Sang's Matches

3. Just "Russian" around

Three more potential matches and I'm ready to run away from this room and live under a bridge for the rest of my life. I knew coming into this that I didn't have much social grace or people skills, but I never imagined it was going to be this hard. What seems like a simple conversation to others might as well be learning to walk on my hands and eating with my feet for me. 

  "Sang, sweetie you have to stop trying to hide behind me. Not only will it not help you find matches, but it makes me nervous," Becca tells me kindly and I slide out from behind her. A little.

I unclip my hair, brushing the loose strands back and reclip it. "Sorry, it's just that this whole talking to new people thing is well... new for me. I'm used to being by myself," I tell her quietly.

"I'm starting to get that. If it helps take the pressure off, then try to remember that these events go on for a while. You don't have to pick who you want to spend the rest of your life with right this minute. It's the first event, just try to get a feel for each of these guys and only decide if you might want to see them again, that's all."

I take a deep breath, steeling myself once again. That doesn't sound so hard. "Okay. I can do that. Can we try something different, though?" I ask. At her nod, I explain. "Well, how about instead of meeting each person and getting trapped in conversations we can't easily get out of, we observe them first?"

Becca taps a pen idly on the stack of folders she carries as she thinks. "You know what? That's an awesome idea. You can see how each match interacts with other people, I like it." She says cheerily, probably happy to have a new plan that doesn't involve me trying to run away from people.

She makes a 'hmm' noise as she opens the next file. "Uh, I'm not sure if we should skip this one or not. Did you actually read through the paperwork or did you just check random boxes?" She turns to face me with an eyebrow raised.

"I read through it all, but I admit that I had trouble choosing what to check. Narrowing down what I do or do not want based on little things that don't make up a whole person seemed stupid." I explain.

"Right, right, I get that, but you really thought it would be a good idea to include criminals in your selections?"

I push at my lip again. That was another hard choice when I filled out all those papers. "I didn't include ALL criminals, just the ones who have had their records cleared. Most of those would be juvenile records, meaning they messed up when they were kids, or wrongfully convicted." I shrug nervously. "Those people don't deserve to spend a lifetime alone, do they? I mean, without even a chance to explain what happened? I'm sure everyone else chose not to have them matched, they probably don't get a lot of options. That seemed unfair."

Becca huffs as she opens the top folder and browses through the information in it. "It's your choice, you have a right to your opinion, but I worry for your safety, Sang. I hope your kindness isn't your downfall. But, you have me to help watch out for you." She says resolutely. I smile at her. I can't imagine getting anyone else as an advisor.

Becca scans the room until she spots whatever she was looking for. "How about that." She mumbles under her breath. She discreetly points in the direction of a group of people. Three impressive and intimidating males stand out in the crowd with a gaggle of women surrounding them. To my utter horror, Becca begins to lead me over there. All three of the guys look like they would eat me for lunch, did I really match with one of them? My advisor gets us close to the group, though we still stand off to the side.

"Which one am I supposed to be observing?" I ask in a whisper.

Her eyes flick to the three guys. "The two taller ones for sure, though I'm seeing if the scariest one is one of your matches as well." She responds just as quietly as she digs through her stack of folders. She positions herself with her back to the group, shifting me slightly in front of her so I can see and hear them clearly but making it appear as if we are just talking to each other.