It was so easy,and the words so sweet

It was supposed to be another ordinary Wednesday night in the college marketplace. The Pasta Station was serving its typical Wednesday special, the ever-popular baked potato bar; the Grill Station had its classically lackluster spring rolls and grilled veggies; and the Homestyle Food Station possessed an obscenely long line that stretched almost halfway across the marketplace. In spite of the length, I got in the Homestyle line, as it looked like that was going to be my most delicious option for the night. While I stood in line, I became transfixed on the two people conversing in front of me.

The guy on the right was taller than me, and though he was thin, he was certainly not lanky. He had a charming face with quite a bit of dark facial hair, a beard in progress. He was dressed in workout clothes—a plain t-shirt, athletic shorts, short socks, etc.—except for his shoes, which looked almost like slippers. He spoke with a slight lisp that was imperceptible at first, in a quiet and tender voice.

He had been conversing with the girl to his left. She was about my height but that was mostly due to the fact that she was wearing boots. She dressed very fashionably, nailing all aspects of the indie artistic chic look, from the camera slung around her shoulder to the blue and red pastel scarf she was wearing. Her hair was short, just reaching the bottom of her neck, and it looked as if she had cut it herself. She kept reaching back to touch it, as if to make sure it had not shrunk anywhere past that point.

Even though I couldn’t hear much of what they were saying (the marketplace gets quite loud at times), there was a special quality in the way these two college students conversed that really struck a chord in me. I still can’t pinpoint any exact factor that would signify why their conversation was so moving. Maybe it was the congenial manner in which they spoke. It was quite remarkable to see how it put the two of them at ease. The guy was unashamed to appear sensitive while he listened to the girl, and the girl opened up to the guy in a way that she would do with few others. It  also may have been the way they looked at each other as they talked. Every time it was the girl’s turn, to speak the boy’s face lit up. He was patient and never changed the conversation to be about himself unless it naturally went that direction. The girl was the same way.

Perhaps what was most important was how there was this intangible sense of understanding between the two of them. The overall way in which they displayed a measure of empathy for each other that was simultaneously platonic and intimate seemed to be the epitome of what friendship means.

——

As we neared the food, a couple of guys who had just entered the marketplace approached the boy and the girl, completely interrupting the conversation. One of them asked the girl if she got a haircut yesterday. “Y-yeah, I’ve had it for like a week” she replied coldly, instantly shooting her hand behind her head again. In that instant she had retreated back into her shell. The special moment she had shared with her friend was gone, interrupted by some insensitive douchebag who was oblivious to the context of the situation.

College, man. Stuff like this just happens.