The Sound of Silence

Submitted by Nick:

When I was in college, a buddy's girlfriend, Jennifer, introduced me to her friend Paula. Paula seemed a bit shy, but she was at a party where she didn't know most of the people there.

Jennifer got the idea that we should go on a double date. It seemed like a great idea to me, but after two weeks of trying to get everyone's schedules together I just decided to take Paula out on my own.

I called her, set up a time, and agreed to pick her up at her dorm.  I suggested a TGIFridays (give me a break.  I was in college and broke.) and she seemed fine with it.

When we got there, she informed me that she didn't eat beef, chicken, or pork. So I felt like an ass because there was a more vegetarian-friendly Italian restaurant that we could have gone to.  This would actually be the high point of the evening, because it was one of the few times at which she opened her mouth to speak. 

While trying to get to know her during dinner, she gave short one or two-word answers to all of my questions. She lived in Dubai for a while and said it was hot. She had basically no questions for me either. So I struggled to cover the vast amount of awkward silences, but to no avail.

We finished dinner, went to a play, and I dropped her off.

I got a call from Jennifer a week latter yelling at me for not calling Paula back, but how could I talk to someone over the phone if she would probably never even open her mouth to communicate?