our story as told by mark

The girl

It was the Fall of 2016. And as the world remembers, it was before Donald Trump was elected president. But for the purposes of our story… it might as well have been the day the world began.

We meet Bianca — a fresh face arriving at Biola University, migrating in from the Central Valley. And for the first time in her life, permanently away from home. She is tardy on her way to math class, and little does she know in that humble classroom is where she would meet her future husband.

The Boy

After interacting briefly in math class and exchanging notes, she asks Mark for his number with a tap on the shoulder! Oh- ho ho… any other boy would’ve mistaken that for interest!

Of course it wasn’t the case for her, as she only wanted to exchange notes. But Mark wasn’t just any other boy. He was the boy in question. It was an encounter borne of a misunderstanding that gave this story its spark.

And so,

after a month of cafeteria lunch, college-budget dinners, and some actual well-needed studying. Mark had the novel idea to tell her how he felt. That’s right, lay it out there—and as men’s famous last words go, “what’s the worst she could do?” Questionable… but we can’t rewrite the written.

The Plan

The lay of the land was intricate and nestled in it, a perfect trap set by Mark: Supple skies on a fall evening, spent on the roof of the “Jesus Saves” parking structure with In-n-Out in hand.

The two talked… and they let minutes slip into hours. They explored each other's minds, all the way from childhood to college. By the end of the night, what was left was a half-eaten burger, some cold fries, and only half of Mark’s heart. You see, they had only known each other for a month, and there was no way a relationship could be formed off of that.

Dejected, defeated, our two separate… For now.

… what now?

Almost a whole year went by between the two of them, where conversation was nothing more than a courtesy. By the time the new semester arrived, Mark had finally come to terms with the inevitable— there was no future together. Though before they could live that reality… school scheduling had other plans. You could see the disappointment on their faces as they walked into class:

“Oh no.. Not —” -M

“— him again.” - B

They had three classes together. Three!?!

Sharing only one last year was more than enough to be sick of eachother!

Step #4: Bargaining

In the first three weeks, Mark started working through the seven stages of grief, while Bianca was much better at keeping composure.

It didn’t take long for Mark to get hard stuck at Step #4, Bargaining. He hit his limit after three weeks in, and was distracted by her presence in every class they shared. He did the only reasonable thing (in his mind at least). He sat down next to her, and wrote in her notebook:

“Hey.”
“Hi?”
“How have you been?”

Not the most invigorating, but Bianca’s mind was racing. What could he possibly want? And why can’t he just leave it alone? But out of the kindness(or politeness) of her heart, she had agreed to dinner at Tokyo Town— where it’s happy hour every hour!

Over the course of dinner, they reconciled their misunderstandings and relearned that they really did enjoy each other's company. By the end of dinner, they had agreed to an early breakfast the next day.

…and so on and so forth…

Leading us to our fateful day, October 14, where the rest is left to be written :)