The dating game: duh. You'd know if you and your crush were officially going out, right? Um ... not necessarily.Long gone are the days of a guy calling you up and asking you out next Saturday night. Traditional has pretty much gone the way of your grandma's VCR VCR: see videocassette recorder. VCR in full videocassette recorder Electromechanical device that records, stores on a videotape cassette, and plays back on a TV set recorded images and sound. on the old-school-o-meter. And unlike leggings leg·ging n. 1. A leg covering usually extending from the ankle to the knee and often made of material such as leather or canvas, worn especially by soldiers and workers. 2. leggings a. , the dinner-and-a-movie thing is one retro trend that's not likely to come back anytime soon. So ... without all the formalities to fill the chunk of time between crush and hot-item status, how is a girl supposed to tell if she and her guy are dating ... or just hanging out?. We've got the decoder quiz, right here. 1) You're No. 5 on Mike's MySpace Top 8, right behind his older bro. The virtual world looks pretty good, but in school ... A) Mike ignores you like yesterday's tater tots Tater Tots, also known as "Tots", a registered trademark for a commercial form of hash browns, is a side-dish made from deep-fried, grated potatoes. Tater Tots are widely recognized for their crispiness, cylindrical shape and small size. . Here in the real world, you don't even have a place on his Top 32. B) He gets all tongue-tied whenever you're within five feet of him. C) You can't even have a real-life convo with him because his friends are always hanging around, giving you weird looks. 2) You're heading out to meet some pals at the first football game of the season when--surprise!--your crush Cameron ... A) Unexpectedly swings by your house to pick you up on his townie bike. B) Texts you a heads-up to look for him in the bleachers In The Bleachers is a podcast and website that focuses on Division I-A college football. It is recorded and aired weekly during college football season and features college football experts from the Big Ten, Big East, SEC, ACC, Pac 10, and Big 12 conferences. . C) Walks to the field with you after you run into him at the 7-Eleven along the way. 3) Hottie third-baseman Connor lends you his post-season baseball cap, then says ... A) "Wanna wan·na Informal 1. Contraction of want to: You wanna go now? 2. Contraction of want a: You wanna slice of pie? join the team?" B) "Try not to get sweat stains on it from your forehead, OK?" C) "Wow, you look so cute in a brim." 4) Score! The new boy asks you to the back-to-school dance. It seems like you both had a blast at the shindig shin·dig n. 1. A festive party, often with dancing. Also called shindy. 2. See shindy. [Probably alteration of shindy. . So when the night is over, he ... A) Uh, not even a cheek peck. Why won't he go for it? B) Leans in for an awkward friend-hug. C) Tells you he had a great time, then uses a Sharpie to write his cell number on your hand. 5) You're going to very dateable Mark's house because you two had planned to watch DVDs. When you head over ... A) He's Netflixed Blades of Glory. Mark knows you "heart" Will Ferrell John William "Will" Ferrell (born July 16, 1967[1]) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American comedian, impressionist, writer and actor who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, . B) He tells you he's taking you out to see Stardust star·dust n. 1. A dreamlike, romantic, or uncritical sense of well-being. 2. A cluster of stars too distant to be seen individually, resembling a dimly luminous cloud of dust. Not in scientific use. 3. instead. C) His buddy Chuck is sitting on the love seat with a bag of microwave popcorn between his legs. 6) You're locker neighbors with the foreign exchange student--very British and so cute. He asks you to show him around, and you decide it's meant to be. You take a peek inside his locker and spot ... A) A tweed herringbone jacket, stylin' messenger bag and an Amy Winehouse CD. B) A poster of Jessica Biel in a bikini. C) Several photos of him and some girl. Who is she? 7) It's the fall orientation camping trip. Your normally cool guy friend Zack is getting all weird. He's been ... A) Treating you like you're a wimp when roughing it. You find it more annoying than fire ants. B) Helping you hoist your pack on hikes and using lots of hand sanitizer sanitizer a sanitizing product capable of cleaning and disinfecting; usually a formulation containing a disinfectant and a detergent. . C) Acting like he's on Jackass jackass: see ass. Number Two. He jumped over the campfire, ate a beetle and spelled your name out on his chest in sunscreen sunscreen /sun·screen/ (-skren) a substance applied to the skin to protect it from the effects of the sun's rays. sun·screen n. . 