I want to get to know you (Romantic 3)

"I want to get to know you," you say, hoping that it can be that simple.

She cocks her head, for a moment confused. Then she gestures to one of the curved granite benches filling the fountain plaza. You sit on it, with her.

After thinking for a few seconds, she answers. "I'm not opposed. It's just a strange thing for a man to ask."

"Is it?" you say.

"Given the men I've talked you, yes," But she doesn't seem displeased, more contemplative. "I think I'd also like to be understood. That's the funny thing. I've had friends here, but to them, I'm always the 'weird girl.'"

"Do you dislike being the weird girl?" you ask.

She shakes her head. "If I did, I'd stop doing it. I don't like what counts as normal, in this era, it's just...oh. I'm sorry, is that too hostile?"

"No," you say. Because you meant it. You want to know honestly what she thinks. Who is she beneath this person who says all these strange, spiritual things? Or, at least, what informs that?

Despite how you give her permission, though, she doesn't continue the on the previous track and instead starts over. "I'm from Southern California, born and raised. The first in my family to go to college...and they're skeptical of it. I don't think I would have gotten in without a scholarship."

"You're here on a scholarship?" You blink. "Like, full-ride?"

"Full-ride." That dreamy smile returns. And considering her speech, you realize this shouldn't be surprising. Yasmin, clearly, is very smart. "It'd be one thing if I was majoring in something they approved of, but, well..."

You bite. "What is your major?"

"Holistic medicine," she says. Then: "That's kind of what got me into, well, you know. All of this."

Unthinking, you say. "And you don't ever turn it off, do you?"

You might have made a mistake. But instead she laughs. "No. Maybe I should turn it down, sometimes, but it's a way of seeing the world. There are so many unhealthy things in our culture that are just normalized. That's what I was leading into before. For years I ate the same food my family did, meat and processed foods and dairy and...well, I thought I was chronically ill. I constantly felt terrible. I never made any friends in High School because I could never go out, it took everything in me just to do my homework."

It took everything just to do her homework, and still she earned that scholarship? Wow.

She goes on. "And normal doctors weren't helping. I don't know if you know, but this is kind of a thing for women in general. Doctors don't understand our bodies. And when women complain about chronic issues, especially, Doctors don't know what's going on...but then I discovered different ways of making myself healthy. Both mentally and physically. And you want to know something wild, Ryan? They work. I was wondering if I'd be able to go to college, not out of poor grades, but just energy. And now I'm here. And I'm thriving. I've found a sorority, meaning I've finally found friends."

She examines you. "I'm sorry. Is that a lot? I am absolutely aware, Ryan, that I can be a lot."

Yasmin (Love) +5