Guy | Girl

She scampered into Room 302 today and tried to avoid Mr. J's irritated gaze on the back of her head. Instead, she sulked in her chair, her head was turned to face the blackboard at the back of the classroom. She looked as if she were reading the French conjugations, very carefully, with a laser-sharp focus.

He wrapped her gently on the head. "Hey, what's up?"

"Leave me alone." 

"Hmm." He backed off. "Annoyed is a good look on you, I almost like it better than angry. You get a little too red in the face there, like an overcooked tomato." He cackled, clearly amused with himself.

"Fuck off."  Her voice cracked near the end.

He instantly realized something was wrong. She wasn't annoyed, she was crying.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I made the first move. Just like you told me. I asked Ernie Chou out to the homecoming dance."

"Oh shit." 

Out of all people, she had to pick Ernie. He was cool but could be a jackass. He didn't think Ernie particularly liked her since she managed to beat him out of valedictorian every single year.  "What did he say? Do you need me to go beat him up?"

"No, it's fine." She mumbled. "I'm tougher than that. He told me that he doesn't want to date a smart girl because they're too fucking sensitive." With her hands making air quotes, she mimicked, her voice the typical douchey male: "You can't even make a joke anymore."

"So he would rather date a dumbass?"

She cracked a smile at his words. "I get it pretty often you know. I'm very politically correct, model UN secretary-general and all," she gestured towards herself proudly. "Guys often tell me that I get triggered too easily and can't take a fucking joke."

"I don't know. I really don't know what I should do. Should I stand up for what I believe in all the time? It's hard to know when it is a joke and when it isn't. I can take a joke, I do find some things funny, but I find something offensive as well. When a guy tells me to stay in the kitchen, should I be laughing?"

He didn't have an answer. "If it's any consolation, I would have said yes."