Free Write 1

She wasn't one of those people who could handle social situations without great amounts of mental preparation prior to being thrown into said social situations.  After brushing her teeth, combing her hair, straightening her clothes, she might be ready to meet with a neighbor or family member.  "Might" being the key word there.  With Lily, social situations were just complicated for reasons unknown.  Well, unless awkwardness counted as an acceptable explanation.

If Lily was awkward in situations where she knew everyone in the room during an event that she couldn't possibly mess up, she was even more awkward during dates.  Lily's date counter topped out at a total of three first dates.  None of Lily's dates had ever been compelled to invite her on a second date, leading Lily to the conclusion that she wasn't worth seeing a second time and also leading her to question why that was.

"Maybe I'm a mutant," Lily wrote in her journal, drawing curlicues around the word "mutant."  Golden hair and green eyes didn't really seem to fit the profile for a mutant, but who knew what the human male's definition of "mutant" entailed.  Especially the high school human male's definition.

Date #1 -- dog walking through the neighborhood
Date #2 -- movie and walking around
Date #3 -- lunch and a walk


There seemed to be a pattern in Lily's track record that indicated that the one thing her first dates had in common was walking.  Taking strolls must be her downfall.  The only possible solution to this problem would to be to walk as little as possible during the course of her next date.  That meant no walking to the restroom, no walking further than the distance it took to get to and from the car.  And absolutely no walking around the block.  Lily wrote in her journal that it would be necessary to take note of what she looked like while she was walking, because if there was any chance she looked like a duck, it would be safe to say that that gait was unattractive.

Observe possible duck walk.


The only other commonality amongst her dates was her.  The only other possibility would be that there was something seriously wrong with her.  Her awkwardness could also be another contributing factor.  Uncomfortable silences continually penetrated the conversations in which she took part, leaving her helpless to fix them.

Personality makeover.


It was the only lasting solution.