Greendale's Oddest Human Beings

A Chance

Ruth was great at pushing aside things she didn't want to face—one of the best, actually—so what she had felt the night before wasn't an issue. There was no awkwardness when she was with Abed. The feelings would probably just go away anyway...

    "Troy and I played basketball. It was fun," Abed said as he, Troy, and Ruth entered the study room. "Don't gloat," Troy said, clearly upset. Troy, Abed, and Ruth had all met at the college's basketball court earlier that morning. Ruth didn't play, but she did enjoy watching Abed destroy Troy in a game of basketball. She, of course, made note of Abed's secret athleticism in her notebook. That man was full of surprises.
    "It's impossible to guard you," Troy complained as we all took our seats, "your eyes are too gentle and mysterious."
    The topic was suddenly changed by Pierce (which wasn't unusual considering how much he loved to talk). "Hey, guys, Jeff and I are double-dating tonight with my new girlfriend," he said peppily. "You got that from 'I doubt it'?," Jeff said. "Ooh," Shirley and Annie sang with interest. "Pierce has got a girlfriend," Shirley said. "That's great. What does she do?," Britta asked. "She's an escort," Pierce answered.
    "Oh," the group said in unison. That definitely fit. "Some mysteries solve themselves," Jeff remarked. "No, no, no, that's just her profession. She doesn't escort me," Pierce assured. "No, no. I met her in my marketing class. And I'm taking Doreen to Annie's mixer tonight," he informed the group. "You mean the STD fair," Annie corrected, "catch knowledge."
    "Taking a call girl to an STD fair? There's a joke in here," Troy said and began looking for a piece of paper and a pencil. He was right, there was definitely something there.
    "So, Jeff, dust off that black book and rustle up a honey, huh?", Pierce told Jeff. "Is there a pill that makes the word 'no' clearer?", Jeff said. "Well, it is pretty short notice. Probably couldn't get a date anyway," Pierce said, clearly poking at Jeff. "Ooh," the group (except for Troy, who was busy coming up with a joke) said. "I'm sure you're right," Jeff poked back. "Ooh," the group sang again.
    "Maybe it has something to do with crabs? They're like a food, but also a disease," Troy said to himself as he continued to concoct a joke.
    "I wonder, Jeff, for all your feather flashing, when's the last time you actually scored?", Pierce asked. "I don't know the precise date, Pierce, because I'm not you, so there's no receipt," Jeff shot back with a proud smile. "Ooh," he said, encouraging the group to do the same. "Ehh," they said instead, not satisfied by Jeff's quip. "Oh, come on," Jeff said disappointedly.
    "Shouldn't take shots at some woman because you can't get a date," Shirley told Jeff. "I can get dates any time I want," Jeff stated. He looked around at the group and saw that they weren't so sure. "What is this, some kind of joke?", Jeff asked the group. "No, this is," Troy cut in, "'Don't eat the crab dip'", he read from a piece of paper. "Ya ya!", he said with a big smile, proud of the joke he had just created.

After study group, Ruth ended up running into Sam. It was kind of weird considering her recent decision to give him a chance, mostly because Ruth had never done such a thing before.
    "Hey, Ruth!", Sam said. To Sam's surprise, Ruth actually responded. "Hi," she replied. "Woah," Sam said. "What?," Ruth inquired, though she knew exactly why he was taken aback. "I don't think you've ever actually said 'hi' to me before," Sam explained in a half-joking tone. Ruth sighed. "Well, maybe I'm just so excited for the 'STD Fair'," Ruth said sarcastically. Sam seemed surprised again. "You made a joke," he said with a smile. Ruth just shrugged and the two walked in silence for a moment.
    "Speaking of the STD Fair...", Sam started, "would you like to go?" Ruth nearly jumped with surprise at his proposal. "Just to check it out or whatever," Sam said, clearly trying to hide his anxiety. Ruth's instinct was to say 'no' and quickly walk away; however, she knew that giving Sam a chance would mean actually hanging out with him. "Sure," she said. Sam didn't know how to respond at first. He was speechless. "Really?", he asked. Ruth nodded. "I'll meet you in the cafeteria at 8:00. See you then."
With that, Ruth walked away, and Sam was left standing there by himself with a smile on his face.