I waited years to ask her, and finally at the end of Grade 8, I asked her.

"Ew no thanks," She said.

"That's OK," I said, realizing I had survived the worst thing that I had imagined.

Surprisingly, my confidence went up after this; I learned that I had the courage to ask anyone out. I learned not to waste time waiting for what you want, because the end result could be fruitless. This was around the time I was getting back into Star Trek and I recall hearing a line from the alcoholic bartender on the original Enterprise.

“A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it, or he turns his back on it and starts to wither away.”