Amara had returned inside after her quiet moment outside. She was inside thinking about what to do since she was not leaving the party soon. Her friend Teni was chatting with some guests, she didn't want to intrude or interrupt their conversation. She kept moving around in circles in the hall with nothing exactly in mind to do at the moment. It was in this state of mind she was when a voice interrupted her thought. "All right, everyone, let's gather here. It's time for a game". The host called out from where he was.
"Oh, come on Amara, it will be fun! You have to join!" Teni said; she held her hand, trying to drag her toward the center of the room.
Amara wanted to say No, but before she could do that, the host was already in the center of the room explaining how the game would go.
"It's simple. Everyone pairs themselves up; the game will test your knowledge of your partner. You will answer questions and do challenges and see how well you communicate. Are you ready? Let's get started!"
Amara wasn't a fan of games like this. She started figuring out how the game likely to go.
"Have you done this type of game before?" Dennis's voice came from behind.
Amara turned to look who was the one talking from behind. "Oh, Dennis. No". She said with a not-too-serious face.
"Well, it looks like we are paired together," Dennis said with a smile.
Amara's heart raced a beat, "Are you sure?" She asked in curiosity.
"As you can see Amara". Dennis responded with a smile.
"I considered you lucky anyways..." Amara wasn't sure of her emotions; maybe she was happy or dreading being paired with him.
"Don't worry," Dennis said with a smile. "I promise I won't make you do anything embarrassing."
Amara raised an eyebrow; she was not sure if she believed him. "We will know about that later."
The game began, and soon enough, they were asked the first question: What's your partner's most embarrassing moment?
Amara blinked, she was caught off guard. She barely knew Dennis. There is no idea of what his embarrassment was.
Dennis, however, was ready to open up without any hesitation. He said to her, "I am going to say 'the time I tripped in front of all the guests during a charity party."
Amara chuckled; she tried to imagine it. "That is not right I think, but I will play along."
Dennis raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no. You're supposed to answer for me!"
Amara's mind quickly scanned through what could work. "You spilled wine on someone's expensive suit?"
"Hmm, you are close," Dennis chuckled as he replied, "What about you?"
Amara hesitated for more than a minute. She wasn't the type that shared personal experiences with people he barely knew. But something about the ease with which Dennis has spoken to her made her feel comfortable opening up.
"Let's check this out" she began, then grinned. "There was that time I tripped while running to catch the bus In front of a group of people. Classic, right?"
Dennis chuckled. "Yeah, I think we're both in this club together __clumsy' club."
The way they threw banter at themselves was very seamless. The tension in Amara's mind began to fade out. The game forced both of them to share their moments of vulnerability.
The next round was more technical. It was a physical challenge, the one they had to balance a balloon between their foreheads and walk across the room without dropping it.
Dennis raised an eyebrow as the instructions were given. "Do we have to do this?" he asked.
Amara gave him a teasing smile. "what are you thinking, what's the worst that could happen?"
Without waiting for a response from Dennis, she moved closer to him; the balloon was placed in between their foreheads.
"You are acting like you already know how to play this game," Dennis said jokingly.
Amara looked at him and spoke with humor "I and the game host plan it".
"Well, I am not a pillow, hope you know. You and the balloon should be careful with my head. Trying to use me as a pillow won't work." Dennis said jokingly.
Amara laughed; she adjusted her position slightly so the balloon could stay in place. "Well, if we both fall flat on our faces, at least we'll have an excuse."
"You are rushing", Dennis said, smiling at the silliness of the whole thing.
"Don't be afraid, we won't fall," Amara replied instantly.
As they slowly made their way across the room, they focused on keeping the balloon in place. They stumbled a little, but they worked together, laughing and guiding each other along the way.
Dennis leaned closer to her, he lowered his voice slightly. "You know, we're doing pretty well."
Amara smiled, "We're a great team. If there is any trophy for this, we should have it."
They both burst into laughter; they finally crossed the finish line with the balloon intact in between them.
As they removed the balloon, Dennis gave her a grin. "I didn't think you had this in you, now I know."
She chucked, "It was jazz that got us through it."
Dennis gave her a soft smile, "I wasn't expecting this, I thought the game would be awkward. But see the connection, it was seamless.
"Yeah," Amara replied, her voice softer than before. "I was expecting it to be awkward, too."
They stood there for a moment in silence, just looking at each other, the game temporarily forgotten as the roar of the party continued around them.
Dennis breaks the silence with a quiet voice, "I am glad you are here."
Amara smiled, not sure how to respond, but the words came anyway. "Me too."
The game continued, and they moved on to the next challenge, but in that moment, something had shifted. As they faced off against the other pairs, Amara couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed. She was no longer the quiet girl standing in the background.