I got off the bus and start heading in the direction I assume is correct. I check my watch: 6:45, right on schedule. According to Google Maps it takes about 15 minutes to walk there. The restaurant, The Place, is one of the upper-end places in New York City, that must mean he is pretty rich. Another plus is that he is on a tennis team just like me. Obviously he likes Mediterranean food because he invited me to the best Italian restaurant in town. His looks don’t hurt either. He looks so cute in his picture with his chocolate brown hair and bright blue eyes. He has sparkling white teeth with a perfect nose. Is he too good to be true? What if my mom was right and you can’t trust anyone on Match.com? What if he is a murderer? C’mon don’t be so paranoid. I mean with those innocent blue eyes, he couldn’t hurt anybody. Oops!
“Watch where you’re going, fatty!” said a woman with a too short skirt and showing too much cleavage. Jeez, what’s her problem. What does she mean? Do I look fat in this shirt? Maybe I should just skip this date.
I look up and realize that I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. The street I am on had rows of houses that are boarded up with broken windows. The street lamps are starting to turn on. It is getting dark fast. I glance at my watch and notice that it is already 7:00. I am late. I take out my phone and pull up Google Maps. Next intersection turn left. I look up to see how far the intersection is and notice two guys staring at me. I have to get out of here before something bad happens. I start walking quickly. By the time I reach the intersection I already forgot which way I am supposed to go. Left. I look around again and the two guys are closer and still staring at me. I walk; they walk. I stop; they stop. I take a right; they take a right. Each time they come a little closer. Soon they are right behind me. I quickly take off my heels and start running as fast as I can. I try to remember the directions I saw on my phone, but after the next intersection, I give up. I take a right then another right then a left, through an alleyway and over a pile of trash. The alleyway is really dark, and before I know what was happening, I am blocked by a fence. Behind me I can barely make out two figures jumping over some wooden crates. I have to hurry. I throw my shoes and purse in a nearby dumpster and start climbing the fence. When I jump down, I twist my ankle and fall on the floor. I try to run again but realize my foot hurts too much. I look around for a place to hide and see a dumpster not too far away. By the time I limp over there I can hear the guys starting to climb the fence. I hear a tearing sound and then a curse. They run by me without a second glance. I take a deep breath and try to relax. I think I lost them. I start standing up when I hear voices.
“Great we lost her just because you got your coat caught stuck on the fence.”
“She has to be here somewhere, she couldn’t have gotten that far.”