyes and curly hair. He was wearing a white polo shirt with blue ripped jeans, and Air Force 1’s.

Noah looked at her. Admiring the dress and small golden necklace with her name on it around her neck, he reached for her hand. His hand was shaky. Would she accept his hand? Would she enjoy this date? A million thoughts were running through his mind.

“Finally,” he thought as she put her hand in his.

She gave him an almost genuine smile. Noah’s heart began to race as they walked to his car.

The car ride consisted of small talk. 10 minutes of “Good,” Oh,” and “Okay.” Veronica admired the car, touching the smooth leather seats as she looked out the window. But sadly she wanted the date to be over with.

Finally.

The car ride seemed like it took forever. Walking to the other side of the car, Noah opened her door and reached for her hand. She stared at it. After a minute of awkward eye contact, she gave him her hand.

They walked into a beautiful Italian restaurant. The smell of garlic bread and pasta roamed the entire building. Noah sheepishly smiled as his stomach began to growl.

“Table for two?” asked a tall boy with the prettiest brown eyes.

Veronica couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

“No, oh wait — Um, um, y-yeah. I forgot I was with him.”

Ouch. Noah felt a pain in his chest.

“Can we get our seats now?” Noah asked as he rolled his eyes.

Like a flip of a switch, he realized that he didn’t want to be there. He knew his worth, and he deserves better.

As Veronica looked up, she saw a pretty mural on the wall. The baby blue river with a small flower floating on top. She hadn’t realized that they made it to the booth. She was actually enjoying her time.

Turning to Noah, she started to smile. Maybe it was the strong smell of his cologne but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Why was she suddenly finding him attractive? She had some strange urge to want to be close to him.

“So, um, what do we talk about?” Veronica said as she put both of her hands on the table. Why are they shaking?

As she looked down, she saw the rapid movement of her foot. Up. Down. Up. Down. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

Noah looked surprised. “Hmm, what do you do for fun?”

He didn’t care much to start a conversation with her. He was only looking forward to the food.

Before Veronica could answer the question, the waiter from earlier came to the table with garlic bread and the steamy hot pasta. Taking one last look at Veronica, he began walking away.

The only thing on Noah’s mind was the pasta. He stared out the window at a very happy couple walking in the restaurant. He began to twirl the fork. Watching the pasta spin around the fork, he started to smile. He had forgotten all about the girl sitting in front of him. Why was she looking at him?

Veronica couldn’t help but want his attention.

“I thought he was just my backup plan for today,” she thought to herself. She let out a loud sigh as she looked at her garlic bread.

An hour had passed by and they still only accomplished small talk. They both thought it was a good time to leave. Noah paid for their dinner and began to walk towards the exit. Veronica hurried so she could catch up. He didn’t bother trying to open her door.

Veronica got inside the car and turned to Noah. “Uhm thanks for today, I enjoyed it.”

He looked at her “Oh, yeah, no problem I guess,” he said as he looked out the window.

She smiled. “We should do this again.”

The car began to move, and they were heading back to their neighborhood. “How about I just take you home?”

‘