The First Hug

After my last post, I said to myself, 'Sophie, just go out and hug the first person you see.' I could hear the girl next door (I gave her a code name but that's too confusing right now, so I'll just tell you her real name, Ami (pronounced like Amy). You'll probably hear it in the video anyway). She'd just gone into the loo so I gathered some of my things while I waited and then she came out.

She looked a bit pale and she sniffled. 'Hey, how're you doing?' she said, looking towards her door. She was about to go inside.

'Hey, Ami?'
She looked up.
'Can I have a hug?'
'Yeah.' She hugged me lightly, making an 'awww' sound to cover her awkwardness.
'I'll give it back to you soon,' I told her.
She laughed a little. 'Okay.' She sounded a little confused, understandably.

That was my first hug! I'll make a tally as I go.

I went to visit my Chinese friend. She'd help me on my quest. Her phone number didn't work, though, and there was no one around. On the way back there was an open door to another house. I felt weird about going into someone's house, even if it was just a shared dorm.

I decided to go to the library. 'No discrimination. You have to hug the next person you see,' I told myself. Then ahead was a weedy guy. Too far away, I decided. When I got closer he started lighting up a cigarette. I decided that was a no. I kept going. On the path near the bus stop was a guy. He was on his phone. Too busy. Then, at the bus stop, was a whole line of people waiting for the number 15 which was about a minute away because the double-decker was almost there. A whole line of people just waiting to be hugged. But I couldn't. The girl didn't look very friendly and the other people were strangers. Scary people. Still, I smiled at them without effort. Almost at the end of the line was a guy from class. He smiled and waved, but he was on his phone. I kept going.

There were hardly any people in the library foyer. One guy was sitting down doing work and another girl was at the help desk. I went up to the computer lab. There were about six people in there. Six people who could be hugged. They looked friendly enough. Ergh, too friendly. A guy was smooching on his girlfriend's cheek. Gross. I chickened out.

Still, I got one hug! Only a little one but still nice.

I was thinking, maybe if there were many people to be hugged, like in the line, two hugs each would be a bit much. Maybe one hug would do.

I have one hug that is ready to be given out and taken back as soon as people are ready. Or, more accurately, as soon as I'm ready.