Roller Girl Regret

Yesterday, my little brother and I went to a BBBSLI free roller skating event. It was tons of fun. I tried roller skates for the first time and slipped and slid around the oval for two hours, terrified the entire time that I would fall and break my wrist. Sponge Bob Square Pants was supposed to be there but wasn't. This was disappointing because I wanted to see some dude in a Sponge Bob costume do laps on skates. However, the Long Island Roller Rebels DID show up. They were very cool. I was giving one of them The Eye, and she came over to give me advice and encouragement: "Try bending your knees. This is your first time on skates? You're doing great!" So I had the opportunity to chat her up a bit, and to find out the answer to the question that was most on my mind: Can this girl kick my ass? (I suspect yes.) Sadly, I blew it.

The moral of this story (which, let's face it, doesn't have any real flow to it -- no rising action, no climax, no descending action, no real narration at all, actually, and barely any organization; I guess mostly it's just voice -- my tired, after-class, procrastinating before doing homework voice. and watch how often I start sentences with a conjunction) is that, these days, I seldom meet someone I really want to ask out. I encounter the occasional Opportunity Girl -- someone who unexpectedly flirts with me during class or whatever -- and I think about asking them out, but it's more about seizing the opportunity than any real initial desire on my part to go out with them.

This Roller Girl was different. I saw her and I immediately wanted to date her. It was an unexpected feeling. And a good one since I was beginning to suspect I was never going to have it again. The last time I really felt it was with Emily. And I've met and dated several very cool people since then, but the whole time I've been waiting for that feeling -- I don't even know what it's called. Is it a crush? Or just a want? I have no idea. It's a specific type of desire and excitement, and I've been missing it for a long time now. And there's no telling what brings it out in me. Roller Girl was not my usual type -- blonde (whereas I prefer brunettes) and tall (whereas I prefer short to petite). Maybe it was the nose ring, or the way she didn't dye her eyebrows to match her hair, or how she would skate on one foot, ballerina style, before body checking "Shania Pain." It's a mystery. And it's a damn disappointment I didn't seize the moment.

All I can do now is stalk her via the Internet and then go to a few matches and hope to bump into her at one of them. Who knows? Maybe she'll kick my ass with her skates on.

Side note: roller skates are much easier to use than ice skates or roller blades.