Just like the others

Soda stared off into the distance, paying no attention to his driving. His date's voice broke into his thoughts. He glanced over at her to make sure she hadn't been asking him a question, then let out a small sigh of relief when he found that she wasn't. He listened to her ramble for a few seconds, but her words bored him. Her very presence bored him. She was just like every other girl he dated. They made the same dumb jokes, told the same dumb stories, dressed the same, wore their hair the same; shoot, they even smelled the same! The only difference was the face and voice, and that was never enough distinction for Soda. They were all the same; all except one. Sandy. She was long gone, though, and Soda had pushed his memories of her to the back of his mind. He hated the helplessness he felt when he thought about her; hated feeling on the verge of tears.

Suddenly he realized the car was quiet and motionless. Reddening he turned to face his date (What was her name? Even now he couldn't remember. Couldn't remember ever knowing, for that matter.) She smiled faintly. "We're at my house." Soda looked at her for a few seconds until what she said registered. He jumped out of the car and ran around to let the girl out. She swung her legs over the car frame and smiled brightly as Soda helped her out. Soda knew she was just playing her role, but he didn't mind because he was just playing his own - and both of them knew it.

They walked up to the front porch and turned to look at each other. The girl looked him over thoughtfully and spoke first.

"You don't plan to call me, do you?"

"No." The answer came out more quickly than Soda intended. He blushed and looked down at his shoes. "I mean...you're real nice and cute and all...it's just that..." He sighed. I am not helping myself out any. He took a deep breath and looked back up at her. He hated being asked direct questions; his brain always answered truthfully before he knew he was doing it. "I had a great night with you and all, it's just that - well, I didn't feel anything."

She just smiled at him. "Sodapop, don't worry about it. I wasn't expecting anything, anyways."

"You're a real nice girl," Soda repeated.

"Sodapop Curtis." She pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. "I said, don't worry about it. I had a nice time with you, too. Thanks for taking me out tonight." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Soda closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Vanilla. At least she smells different than the others.

They waved goodbye to each other and Soda got into the car to head back home. He found himself driving on instinct as his thoughts drifted back to Sandy.