Get In Line

Disclaimer

Part 1.

Get In Line

 

Adam lay on his bed, as early Weeknd song, one of his first hits, played from his Iphone, as he and Frenchie went back and forth on WhatsApp. They’d known each other for two weeks, but it had become customary to text, or sometimes video chat, before Frenchie went to bed.

I want to video chat, Frenchie asked.

Aight, Adam responded.

The ring tone sounded, and moments later Frenchie’s face popped up on the screen. She’s laying down, her face half lit from the lamp beside her bed.

“Whats up?” Adam asked.

She sat up. “I need to tell you something.”

“Alright.”

She paused, and Adam noticed, for the first time he’d known her, she looked sad. “There’s this guy, I really liked him, and we were talking for like 3 months, then suddenly, he stopped talking to me. Well, he called me today, saying he’s sorry and he stopped talking to me because he had mental health problems.”

Here we go…Adam thought. Still, no matter what, always gotta play it cool.

“Alright. So, what are you gonna do?”

She sighed. “I’m not sure. I need to process all of this, because there’s you and there’s him, and I really like both of you.”

Adam shrugged, doing his best to appear unbothered. “Nah, I got it. Go sort out everything. Lemme know.”

Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “Yea?”

“Yea,” Adam continued.  “I get it. Past relationship stuff comes up. Take care of it, can’t be having you focused on some other dude, let me know when its all sorted out.”

“Well—”

“I’m not gonna wait around forever, Frenchie,” Adam said. I mean, he couldn’t really be that upset, since he had been talking to three other girls already, and out of the four, Frenchie was number two. She didn’t look the best, but her personality and overall energy was the best out of the four.

She smoothed her hair back. “I understand. I wouldn’t expect you to.”

“It’s all good, girl. Lemme know.”

“I will. Good night.”

For the next couple of days, there was no communication between them. Finally, on the fifth day, Adam sent her a text.

You done processing?

Yes. I’m going to give him another chance.

Adam fixed his lips in a thin line. The immediate emotion, to get upset, say bad things washed over him. He knew all he had to do was wait. This wasn’t the first time he’d lost a girl, and it won’t be the last. He just had to wait a little bit and it would subside. He was the rebound. He couldn’t be upset. How many girls had he done this to? He’d lost count. It made him feel a little better, but not much. Still sucked.

All good. Alright then Frenchie, Adam text.

Yes.

It was fun.

Yes, I had a lot of fun with you.

He took his index finger and swiped the conversation and the delete conversation option appeared on the screen. Part of him didn’t want to delete the conversation, all their memories, the pictures they’d sent, the jokes they told, but he knew it was for the best. The past, especially when it comes to girls, is a trap. Everyone isn’t meant to stay in your life forever. Some people are here temporarily, and you just have to enjoy the small amount of time you had together and move on.

He hit the delete button, got out of the bed, positioned the rolling office chair in front of the T.V. and grabbed the PlayStation controller. Maybe she was the number one girl. It hurt a bit more than he expected. The console beeped. He picked up his phone and sent a text to his number one girl.

Marco.

No answer. Frenchie would’ve responded with ‘Polo’ almost immediately. About twenty minutes later, number one responded.

Im sleepy, lets text tomorrow morning.

It was only 10 pm.

For the rest of the night, Adam played PlayStation, but his thoughts were consumed with Frenchie. A bond was formed. Whether or not it was mutual is another story, but for Adam, he had formed an attachment. At some point, the bond would be severed, as some bonds are easier to cut than others, but this one was surprisingly strong for how short of time they’d known each other.

As he cut down some unsuspecting monster in Elden Ring, Adam found himself wishing he could simply turn off the ability to develop connection, but ultimately, he realized such a desire was futile. His time with Frenchie was fun because of their connection. He was a human, not a robot. He can’t turn on the connection when it’s convenient, then turn it off when its inconvenient. No. He had to take bad with the good, because without the bad, he couldn’t experience the good. Yup. The connection must stay. The key, is not to act with emotion. He knew, from experience, it isn’t over until its over. That’s why he kept it cool. Sure, he was upset, he wanted to react with anger, jealousy, and emotion, but that’s short sighted. Foolish. Always keep the door open, you never know when, and who, may walk through.