I stood outside of the Forever 21 in Union Square, waiting for the girl to arrive, since it was the only place she knew in San Francisco. Tourist trap, I thought. Why was I even there? Why would I even want to meet up with a girl who suggested meeting up at a place like Forever 21? We were supposed to meet up as friends, and I was supposed to show her around San Francisco. Everything within me revolted against taking this girl around the city. I didn’t want to meet her. The thought of spending a mere afternoon with her made me want to shoot myself in the foot. She had expressed an interest me and had been calling me for months, so I finally resigned myself to my tour-guide fate. The sun beat down on my face as I squinted to see if she was surfacing from the Powell BART station. I didn’t want her to surface.
My heart started beating wildly. I can escape, I thought. I could make a run for it right now, and I would never have to see her again. My heart started pounding in my chest. I performed a frenzied scan of the BART station in front of me, and then BAM! I booked it. I booked it as fast as I could towards the most nondescript part of San Francisco, the Financial District. I figured the Financial District would be the last place she would want to be, so I raced towards the oasis of un-cool. I rushed towards the Montgomery station as though a very large fireball of doom was racing towards me, and scurried down the stairs like my legs were on fire.
I had one girl on my mind, and it definitely wasn’t her.

