The Newbie Who Was Meant to be
The door opened, and the light switched on. Someone entered our dorm. My heart beat faster. One day, I hoped to meet my soulmate. Could this be her?
But why would anyone take a second look at me? I was tall, thin, and pale. Everything about me was complicated. My name sounded European, but they assumed I was American, because my folks owned a business chain back there. And the things people said about me! They labelled me a bad influence! It broke my heart.
I tried to reassure myself.
One day, you will find the love of your life, and that day you will know why it never worked out with anyone before.
“Psst, look at that new babe!”
My friend Sal. T’s excited voice interrupted my thoughts. That way, he had this annoying habit of rubbing his nose into everyone’s business. At times, he increased my blood pressure!
Sal. T was pointing unabashedly ahead; I caught a glimpse of her, the newbie. Somewhere, something in me thawed. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She had curves and was unapologetically feisty. Was she blushing a deep red? It only added to her iridescent charm. I hopelessly fell in love with her.
I have been looking for you all my life.
***
Newbie blended well with everyone being a no-nonsense person with a tangy sense of humour, earning her instant fame.
Why would someone like her fall in love with someone like me?
I gazed wistfully at her, hoping to muster the courage to approach her someday. Imagine my astonishment when she made the first move.
“Hey! Do you want to get together, some time?”
I looked around nervously. She giggled. Somehow, she found me amusing.
***
Our first date was a disaster- I was too tongue-tied. But slowly, that changed. She made me feel at home, effortlessly. Sal. T teased that I worshipped the ground under her feet. It’s true.
I wondered how to take our relationship forward when my Goddess saved me the trouble.
“Let’s put a ring on it!”
YES. A thousand times. How I adored this saucy woman!
***
Just before the wedding, to look my best, I went to a tanning-booth. The golden hue rendered me crisply handsome. Monsieur Shallot played beautifully on the piano, making us tear up.
“Here comes the bride!”
I hadn’t seen a more resplendent bride than her; the cynosure of all eyes in her amber finery. We got the inimitable Sal.T to officiate.
“Do you Miss. Tomato Ketchup take this man, Mr. French Fries, as your lawfully wedded husband? “
“I do.”
“By the power vested in me by McDonald’s, I now pronounce you fast food and condiment. You may kiss the bride.”
I touched her scarlet lips nervously, with mine. A dash of red, a pinch of gold, swirling together like it was always meant to be. Two halves of a soul, coming together for eternity. The newbie who occupied my heart, rent-free.
As they say, it was love….at first bite!
AUTHOR’S NOTE
There are two kinds of people in this world- the ones that eat fries with ketchup, and the others that don’t. I proudly belong to the first category.
This was a plot that popped up in my fever-addled brain, and I thought why not? A bit of nonsense does wonders to make sense of the world nowadays.
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