"Failing is when you don't pick yourself up and try again- quote from someone"
In the next date, Freya wasn't the issue. Anne Craven was. Anne had dark raven black hair, grey eyes. She had striking features that all complimented her. The problem was that she knew it all too well. She too, being narcissistic to the next level. You couldn't hold a conversation with her for a second without it somehow being redirected to herself, and how perfect she was. Perhaps, Freya thought, her parents had no given her enough attention when she was a child. Anne spoke about a lot of things, but she didn't mention her parents once.
Freya scolded herself, she was analysing her date the way she would analyse a patient. To be extremely honest though, Anne definitely deserved it though. Even if she understood why Anne was like this, Freya just couldn't handle her. Anne would keep showing her videos of her doing workouts, hanging out with friends, bikini pictures, a trophy she won in swimming contest. All about her. Furthermore, every so often she would turn around to look into the mirror directly behind her and begin to preen herself. Freya understood that Anne definitely needed some sort of help. Luckily one of Anne's friends called, and they began to talk. Freya went online and found a therapist which specialised in narcissism. She wrote down the number and placed it directly in front of Anne and then sneaked out the restaurant, leaving Anne to talk with her friend.
This time it was Freya blocking her date's number, not the other way round. When she arrived home, she called Sam up and told her what happened. Sam sounded extremely sympathetic and apologetic for setting up those dates, and offered to cancel the last one. Freya refused, she questioned, "What's the worse that could happen?".
The next day at volunteering was difficult. She was making her rounds, delivering a newspaper and cupcakes to the residents in the old age home she was assigned to. She passed by a room with one of them who had Alzheimer's disease. His name was Henry. Henry's son had come to visit her, but he didn't remember him. He told him that he was about to board a train to come back home from the countryside. Freya then remembered, that on one of his better days he told her that he was one of the children/teenagers evacuated from their homes in World War Two to leave to the country. Henry was probably thinking that it was the end of the war and he was coming home.
Entering the room, she pleaded the newspaper and cupcake on the table. She then started conversation with the man, "Hi there, my name is Freya, how are you doing Henry?". He replied he was doing well.
"When is the train leaving?" he asked. His voice was filled with earnest curiosity- he genuinely believed he was returning home.
Freya replied, "Soon Henry, soon, in the meantime, why don't you have a small nap, so you will have enough energy for the train. I've also prepared you a cupcake to enjoy on the way,". She then called one of the nurses. The son left the room and he appeared agitated. He then grabbed Freya's arm.
"Next time can you call a professional to deal with my father?" he asked politely. Just as Freya was about to nod, he whispered in an undertone, "Stupid, interfering, n****r.". Freya felt like she was going to cry. This wasn't her first time experiencing racism, but her first time in England. She thought that maybe, just maybe, it would be different. Most people treated her with the same respect as they would for everyone else.
She yanked her arm away, and walked off, not deigning to give him a response. How did such a sweet man, have such a racist descendant. When Freya reached the lobby, at the end of the day, the organiser there for the charity asked how her day went. When she related what happened, the lady said she would deal with it. In years to come, Freya would realise that those words didn't mean anything- you had to press the issue for something to come of it. That was Freya's first overt and covert racism in England.
When she came home Freya, collapsed on her couch. She groaned when she realised that tonight she had another date. Having a shower to freshen up, Freya applied some foundation, mascara, and natural lipstick to freshen up. She then chose to wear some ripped black jeans, an orange button-down blouse, and her trusty converses. Leaving her house, it turned out the date would be in the Costa she first met Sam in. Leaving the house, she decided to walk. Once arriving there, she ordered herself her favourite drink, the trusty coffee frappe. Then waited. A few minutes later, a lady approached her. She appeared to be Asian, had light brown hair, hazel eyes.
"Hi there, are you Freya?" she asked, when Freya nodded, she continued, "I'm Robyn.". They started chatting. Robyn was studying Italian and French in university, and she worked as a part time secretary in a security firm.
They were getting along really well, they both enjoyed Marvel, Harry Potter, the Twilight books etc. Then Freya said, "Gosh, I haven't had this much fun being on a date with a fellow woman in a long time!". Robyn froze. She stopped laughing. Freya tried to recollect what she had said wrong.
Robyn was silent, the tension just grew. Robyn then whispered, "I'm not a woman, I register as non-binary". Freya kicked herself and mentally shot Sam. Why didn't she tell her that this woman was non-binary. Freya apologised, and Robyn accepted her apology. About a minute later though, they got a call. Robyn left the table and came back a minute later.
"Sorry Freya, work emergency just came up, I've got to go, lovely meeting you," then Robyn ditched her and left. Well, that was weird. Coming home, she called up Sam and told her what happened. She was super apologetic about getting the gender wrong, but admitted it was weird that Robyn left like that.
As it was still early evening, Freya decided to go cycling around the neighbourhood on her bike. She followed the traffic, and then came across a park, which she rode through. It was lovely. It had been a while since she had rode a bike for fun. It was so refreshing passing by all the trees and hearing the birds sing. It was like paradise.
On her way back, she came across a house, about half an hour away from her bungalow by bike. Exiting the house was a person, who was being escorted out by another person- after her date with Robyn she was extra cautious. The former person, looked a lot like Robyn, but it couldn't be, could it. They turned around, and the first person was Robyn. The second person was a stranger she had never met. Still it didn't mean it wasn't a work related meeting, right? Robyn spotted her. Deciding that that was the conclusion, Freya cycled off. When she came home she noticed a text from Robyn.
"Are you really that petty to follow me after a date, it was a work related meeting like I told you. If you are so paranoid about these types of things, we shouldn't be dating.".
Freya tried to text her back, but she was blocked. It was twenty to nine when she came home. Looking on her phone, she noticed that a tattoo parlour was about five minutes away from her house, and would be open until nine thirty. Deciding that she wanted another tattoo, she left her house and went to the tattoo parlour. Once there she got a two tattoos. One on her left upper arm she got written: Not every day is good, but there is good in every day. On her lower back she had written: Never regret a day in your life: good days give happiness, bad days give experience, worst days give lessons, and best days give memories. After paying them, Freya left to her bungalow, and went to bed. Tomorrow would be better.