Since this is my first post, it would probably help if I gave myself a quick introduction. So hey! I’m Molly; some of you will know me as last year’s Social Sec for Her Campus. For the last month, I’ve been living the American college lifestyle in Madison, Wisconsin (don’t worry I hadn’t heard of it either!). I thought I’d focus on a particular observation or topic for each of my posts to try and avoid rambling about my own life, as it feels like I’ve done so much here already!
Time for a quick photo of me with the new America pals and the Wisconsin Badgers football team mascot Bucky:
So, topic number one is: boys. I had the expectation before coming here that the guys would be quite forward, but last week one of the other girls from Leeds that I’m here with got to experience this on a new level. For the purpose of the story, but mainly because we don’t actually know his name, I’ll refer to the keen boy as Troy. I’ve chosen this name as I’m still waiting to actually meet someone called Troy – the closest we’ve got so far is a Thor. Also to save a bit of humiliation, but mainly because I can’t be bothered to walk down the corridor and see if she minds her name being used, Leeds girl can be known as Leeds girl (very creative I know).
The romantic love story began two weeks ago when Leeds girl left her class and found Troy waiting to introduce himself after hearing her British accent. Let’s get this straight; Troy is no Troy Bolton, if you know what I mean. But Leeds girl politely walked in the direction of our apartment block with him, until she realised he actually lives in the opposite direction, so she had effectively acquired a stalker. Unfortunately, she had to politely decline the invitation to go for coffee as she had a sorority meeting to go to (we’ve all joined sororities but that’s a story for another time!).
One week later…
If you’re ever trying to avoid a potential stalker, one tip is to not turn up early for class, as chances are, the stalker will too in the hope they get a bit of time to chat with you. Leeds girl made this exact error and had a good ten minutes with Troy. During this time, Troy decided he was a bit cold, so opened his bag and pulled out a Manchester United hoody. The thing is, Leeds girl is actually from Manchester, so this was some kind of awkward tribute to her hometown. Such a tribute that he’d even gone to the effort to borrow the hoody from his brother and bring it to class especially.
As the time came for the class to start, Leeds girl entered the computer lab and sat down, but with the choice of every seat, Troy managed to get a spot next to her. As her computer didn’t work, she thought she had hit the jackpot with a lucky escape as she could move across to the other side of the room! However, at the end of class and as much as she tried to be ridiculously slow (even thinking of an unnecessary question to ask the teaching assistant to try and stall for time), Troy was still waiting for her. It was made worse by the fact that he’d just began walking down the corridor and did the smooth trick of turning round and saying ‘oh, hi! Fancy seeing you’. As they were walking out, he announced that his brother was picking him up but he didn’t know where from. But of course, as Leeds girl stated that she was heading to the Union, Troy told her that the Union happens to be the exact place that his brother always picks him up from…
As the two lovebirds were walking on (with Troy sporting the pre-planned Man U hoody), Troy announced that he had a gift for her. He pulled out of his pocket two Origami swans, one in each hand and asked her to pick one. This is no joke – he had actually gone to the effort of making swans out of paper that morning. She then picked one and opened it. The message read ‘will you go for a drink with me?’ For any boys reading this, just a heads up, making an Origami swan will probably scare someone away. Leeds girl quickly made up that she had a boyfriend to save any more awkwardness and walked as quickly as possible to the Union. So, as it stands, we’re waiting for her next class and round three…