Writing Prompt from Poets and Writers
"We’ve all experienced feeling awkward: maybe you forget someone’s name and have to hope that they don’t notice; maybe you say goodbye to someone but then you both end up walking in the same direction; or someone says, “See you tomorrow” and you enthusiastically reply with, “You, too!” The possibilities are endless. And yet, in the world of fiction, awkwardness tends to take a backseat to the more classical conditions of passion, sorrow, fear, love, and longing. This week, try writing a short story that centers on an awkward encounter between two characters. Explore the contours and sources of feeling unsure, anxious, embarrassed, and perhaps even amused. In other words, let the awkwardness serve as an entryway into the psychology of your characters." - PW
Awkward
The clock on the wall was one minute and twenty seven seconds slower than Sam’s iPhone, but she didn’t notice. She hadn’t noticed the time since she arrived at the restaurant fifteen minutes ago. Chapter seven was too good to put down.
A tiny bell ringing caused Sam to glance over her book. The restaurant door opened, and a young blonde woman walked in, staring at her phone. The woman paused in front of the door to finish a text message, smiling and smacking her gum. Behind her was a father ushering his toddler into the restaurant.
“Excuse us.”
“Oh! Oh my god, sorry.” The blonde took one step to the right and continued texting. The father waited a moment, then scooped his daughter into his arms. He carefully squeezed his way between the blonde and the entryway wall, rolling his eyes.
Sam rolled her own eyes and went back to reading. It was hard to focus with the sound of the blonde woman’s heels clacking across the tile floor. Sam looked at her own worn, but silent, slip-on sneakers. She could see the big toe of her orange socks.
“Hi, I’m here meeting some friends. I don’t know if they’re here, or…?” The blonde’s voice echoed in the empty waiting room as she talked to the hostess of the upscale pizza joint. Sam watched.
“Looks like we’re getting your table ready soon. Is that…?” The hostess pointed at Sam.
The blonde looked between the hostess and Sam. “Yeah hi, are you…do you know Rachel?”
“Yeah, hey. I’m Sam.” Sam gave a small wave from the bench where she sat. She kept the book in her lap like a seatbelt, preventing her from standing to greet the girl.
“Right, hey! I’m Anna. So nice to meet you.” Anna stayed standing, fiddling with the ends of her hair.
“Yeah, same. Definitely.”
Each woman looked the other up and down, careful not to stare too long. The restaurant lobby remained empty. Sounds of laughter and smells of Italy poured out of the dining area.
“So you guys are like, friends from high school?” Anna picked at the paint on her fingernails.
“Mmhm,” Sam mumbled, chewing on her cuticle. “Yeah, before that even.” She nibbled the inside of her cheek. “And you guys are um, college friends? Or roommates?”
Anna flipped her hair to one shoulder. “Yeah so we like, lived in the same dorm freshman year. And we both like, could not even with our roommates, you know? So we ended up moving in together like half way through the year which was so funny, because they like never let you do that you know? Anyway, we live together now which is super awesome. I mean Rachel’s just the best, right?”
Anna still hadn’t sat down on the bench. She kept glancing at her phone as if she were waiting for an important message. The lobby was still empty.
Sam straightened a little, her long brown hair brushing over the closed book in her lap. “She really is.” Sam smiled. “We’ve been best friends since third grade. She’s the best.”
“Totally, oh my god. Love her.”
The women nodded in unison. Soft indie music played over the speakers, barely cutting through the dining room clatter. A skinny young man walked into the lobby, heading towards the bathroom. He glanced quickly at Sam and Anna through his thick glasses, and rushed past.
Anna sighed and began scrolling through her phone. Sam flicked at the pages of her book, but never quite opened it. The clock on the wall ticked louder than the chef could shout, “order up.”
A flush echoed in the lobby. Moments later the young man emerged, and sped off towards his table. The hostess was busy twirling a pen through her red curls.
“Yeah, I don’t know. She’s just always been there for me I guess.” Sam looked at the clock.
“Yeah? I mean I haven’t known her like super long. But she’s totally the girl that will hold your hair when you puke and all that.”
“Sure.” Sam swallowed. “Anyway. Is Rachel still, you know, late for everything?” She gave a small laugh.
Anna laughed out loud. “Oh my god, you don’t even know. I mean, maybe you do. But it’s like, everything. Class, dinner, parties, friggin’ everything. She’s so funny.”
Sam laughed, a little louder. “Yup, every time. She always has a reason, too. One time, she told me she was late because she was helping a family of ducks cross the street.”
“No. Serious? I thought she was making that up. She’s so funny with like animals and stuff.”
“Right. She wanted to a vet. Is she still studying that, or…?”
“I don’t even know. Maybe? We took a couple communications classes together so maybe not? I don’t know.”
“Oh, okay.” Sam felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Before she could read it, Anna spoke.
“It’s Rachel! She just texted us. So, she says she’s on the bus, but I guess it’s stuck in traffic. So typical, right?” She tapped her phone screen with her thumbs, furiously typing a reply.
Sam felt her phone buzz again. “Okay. Yeah it happens.”
Beside them, the hostess recited back a phone order for three Hawaiian pizzas and one deluxe salad. At the sound of the front door bell, Sam whipped her head around. An older couple walked slowly through the entrance.
Anna sighed. “Anyways.”
A mosquito bite on Sam’s arm suddenly itched. She made an “X” in it with her thumbnail.
