The Friend Zone

• Jarrod Grayson
• Short Story
• 2017

‘What am I doing wrong!’, Gerald asked himself as he walked away from his biggest crush. Gerald Johns was a subtle boy who lived in the small friendly town of Morevile. Attending the local high school Gerald and his best friend Tyler Hill, the boys were smart and kept to themselves. Daisy ‘Gerald’s crush’ was also smart, pretty, fit and perfect ‘in Gerald’s mind’. Morevile high was quite small with only 250 kids attending, 30 kids in Gerald, Tyler and Daisy’s year 10 class.
‘Hi, hello, sup, whatcha doing’, Gerald mumbled to himself trying to cough up a way to greet Daisy. Daisy and Gerald had been friends in primary school but drifted away in the salty high school sea. “Hi Daisy”, ‘I spoke, I spoke’, Gerald celebrated after greeting Daisy. “Oh hello… Gerald right”, Daisy’s crystal clear voice bounced in Gerald’s heart as she spoke. “Continue”, whispered Tyler seeing Gerald floating on cupids heart, “Oh yes, would you like to go to the dance with me?”, Two weeks before the annual school dance Gerald asked with fear of the worst. “Yes, I can’t see why two friends can go to a dance, yes Gerald I will go to the dance with you.” Gerald’s heart raised but sank more than an anchor.
“Dude she so friend zoned you!”, Tyler exclaimed to Gerald as he walked away. ‘The Friend Zone, something I never expected to be in’, Gerald thought to himself in the darkest way. “You have to help me get out!” Gerald begged Tyler, knowing the god of love has gotten out of the friend zone before. “Ok but only if you help me with maths.” Tyler was new to Morevile coming from the Philippines and struggling in maths. “Ok, lets do this!” Gerald yelled, a bit to loud in Tyler’s world.
Day and night the boys worked from crunching numbers to crunching the friend zone. Only two days to Tyler’s math test and three days to the dance the boys were exhausted. “Ok so what’s the probability of a heart from a standard deck of cards?” Gerald quizzed Tyler for the final time. “Thirteen out of 52. And what’s the chance of you getting out of the friend zone?” Tyler asked Gerald for the one hundredth time. “One hundred percent if I follow your advice and fifty percent if I don’t. Not much chance for me, it’s all up to your skills.”
Three days felt like three years for Gerald rehearsing steps and monologues. “You look very slick in that!” Tyler complimented as he went to check on Gerald before the dance. “And you look very smart with that A, nice job!” Gerald complimenting Tyler’s maths results. At the dance it was a mission for Gerald, ‘Step six: compliment smile, step 7: ask out.’ Nervous Gerald thought, ‘not many steps.’ “You have a nice smile Daisy… will you go out with me?