Lights, Camera, Action...

“I’m so glad that you called me back.”

“I am glad you answered.”

Good move; nothing too aggressive or sloppy about that. Gotta make sure to have more lines like that later.

“Have you been to this restaurant before?”

Okay, be honest with her.

“Once or twice. There was someone I dated who liked Indian food and she recommended that we try this place. That must have been over five years ago…”

Good save; very good save. Maybe he will stay on for this particular mission. 

“I see…”

“No, I just… We had known each other for a long time; at least since high school. But sometimes people just move apart, like they realize that the road in front of them…”

Stay away from the poetry!

“…isn’t the same path. She wanted something different and I think that we realized that before it was too late.”

She is smiling. She is smiling! Maintain eye contact and consider a question for her.

“But what about you? Your profile said that you work as a consultant.”

“Medical consultant. I try to make sure patients are treated well and that new techniques for their treatment are followed. Very exhausting when the staff at a new clinic thinks they have all the answers.”

“That does sound difficult… The worst thing I have to deal with is students who are trying their latest excuses for not doing their homework.”

Excellent! From smiling to laughter.

“Do you remember any of the better ones?”

“The excuses? Well, we once had an exam at the end of the term and a young girl told me that she had to go to a funeral for her grandmother. Of course, we let her set a date for a make-up exam. The only problem was that she came in with a tan…in the middle of January. I did not dig too deep into this, but the administration noticed and dug away. She had been on holiday with her boyfriend in Mexico for a week and did not want to refund the tickets (she thought the term ended later than it did). So, she failed the course and tried to sue the school for…not really sure what it was all about. Even her family thought the situation was all her fault. That’s the most dramatic one, at least.”

Again, good work with the lines. Story was amusing and involving. She is staring at you.

“I wonder how you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Teach. Of all the things that I thought about as a career, I made sure that teaching would never be on the list. That is a real skill.”

“But you talk to people all the time, don’t you? That is a little like what I do.”

“But they’re adults. Well, most of them are…”

Smile as a signal you are involved. Nice…

“But when you have papers to give, mark, exams to write and check, students who make up dumb excuses and get caught and then blame you. That takes stamina and patience.”

“Maybe…”

“No, really. I read your profile and thought, ‘I want to meet this guy. At least I’ll be able to talk to him about stress.’ Ridiculous, but true…”

She is holding your hand. A strong sign.

“Should we order now?”

“Yeah, the staff is circling.”

Intention stated. Begin!

*

This is going so well and she really seems to like you just make sure that you do not spend too much time in the bathroom did she like the wine when you ordered it (like you really know what it is all about like you are a…sommelier is that the right word, no one cares) and she did not leave when you told the waiter to return the soup because it was too cold and she stayed not just for a free meal and she laughed at all of your other jokes and did not laugh at you not once not even not when she is beginning to notice your problem and there is the chance that hey is someone else in this bathroom you cannot see any other feet under the stalls don’t keep looking under stalls someone might think it’s weird and you have her waiting at the table focus wash your hands and make sure that there is nothing in your teeth from the soup focus focus FOCUS!

*

“This all looks wonderful.”

“I know! I hope that you really don’t mind that I ordered this on our first date and that we are just…”

“Just…?”

“Well, figuring this out.”

He was smiling beyond his control. She was staring intently at him and he could not control how he felt about her smile, her dress, her hair, the perfume he could still detect above the odors of the food. At least he could still take a drink of wine and try to hide it.

“I guess that takes…stamina and patience.”

And her laugh sang in the dim lights and above the other voices in the room. Now it was her turn to try to hide her face.

“I really am glad you got in touch with me again.”

She took his hand and held it for a moment.

“I think we should eat.”

*

Test Subject, No. 183:

He does believe it is a real date, despite the obvious clue revealed earlier about working in the medical profession and the fact that he really called a number randomly and we were able to track it and keep up the charade of a date.

Subject is charming, and does have a job in the education system. Interesting fact: he is able to teach while having these obvious outbursts. Maybe he is able to control them during key moments, such as when he returned from the bathroom and did not have one single outburst during the main course of the meal. 

Detected some agitation when told I would have to go to the bathroom for a moment. Perhaps he felt I was going to abandon him (will investigate).

As a first date, there will be no physical contact besides hand-holding, the allowance of a chair pull or push, and the retrieval of our coats.

Second date possibility? Simply for a follow up.

Must return to complete meal. Will note cost and possible erotic content of evening.

Out.