The Girl At The Cinema

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taken from trendhunter.com
Who doesn't love the cinema? It's a wonderful sanctuary where you can sit in complete anonymity & enjoy a good movie in silence together with hundreds of other people. There is beauty in how random it is. You have no idea who is sitting next to you. The person could be a serial killer. The person could save your life in the future. The person could even be your one true love. Sometimes. Just sometimes. In complete darkness. Without saying a word. Without even looking at each other. You make a connection that transcends metaphysical understanding. I don't know which is more heartbreaking. Not being brave enough to risk rejection or watching the person disappear like a wisp of smoke never to be found again.

I woke up at 8am today & I had a strange inkling to load the GSC app on my phone. This I did & I found out that Captain America was released today. "Wonderful!" I thought. I'd always make it a point to take my siblings to the movies every time I'm back from the jungle. It's a tradition which would probably keep us together in the long run. Without even asking them, I bought tickets for the afternoon's 3pm show. It all happened so fast. It was as if I was possessed. Looking back. I think fate was up to her twisted games again.



It was dark when we entered the hall. They'd begun showing trailers of future movies. I found our aisle & turned on the light of my phone to find our seats. First contact. The light was focused on the ground but she could see me & I caught a slight glimpse of her before I sat down. It was too fast & dark for me to be sure of what she looked like. But one thing I could be sure of... I made her nervous. As the trailers played, I could tell that she was adjusting in her seat & touching her hair again & again. There were nerves in the air & it made me nervous too.

I put all of that behind me as I immersed myself in the awesome movie. Captain America was really worth watching. At certain parts of the movie, I got the strange feeling that she was checking me out. When a child started crying loudly on her side of the cinema, I did the same. I stole a few glances at her. She looked at the child too so I couldn't catch her face but I could see that she had good facial features. She had long smooth hair. Her skin glowed in the light from the screen. Her lips parted & exposed a little bit of her pearly teeth. She looked good. Appealing.

At the end of the movie, I stayed seated for the teaser at the end of the credits. She started to fiddle with her hair again before standing up. She had good height. At the level of my lips. She didn't leave. She was also waiting for the teaser. I couldn't keep myself from looking at her. She was wearing a comfortable tee, a pair of worn orange hot pants & a pair of flip-flops. All of my favourites things on a girl.

As she waited, for a few seconds, she turned slightly & looked me in the eyes before coolly turning to face her group. Even in the darkness, I could tell that she was pretty. And she had tied her hair up into a bun. I love it when a woman does that. In her group were 2 women, 1 man & 1 child. I couldn't tell whether she was with the man. But I could tell that she was maybe a little bit interested in me.

At the end of the teaser, they started to leave. We did too. At the end of the aisle, again, she turned & looked at me. This was when I started to get nervous. Should I approach? Should I not? Is she with the man? OMG!!! My stupid short hair!! And why didn't I match the colours of my outfit better?!!! I stayed cool as I too walked towards the end of the aisle. She was a few steps in front of me. I watched to see if she was with the man.

We entered the mall through the heavy doors of the cinema. Her group turned right while I turned left towards the toilets. For the third time, she turned around & looked for me. When she found me, she kept her gaze. I smiled gently at her. Her eyes were like two dark pools which swallowed up my heart. Under the bright lights, she seemed interested in me. Under the bright lights, she was clearly an attractive lady. Under the bright lights, she was clearly not with the man. Under the bright lights, she looked too young for me. Maybe in her late teens.

My heart screamed, "talk to her you, moron!" My mind argued, "dude, she looks like she's too young for you." I struggled within myself for a few minutes as I watched her walk further & further away. I have always preached to my students about being ready for opportunity, recognising it & going for it. But, it's easier said than done, isn't it? Faced with a pretty woman, I'd become something of a Smeagol.

As I stood in front of the toilet, waiting for my sister to be done... I decided to go for it. I told my brothers to meet me at the car park & I ran after the girl. Yes, if you were at GSC that evening, you would have seen me jog from one end of GSC to the other in pursuit of an illusive dream. I looked around as I made my way down the 4 flights of escalators. I brisk walked all over the mall searching & searching. What about my doubts, you ask? If I find her, I'd find out for sure whether she was really interested. If I find her, I'd find out for sure whether she was really too young for me. If I find her, I'd find out for sure whether she was the one for me.

I wish I could tell you that when I gave up & turned around, there she was smiling at me. But no, I'm sorry. This wasn't a Channing Tatum love story. This was real life. And a sick tragedy of fate. The truth was I searched all over the mall for her. Still, I couldn't find her. It finally sinked in as I was lining up to pay for the parking. My eyes welled a bit. I covered my face in my hands as I felt a sinking stabbing feeling in my heart. No matter what I do, I shall never have the chance to ever see her again.

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