Hello, my name is Mxx and there’s not a lot I can say about myself. I know some people just love to talk about themselves and they never seem to tire of detailing their latest exploits or sharing their opinions or discussing other people’s shortcomings. People refer to me as being painfully shy, but that’s not strictly true. I just find that you learn a lot more by listening than always having to think about what words you want coming out of your mouth.

It's not that I’m a loner, I have a group of guys I hang with. While they don’t know much about me as I don’t tell them, they accept me into their group as I don’t cause any fuss and, of course, I have those finely honed listening skills. Contrary to what you read, guys also need to talk about things in their lives, but I think, given the male psyche, they are loathe to spill to their mates in case it alters how they are viewed. So, here’s Mxx, the perfect sounding board who will never repeat confessions or run tales. And I’m certainly no competition for any of them.

When we go out, I tend to hang back and watch the various interactions taking place. I see how the girls quickly scan the room, able to almost instantly assess the level of talent on offer, while the guys take a more methodical approach, appraising each girl in turn. And then the game begins. The girls throwing quick, knowing looks at selected guys, while giggling and tossing their hair and the guy, either looking away if not interested or standing taller, shoulders back and staring back if he is. I really have no role to play in this game other than as an observer. I think that people forget that I’m even in the room and that has never been a problem for me. Until now, that is.

You see, I’ve met a girl I like. The problem is, she is currently being pursued by the most popular guys in town.
Rsy came to our town a short time ago, to study at the University around which our town is built. She is undoubtedly very pretty, there are a lot of pretty girls here, however there’s something about Rsy that is different. I noticed it from the moment she first came to the bar my group usually frequents. What sets her apart from all the other pretty girls is that she doesn’t play the game. There’s no giggling or hair tossing, and she doesn’t talk or flirt like the girls she is with.

Well naturally my group were keen to make her acquaintance and made a beeline to her group. While the other girls with her tilted their heads to look up at the guys (presumably this makes their eyes appear bigger while also pandering to the guy’s ego) and chattered inanities, tittering or laughing at anything being said, Rsy sat quietly, not offering any conversation, but politely answering questions put to her. I could see she was not comfortable with the attention she was receiving but was obliged to stay as her friends were all enjoying themselves.

I really don’t know what came over me. I, who was happy to take the back seat and watch my friends’ interactions without any participation from me, now found myself approaching Rsy and asking her if she would like to leave and whether I could walk her home rather than her waiting for her friends to be ready to leave. And then she looked into my eyes, and it was as if a whole conversation was taking place in that moment.
As I walked her home, neither of us spoke but there was no awkwardness or discomfort in our silent rapport. We stopped at the gate of her university lodging and turned to look at each other. And then we both started to grin, then smile and then laugh.

She is studying botany, and I am studying environmental regeneration, so there is a nice complementary aspect to our studies that we can draw upon. We are both very happy to spend our time in silent appreciation of each other, particularly when we are undertaking field work.

And that is the story of how the boy no-one ever noticed started going out with the girl no-one could help but notice.