1000 Paper Cranes

Chapter 9 -980

Five cranes and a few hours later, I was driving Joanna home.

"Excuse me? Are you sick? A football game? With Jon and his baseball guys? A date tomorrow? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" She teased.

I always enjoyed my afternoon drives with Joanna. We alternated driving to school, carpooling to save gas, but also, it was our chance to stay in touch with each other. If we didn't carpool, I'd lose Jo to the world of dance. She rehearsed every evening after school for three hours. Jazz, tap, ballet, she seemed to do it all.

"Well, then, if you're going to go to the game tonight, you should text Robin and see if she wants to meet you there. Maybe she can teach you something about football."

"I know about football!" I argued, defensive.

"Okay, who's that guy the kicks the ball?" Jo asked, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows at me.

"Trick question!" I answered excitedly. "Football is played with your hands."

Jo sunk in her seat and began rubbing her forehead.

"Don't call Robin. You'd scare her off." She sighed.

"But seriously," Joanna continued. "Call Robin and ask if she wants to meet you there. That way you two can hang out in a low-stress environment. You'll be in a social situation, so if awkward silence attacks, there'll be people around to dispel it."

I was impressed by her ability to do that. She could see a situation and formulate a plan with unmatched speed.

"You're some kind of dating drill sergeant," I mused.

"Well, love is a battlefield," She laughed.

"May I have your autograph, Miss Benatar?" I laughed. But I knew that she was right. She was always right when it came to relationship advice; I had heard her give it to enough people to know she was always right.

That evening, I met Jon at the game, butterflies flapping furiously in my stomach knowing that Robin would be meeting us. It was then that I realized just how out of my league and out of my element I really was.

I was meeting a girl at a football game. I knew nothing about football. And I knew nothing about girls. To say I was nervous was an understatement.

We got our tickets and went in. While Jon went to find us a place in the student section of the bleachers, I made a beeline for the concessions stand where I was supposed to meet Robin.

She was already waiting for me, standing next to a girl I recognized as Fourth Period Advanced Calculus. Hopefully Robin would think to introduce us.

As I smiled and approached, the breeze blew Robin's black hair around her face. She looked like a shampoo model. She looked amazing.

"Hey Jordan!" She smiled.

Then we both shared an awkward moment of hesitation. Do we hug? Do we pretend like we're not interested in each other? Do we just keep standing there awkwardly? Because that's what we were doing.

"Oh—" she realized, breaking our silence. "Do you know Addie?"

Adelaide Emerson. That was her name.

"Oh, yeah, we have calc together. It's good to see you, Addie." I smiled. "Jon's got our seats saved. Do you want to find where he is?"

As we searched for Jonathan, I began to question  Addie's presence. Was she there by Robin's request? Had Robin brought her to ease tensions and fill silences? Had Robin invited her because she was still nervous around me? Or was it simply because I was there with my friends and she didn't want to feel like a third (or in this case fifth) wheel?