Thursday, May 28, 2015

Word: Middling






middling

[mid-ling]

adjective
1. medium, moderate, oraverage in size, quantity, or quality:
The returns on such a large investment may be only middling.
2. mediocre; ordinary; commonplace; pedestrian:
The restaurant's entrées are no better than middling.
3. Older Use. in fairly good health.

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“So, how’d it go?”  Dave asked.
                “Meh.”  Tim responded with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
                “What do you mean, ‘meh’?”
                “Meh.  It was alright.”
                “Alright?  It was just alright?  Seriously?”
                “Yeah.”
                Dave fell back into his chair and let out an exasperated breath.  He had been expecting something more than “alright”.  Tim just continued looking at the screen of his computer with an unreadable expression. 
                “Okay, I know you’re keeping something from me.  I mean, you went on a date with Kelly Daniels.  One does not go on a date with one of the hottest girls on campus and say it’s just alright.”
                “It was alright.”  Tim said again.  “We went to dinner.  We talked a bit.  That was pretty much it.”
                “Dude, that’s lame.  You can’t tell me you went out with a girl like that and didn’t do anything.”
                “We did do something.  I just told you what we did.  It was alright.  Not bad, not good.  Just, you know, alright.”
                “You didn’t even take out to go dancing or anything?”
                “Nope.  Didn’t need to.”
                “Why not?  That’s what I would do.”
                “She said she didn’t want to.”
                “You’re kidding, right?”  Dave asked.  He couldn’t believe that someone didn’t want to go dancing somewhere.
                “Nope.  I mean, I guess she didn’t expressly say she didn’t want to, but she said she doesn’t like to dance, nor does she like clubs and such.  So, I didn’t take her to any of those places.”
                “Huh.”  Dave said as he processed the new info.  “Well, I guess that’s a good reason.  Still, you had to do something other than dinner.”
                “Nope.  Just that.”
                “Not even a movie or anything?  A walk at the very least?”
                “No and no.  There aren’t any good movies playing, and it’s too cold out for a walk.”
                “Okay, yeah, I’ll give you that one.  But still, just dinner?  That sounds like a really sucky date to me.”
                “It wasn’t bad.”  Tim said, finally turning away from the computer.  “It just wasn’t anything special.  We talked.  I think we got along well enough, and it looked like she didn’t outright hate it.”
                “Well, what did you talk about?”
                “Oh, you know, first date stuff.  Likes, dislikes, school stuff.  That sort of thing.” 
                Dave held his head in his hand.  He had been hoping Tim would’ve done better than that.  If he and Kelly hooked up, it meant she’d come over to see him.  And that meant he’d have the chance to see her more often.  It was the next best thing to dating her himself.  Plus, Kelly might put in a good word for him with her friends, who were almost as hot as Kelly herself.  But, after hearing Tim talking, Dave’s hopes of such things were rapidly being depleted. 
                “Did you at least have something in common?  Anything at all?”  He asked.
                “Oh, yeah, sure.  Actually, we have a surprising amount in common.  We both like the same books, the same music, same movies, same games.  A lot of stuff, really.” Tim answered.  Dave breathed a sigh of relief.  Similar interests meant they could at least hang out together, even if they didn’t end up dating.  That would fulfill Dave’s desires just as well.
                “Great.  So, do you think you’ll get a second date?”
                “No idea.  I mean, it’s a possibility.”
                “Did you get her number or anything so you could ask?”
                “Yeah, I did.  She even friended me on Facebook.”
                A heavenly choir echoed through Dave’s mind.  Kelly was notorious for only friending people she actually liked.  Most thought that was a bit unusual, and there were numerous rumors about why she did so.  None of those mattered to Dave though.  She liked Tim enough to add him after only one date.  The fact that it was so average only made it all the better.  It meant she must have really liked him.  Dave had no doubt that she would be a regular visitor to their dorm room soon enough.  He needed to encourage that.  His future dating life depended on it. 
                “Great.  That’s a good sign.”  He said.  “It means she really must’ve liked you.”
                “Cool.”  Tim said. 
                “Cool?  Dude, that’s great.  You made one of the hottest girls ever like you, just by talking with her.  Guys everywhere will want to know how you pulled that off.”
                “I don’t think I did anything special.  Like I said, the date was pretty standard stuff.”
                “That’s why it’s so amazing.”
                “If you say so.” Tim seemed much less impressed with his accomplishment. 
                “I do.  Now come on, let’s see what she’s got on her page.  I’ve been dying to find out.” 
Dave stood and crowded around Tim’s computer while he pulled up the page.  Dave was quite happy with that, even if Tim wasn’t.  All in all, the guy did pretty good for such a supposedly average date. 
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 Honestly, I'm not really sure what to say about this one.  So I'm not really going to say anything and just leave it as is. Have a wonderful day.

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