“Rachel used to talk about becoming a veterinarian all the time.” Sam turned the “X” into an asterisk. “She grew up on a farm you know.”
“Oh yeah? She must have told me that I guess. No wait, she totally did!” Anna clapped her hands. “There were like sheep and stuff?”
“Llamas, but yeah. Chickens too.”
“She is so funny. Oh my God, let me show you this Snap, hang on.” Anna sat down next to Sam and tapped at her phone. “This was last night. You have to see it.”
Sam glanced at the clock on the wall. Rachel was ten minutes late. The setting sun glared threw the windows, making her squint.
“Okay yes, here it is! Oh my god.” Anna laughed and flipped her phone towards Sam. “Look at this shit.”
Sam looked. It was a selfie Anna had taken of herself and Rachel. The room behind them was dark, and the flash from the phone made the two girls look washed out and flawless, their blonde heads glowing. Anna’s open-mouth grin was pretty, despite the wine stain on her tongue. Next to her stood Rachel, with her right arm wrapped around Anna’s shoulders. In her left hand was a wine bottle. Rachel was staring straight down Anna’s low-cut dress.
Anna glanced at Sam, waiting for a reaction. She giggled. “So funny, right? I mean what is she even doing?”
“Don’t know.” Sam let out a laugh that sounded like an old bagpipe. “Does she…is she dating, like, girls?”
Anna laughed and grabbed her phone back. “Wait, are you serious? You would know better than me, right? I don’t know. I really don’t think so. She’s just, like drunk and shit.” She smiled and shook her head, swiping through her phone.
“Right.” Rachel was twelve minutes late.
“Oh my god, look at this one.” Anna flipped her phone towards Sam again. “I guess she really might be a lesbo.” Anna snickered.
The room in this photo was just as dark, with the same flash washing out the girls in the picture. A girl Sam didn’t recognize was bending over to touch her toes, laughing at the camera. Behind her, Rachel was grabbing her behind in a mock sex pose. She was drinking from a different wine bottle.
“Is this real?” Sam looked at Anna with big eyes.
“Well yeah. I mean they’re just like, kidding or whatever. Like joking. But yeah, I mean it’s a real photo.” Anna didn’t take her phone back.
“I’ve never seen that dress before.” Rachel wore a loose, olive dress that looked like an oversized tank top. The low-cut arm holes revealed half of her left breast.
“Yeah we bought that together at some sale I think. Mine’s the same but like blue.”
“Weird. I never saw her wear a dress. Maybe at prom. And graduation. She doesn’t do that.”
Sam kept staring at the photo. The sounds of the lobby faded into the background. Ann kicked her feet against the bench, keeping time with the clock.
Anna hunched her shoulders and looked up at Sam. “Are you like, mad or something?”
“What?” Sam threw the phone onto her lap. “No. I mean I wouldn’t care if she was into girls or not. She can do whatever. I don’t care.”
Anna reached slowly for her phone. She was careful not to touch Sam’s thigh. “Okay. ‘Cause you know, if you hate gay people, that’s, you know, not cool.”
“No! I mean no way. That’s ridiculous. I don’t…hate gay people.” Sam didn’t look at Anna. She was too busy picking at her cuticles.
Anna went silent. She didn’t look at her phone. She looked at Sam, who had managed to pull a hangnail off of her thumb. A spot of blood dotted her jeans.
“Look, I don’t know you. But you’re getting like, kind of defensive. But whatever, like I don’t care. You do your thing. I like Rachel for whoever she wants to be. It’s…”
“I’m in love with her, okay?” Sam’s voice echoed off the lobby walls. The hostess glanced at them, but kept chatting on the phone about a date last weekend. The laughter from the dining rooms sounded like cackling. The pizza smelled sour. No one else was around.
Anna didn’t move. “Shit.” She put her phone to the side and kept her hands still. “Does she know?”
Sam paused. Her face was flushed. She grabbed for her book and held it securely in her lap. She could no longer hear the clock ticking.
“No,” she finally said. “At least, I don’t think so. I never told her. I never told anyone.”
“Jesus.” Anna glanced around the waiting area. The hostess wasn’t paying attention. No one was headed towards the restroom. “Well, maybe…”
“Forget it.” Sam crossed her arms. “It’s my problem. Forget I said anything.”
Suddenly the bell to the front door jingled. A young girl with blonde curls and an olive-colored dress came into the pizza place. She raised her arms and squealed.
“Friends!” Rachel shuffled happily over to where Sam and Anna sat. “What’s up? How are you guys? I’m so sorry I’m late. Traffic, you know? Sucks.” Rachel shook her head, smiling.
Anna was the first to stand. She stared at Sam without smiling. “Yeah, you know. We’ve been getting to know each other.”
“That’s so awesome. Sam! I missed you so much. I can’t believe you’re finally here to visit.” Rachel threw open her arms to hug the friend she’d known since third grade. Sam hesitated, for the first time in her life, to hug her back.
“I missed you too.” The young women hugged, holding each other close like they had a million times before. Like they had when they were girls. Anna looked away.
Rachel pulled away and giggled. “Okay! So do we have a table or what?”
Sam nodded. Anna chimed in. “Yeah! I think…yeah. Let’s go check.”
Rachel linked arms with Sam, following Anna to the hostess stand. The girl with the red curls waited there, with three menus, ready to seat them all.