Jesse B vs. Ana

About 2 years ago, somewhat down with the current goings on in my life, I decided it was time to head back to school. I was a little older, a little wiser, and had a lot of time on my hands.

I didn't figure I'd stick with it for long, but it was just more something to do at the time. I set a few rules for myself to make sure I didn't repeat the same mistakes as my first round of college. First I wanted to be more social. I don't think I made a single friend by way of college in my first four(ish) years, and that seems a bit odd looking back on it. I wasn't social, and I didn't talk to people. This time, I was going to be more outgoing, more friendly, even if it killed me. Second, I was going to be a better student.

So my first day, I walk into class and take my usual position towards the back of the class. Just because I'm going to be a better student doesn't mean I've gotta be the nerd up front with his hand constantly raised. So I'm sitting there feeling a bit old, a bit out of place. I look up and this girl walks in. She's a beautiful girl slightly resembling a young, very cute Eva Longoria.

Now I've personally got 4-5 years of programming classes under my belt, and in that time I've never seen a girl who looks like that in class, especially a Unix Shell Scripting class. For those not familiar with Unix or Shell Scripting, lets just say its not a class that an education major would take because it "sounded like it would be fun".

So this girl walks in and I think to myself, "Oh, how sad, this poor girl is lost." I consider pointing out to her what room this is, but I decide she'll figure it out soon enough. I spend the next 10-20 minutes waiting for her to realize her mistake, but as class starts the teacher says hello to many of the students and says, "Hello Ana". At this point I realize she has to be a Comp Sci major which is mind boggling. You've got more chance of meeting the tooth fairy than meeting a cute Latin girl in a Unix Shell Scripting class.

I'm immediately enamored with "Ana" and curious about her. As the weeks pass I can tell she's kind of quiet, and keeps to herself. I spend the next few months looking for an "in", or a chance to talk to her, or something. Eventually the teacher throws me a bone and decides the rest of the class will be "group activities", and with a little bit of "luck" I end up in this girl's group.

So now its me, Ana, and 3 other nerds in a daily group. I try my best to talk to her, but she seems extremely shy, and I don't want to be too obvious. She's really smart, and the more time I spend in this group the more I'm dying to get to know her. As the semester draws to a close I've gotten nowhere. I'm looking for the "in", but keep coming up with nothing.

On the last day of class I go to school early to get some things done. I take a seat in front of a computer and notice that Ana is sitting a few chairs over with a group doing work. Time passes on, and I'm getting hungry. I haven't found too many places to eat near campus, so I ask her if there's anything good to eat close by. She gives me directions to a Subway nearby. "Do you want to go and grab a sandwich" is on the tip of my tongue, but it just doesn't come out. So I go to subway, eat my lunch and come back to finish up. I've got a Subway cup in my hand and she says, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to go? I would have gone with you."

"YOU BLEW IT" echoes through my head, but the chance had passed. The door had closed. Class ended, and at that point I figured I'd never see her again. I sent her an email asking if I could make it up to her, but she basically shut me down. At the time I was a bit sad, assuming I'd never learn the myteries of this girl.