It sucked being sick. The thickness of the summer heat made it worse. Charlie would rather be shivering in his blankets, teeth chattering, than feel like a bloated toad, sweating and miserable. A cough tore out of him and turned into a half a dozen more wracking spasms. This was ridiculous. Why was he even out of the house?

Charlie had his answer almost as soon as he thought it. Darlene walked by, turning sideways to squeeze between a small part of the larger throng. For a moment, he could only stare. She wasn’t his usual type, not that he had truly had one for ten years, but something about her had captured his attention and wouldn’t let it go.

“Darlene!” Charlie called out.

The ambient buzz of dozens of conversations swallowed the sound of her name. She continued on her way, unaware of his efforts. It was too loud here. Charlie sighed, a wretched, gasping thing that caused others to draw back in disgust, and hurried after her. This was a new year and he was going to ask her out- even if it killed him.