I was waiting on the lawn outside of school for a carpool ride home when I received a text that my ride would be late. So I stood awkwardly near the school sign, pretending that I was not alone by choice, and even spun my body around just a bit to make it look like I was doing something.
A girl and a boy, probably in sixth grade, suddenly appeared (as in they actually came out of nowhere, but maybe that's because I was spinning around), and the girl asked me a question that I can't recall. The girl and I never talked that much -- I remember seeing her around, exchanging rare smiles, and occasionally making small talk, but nothing else. The fact that she came up to me was a pretty big surprise. I thought perhaps she was asking about the boy next to her, so I said that I didn't know, sorry. She stifled a smile and took out something from her backpack, dropped down on the grass, and started talking to the boy.
I was standing awkwardly again, except it looked like I was alone for sure. Before doing strange things like spinning in a circle in the middle of the grass again, I caught a glimpse over their shoulders and saw that the girl had pulled out a Mad Libs notebook and asking the boy for a part of speech to fill in the blank of the story. I saw that one of the questions she asked me was from the Mad Libs, and I started laughing too.
You know what the funny thing is?
They didn't really question it. As soon as I started laughing, they joined in. They didn't really find it odd that an older stranger started laughing behind them. They simply laughed because it was hilarious, and they invited me to do some Mad Libs with them and share some of the fun.
The boy and girl eventually asked me for my name. I spelled it out for them just in case, since it was commonly misspelled. It was jotted down. Something about me and a zipper.
I ended up sitting on the lawn, all of us finished laughing at the boy's answers and wrapping up mine. I'd forgotten how fun Mad Libs was. The ride appeared and I left, but not before asking if I could finish reading my beautifully composed story tomorrow. They said yes, and I felt good for the rest of the car ride -- not feeling so awkward, not feeling so alone.
When I returned back home, I grabbed some food and took out some Mad Libs books that I had, amusing myself for an hour. It was relaxing, and even though there was no one next to me, I still didn't feel awkward and alone.
Nowadays, I'm a lot more comfortable chatting with people that I don't know (maybe a little too comfortable). But it felt nice to have someone show it to me as well. It was a small thing to do, but it was nice.
