1

    Ruby tapped her feet furiously against the marble floor. It was one thing to be a match to a total stranger on a dating site and it was another to go on a date with the stranger. Her eyes skirted the room, looking for the dark haired man she had seen in the picture. Everyone seemed busy and engaged in one activity or the other, there was clearly no sign of him. 

  A frown found its way to her face as she glanced at her wristwatch, he was thirty minutes late. Who the hell stood a lady up for thirty minutes on their first date? She wondered.

She helped herself to some bread from the basket on the table. All hopes were dashed for her, unlike her friends who spent the weekend in the arms of their lovers, she rather stayed up late, binge watching episodes of gossip girl. Was she bothered she didn’t have a boyfriend and was probably never going to have one? No.

    Until two weeks back, she had never imagined she would find herself on a dating app, looking for a match. Esme had a way of putting pressure on her and getting what she wanted.

It all started on a hot Sunday afternoon when she was having brunch with her friends, as usual, Carla and Ana rambled on about how perfect their love lives were, Esme went on about how she had a one night stand with a wealthy man. Per usual, Ruby smiled and listened attentively, occasionally dropping “aww” and “how sweet” in between their sentences. A couple of days later, Esme asked her to meet up at a cafe. She was skeptical at first, the last thing she wanted to do was to listen to Esme’s stories about her one night stand.

        Jenny straightened her yellow vintage floral dress as she entered the cafe, she could spot Esme grinning from ear to ear as she walked in. 

 “Esme, this had better be important” Ruby pouted as she took the empty seat opposite her friend.

   “Oh please”Esme smiled

   Ruby nodded, she knew that smile. It was the smile Esme wore when she had an evil plan.

   “I called you here to tell you about this dating site”

 Ruby raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

  “You have to be joking with me”she frowned as she went through the cafe’s menu. 

  “Look, I know how crazy this sounds but you have to trust me on this one” 

    Ruby groaned in response as she looked around the room, hoping someone would save her from her friend.

  “When was the last time you went on a date?”

Ruby winced as she recalled the details of the unfortunate date. 

   “It doesn’t matter when last I went on a date, it’s not like I’m complaining”

   “How long are you going to remain enclosed in this shell? You need to live a little” Esme urged

   Ruby’s eyes remained fixed on the menu. Everyone told her she needed to live a little but she never saw how she could live a little when she never fit in. She adjusted her thick rimmed glasses as she finally settled on what she wanted to eat. 

It was easy for Esme, she was undoubtedly one of the prettiest persons Ruby knew. Her smooth ivory skin complemented her ocean blue eyes, eyes that Jenny was envious of for the past thirteen years of their friendship. Ruby on the other hand was a geek whose face was hidden behind very thick glasses, she basically lived under Esme’s shadow.

  “It’s easy for you, Esme. You have nothing to worry about” Ruby began bitterly. “You have such a charming personality, everyone sees me as the ugly nerd whose parents own the restaurant down the block. I can never fit in no matter how much I try”

  Ruby swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She couldn’t understand why Esme wanted to be best friends with her. She had expected her to be one of the snobby rich kids back then in high school. She was used to being ostracized by other kids and was referred to as the girl on scholarship.

When she became friends with Esme, all that ended. No one bullied her anymore or laughed at her glasses or even told her how ugly looking she was.

   Esme rolled her eyes, she had had enough of Ruby talking down on herself. 

   “I need you to see yourself in a different light, Ruby” she said dramatically, hands poised on her slender waist. “You need to stop belittling yourself and push all that has happened to you aside. I will help you set up your profile on the site”she ended with a tone of finality.

    “Miss, can I help you with anything?” A waiter asked as he approached Ruby’s table, snapping her out of her deep thought. “You’ve sat here for a while now and you haven’t ordered anything”

   “I’ll just have fruit juice,” she replied with a forced smile. Once again, she had made a fool out of herself. She couldn’t believe she allowed Esme talk her into such a stupid idea. She fought back the tears that formed in her eyes.

   Eyes shut, she took in deep breaths to prevent her from bursting out in tears. He probably didn’t show up because he thinks I’m ugly, she thought.

   “Here’s your drink ma’am”the waiter smiled as he placed the drink on her table.

    Thirty-five minutes past nine and he was yet to show up. The restaurant was getting deserted little by little. She sighed as she placed her clutch under her arm and left a tip for the waiter. 

The man lacked decency, he couldn’t do as much as send her a text, telling her he wouldn’t make it.

      The September cold air hit her as she exited the restaurant. There was no taxi in sight and the clouds looked pregnant. 

She let out a low groan as she began to walk hurriedly across the pavement, eyes blurred by her tears.