8) Every day, Luke from three blocks over saves you a seat at the back of the bus. You're pretty sure it's because ... A) He's using you as a spitball spit·ball n. 1. A piece of paper chewed and shaped into a lump for use as a projectile. 2. Baseball An illegal pitch in which a foreign substance, such as saliva, is applied to the ball before it is thrown. shield. B) He doesn't have anyone else to sit with. C) The ride seems a lot quicker that way since you two always have so much to talk about. 9) Your cousin Ethan is in town, and you two go to the mall. You run into your maybe-BF in the food court, and he ... A) Asks for a moment alone, then quizzes you on the identity of this new guy. B) Seems anxious to get back to his chicken wings. C) Invites you and the cuz to have a bite with him. 10) It's dreaded school-picture day, and you're in line right behind your cute friend Nate. To pass the time, he ... A) Challenges you to a funny-face contest. B) Chats about how lame pics are, but adds, "Yours will be really pretty." C) Asks if any of his lunch is stuck to his teeth. SCORING 1. a) 1 b) 3 c) 2 2. a) 3 b) 2 c) 1 3. a) 2 b) 1 c) 3 4. a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 5. a) 2 b) 3 c) 1 6. a) 3 b) 2 c) 1 7. a) 1 b) 3 c) 2 8. a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 9. a) 3 b) 1 c) 2 10. a) 2 b) 3 c) 1 24-30 SERIOUS BOYFRIEND POTENTIAL The two of you could be moving toward the more-than-friends phase. Wait, didn't anyone tell you? Maybe not. unless you or your potential amour get the guts to actually say it out loud. you may never establish official BF/GF status. Today's dating game is more like a guessing game. So many things are left unsaid! That doesn't mean you should rush out and demand, "Hey, where do we stand?" But if you want the relationship to continue to move forward, consider making your feelings known, or less potentially awkward ways. Take his hand when you go to the movies or invite him over Friday night--just the two of you. His reactions to your mini-demonstrations of affection should reveal if he's envisioning still-single status or a you-and-him future. 17-23 SKETCH-TASTIC TERRITORY You're caught up in that baffling baf·fle tr.v. baf·fled, baf·fling, baf·fles 1. To frustrate or check (a person) as by confusing or perplexing; stymie. 2. To impede the force or movement of. n. 1. "are we or aren't we?" place. It's fun to look for clues that could predict your chances of coupledom. but clues can be misleading. Remember, we're talking about guys. Some of them substitute hair gel for moisturizer mois·tur·iz·er n. A cosmetic lotion or cream applied to the skin to counter dryness. moisturizer n → crema hidratante moisturizer moist n : the rest wouldn't be caught dead moisturizing. Point is, it takes most dudes a little time to catch up to girls in the dating department. This is where you can take charge of the situation. If you're wondering what his feelings are. there's no harm in asking outright. But decide what you want before worrying about what he wants ... because he might be a tad immature for a real relationship just yet. 10-16 KEEP IT COOL While it's never easy to nave a finely tuned romance radar, it seems you need a little help picking up on his signals. Tune in because it's pretty loud 'n' clear that the prospect of having a girlfriend isn't even on his screen. If your maybe-dating boy is a good friend, go with the friendship flow. If he's somebody you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. very well, take the time to get inside his head and see what he's about. Who knows? Things might evolve to a more serious level. But the trick is to not obsess ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. over whether or not romance is clearly on the horizon. Simply enjoy his company for now. Or not. Illustrated by Bill Thomas |
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