A girl and a boy are sitting next to one another at McDonald’s. The girl is obviously not happy. The boy is shuffling his hands nervously. He wears worn jeans and a ketchup stained shirt. She is wearing a mid-length black dress and gold hoop earrings.

I can’t believe he would take me here…  the girl thinks to herself. This is not what I thought he meant.

What did she have in mind when I said casual? Thinks the boy

He groans inwardly. The gold earrings swing loosely as she picks up her things and walks off.

The date goes from bad to worse. A short car ride later and they are at a cheesy pirate themed mini golf course.

The girl rolls her eyes.

It had to be mini-golf. A hundred other places to go, and he chose mini-golf. Does he even know the meaning off first date?

The boy walks slowly to the counter. He coughs slightly. And then a little louder, looking from her to the ticket booth. He hands the man a ten. Each ticket costs ten dollars. The girl glares him down and pulls out her own money.

    “McDonald’s sure raised their prices…compared to you know, it used to be, like, a dollar…” the boy says loudly, clearly trying to remind the girl of her five dollar meal he payed for.

    They spend an awkward evening puttering around, each wishing they could escape the other. But the girl had been driven by the boy, and an even more awkward car ride ensued.

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    Everyone has heard of that first date horror story. Girls rant about it to their friends and boys just hope to forget it. Often times they are both at fault for the failing first date.

    An array of things went wrong here. The two people didn’t know each other very well. The girl assumed too much and the boy assumed too little. When the boy told the girl it would be casual, the girl still dressed as if it were not. Her idea of casual was different than the boys and so a miscommunication occurred. Which is often times the biggest issue between two people.

    A way to avoid a disaster date is to talk with the person about the date beforehand. Make sure the date is something you both will enjoy. Surprises seem romantic, but often end up as the complete opposite.

    Sophmore Angie Galluzo said, “Generally I don’t care were they take me but, like, if its awkward between the two people, it is always going to be a bad date.” This is a good tip to remember. Starting off in a relationship can be awkward for both people. “I was on a first date with someone and we were across the room from one another…not talking…” Angie said, laughing.

    Another thing to remember is that everyone comes from different backgrounds. Some boys will offer to pay for their dates, others will not. It can be a matter of beliefs or of  economic status. It is best to assume nothing. The boy however should never have paid if he could not afford it, and certainly should not make his date feel bad for it.

    The best thing in most situations is to forget all the hype and plan a date for two individuals, rather than assuming a generic one will suffice. But then again, if it weren’t for these bad Valentine’s Day stories, where would we get all of our silly romantic comedies?