Awkward Hug

The day the Upper Sixth English Classes handed in their coursework was a great one. We all felt so liberated. Joanne and I were beside ourselves with joy. That’s why, when we came out of English Room One to find Joel standing in the corridor, we all started having a ridiculously cheerful conversation about something that was of no consequence at all.

“…and I just about died off!” finished Joanne, flailing her arms about in that oh-so-dramatic way that only she can get away with. Joel and I laughed appreciatively, and then fell silent. Nobody spoke. It was one of those terrible, awkward moments when you just want the ground to open up and swallow you…except -

“This is crap!” I exclaimed, making the other two jump. “That awkward silence wasn’t awkward at all!”

Joel looked thoughtful for a second, then said, “Maybe we should try again.”

And try we did, but it didn’t seem to work. Joanne, the only person I know who actually swims in a sea of common-sense, came up with a theory. The reason it didn’t feel awkward when we fell silent, she mused, was that it simply wasn’t. The three of us were so comfortable with each others’ quirks, and so familiar with each others’ personalities, that we didn’t need to talk to communicate. She blows me away, Joanne. She really does.

With this in mind, we had another moment of silence, which I ruined by smiling so widely that Joanne laughed. I couldn’t help it. It felt like we were all having some sort of weird group hug!