This week, Mrtl's motif is worst date. I was actually under the impression that the motif was first date (because apparently I am easily confused by rhyme). When I discovered that it is actually worst date, I panicked for a moment because I don't think I've had any bad dates. How is that possibly possible, you ask? Well, you see...um, how to say this? I've only ever dated Rob. (We've been together since high school, remember?)

Well wait, if you count going to a movie, in 8th grade, with a guy who wasn't even my boyfriend (but soon would be, in an 8th grade sort of way) and making out during [yeah, no clue what that movie was] a DATE, then I guess I've dated someone other than Rob. Once. Sorta. But come on, that obviously doesn't count as a date for So Many Reasons.

And so it seems I've never been on a real date, an actual date, an adult date in which you are trying to determine if you might maybe like the person enough to want to see him again. I've never been on a date with someone who wasn't already my boyfriend, who didn't eventually become my husband. Is that sweet or just pathetic?

Anyway, it turns out that my first date with Rob was also our worst.

I was in 9th grade. He had asked me to "go together" the week before. He was a year older and had a driver's license, so he was actually going to take me someplace. Score. I often tell people that on our first date we went to see The Wiz on Broadway. Which is sorta true. It was Broadway High School. Close enough.

He came to pick me up and my dad answered the door so they could meet. Rob had chin-length hair. My dad was not impressed, but he didn't let on. They shook hands and my mom said hi and then we were off to see The Wiz!

Except we were not alone. I hopped into his car only to find Melissa sitting in the back seat. Melissa who went to our school and lived near Rob and also wanted to see The Wiz. Practical Rob thought it made perfect sense to bring her along since she couldn't drive herself. Super-dooper.

We arrived at Broadway High School. You know, the three of us. Rob walked up to the ticket table, bought one ticket for himself, and began walking toward the auditorium without so much as a look back over his shoulder. (He has since claimed that he didn't want to appear rude to Melissa by buying a ticket for me and not her, an explanation which makes absolutely no sense since I WAS HIS GIRLFRIEND AND SHE WAS A TAGALONG.) I am a dutch kind of girl and so didn't mind buying my own ticket. But I did find it a little bizarre (aka RUDE) that he didn't even offer and didn't even look back to make sure I had money to get in. Whatever...I'm over it.

So I paid for my ticket and rushed to catch up with Rob who was looking for seats. (In the process, I gave Melissa the slip. Intentionally. But not to worry - she found us again after the show. Golly, what a relief.) We found two seats and plopped down, only to discover that his ex-girlfriend was sitting in the row in front of us, just a few seats down. This is the ex-girlfriend whom he had dumped just a week before asking me to "go together," who had refused to eat for 3 days after the break-up, who would run to the bathroom and vomit every time she saw us together (or so she claimed). So needless to say, sitting within sight of her was a wee bit AWKWARD. Especially since the girls who were with her kept looking back at us and shooting me evil looks and whispering and doing all the other things teenage girls do as a way to exact revenge for The Scorned One. His ex of course chose to ignore us, to give the impression that she was so over it. Which she wasn't, because I'm pretty sure she went to the bathroom at least once to throw up. (I will admit that none of this bothered me terribly much, considering I found his ex to be quite the bitch and so was not above rubbing her nose in it. And by it, I don't mean her vomit. Eew. I mean the fact that I was with Rob and she wasn't.)

I remember nothing else. The musical itself was a trippy blur (not sure if that's actually how The Wiz is or if I was just so darned elated to be sitting next to Rob that I couldn't focus). I think we might have held hands. Maybe. I honestly can't remember. After the show he took me home...and then he took Melissa home.

Good times.