Modern+Shakespeare+Retelling+SSC

A Mid-Summer Night's Nightmare

On July 19, 2013 in New York City,  Puck, a caring, helping friend had set his friends on blind dates at Starbucks. He had decided that Lysander and Helena would be an outstanding couple. Lysander was a football player who received a scholarship to college and was smart. Helena was also very smart and very nice,  but she needed a boyfriend. That's why Puck thought they would be a good couple. The other couple he was creating was Hermia,  a beautiful young woma n, and Demetrius ,  who is very honest and trustworthy.

It was 10:30 in the morning, and I was waiting for the two sets of couples to walk in. I decided I was going to show up and watch sparks fly at the Starbucks off 37th Street. The first to arrive was Lysander,  who brought flowers for Helena and sat in a booth next to a window. Next Helena arrived; Helena assumed the man sitting by the window sill was Lysander, the person she had heard about from me. Once Lysander saw Helena he stood to give her the flowers.

After they got settled,  they ordered their coffees. Helena ordered a chocolate chip cappuccino. Lysander ordered a regular coffee. While they were sitting down, I saw Hermia and Demetrius meeting at the front door. They sat next to the booth where Lysander and Helena were at. Hermia and Demetrius automatically got their coffees, sat down, and started talking.

Helena and Lysander started talking about their hobbies, which were nothing in common, so they decided to talk about their family and what they liked to do on the weekends. I could tell that Lysander wasn't very interested in Helena because he looked very bored. Hermia thought Demetrius was very quiet because their conversation was very short ended.

 While they were talking and drinking their coffee Lysander crossed eyes with Hermia. After that,  Lysander kept looking up to see her sitting in the other booth. Helena was watching the way Lysander was looking at the women in the next booth, <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;"> and she realized he wasn't listening to her. She then became agitated and realized he wasn't the one for her.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">When Hermia looked into Lysander’s eyes, she could tell that it was love at first sight. She quickly told Demetrius that she needed to get more coffee. As she stood up to go stand in line, Lysander also stood and waited in line with her.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Helena and Demetrius realized they were getting ditched, so then they moved over and started talking to each other. Over that short time, they realized they wanted to see each other again. But they didn't know what they were going to tell their original dates. Then I realized that they wanted to be with each other and didn't care what anyone said. So now Helena and Demetrius were sitting in one booth together having a conversation in which they both enjoyed.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">During this time Lysander and Hermia were having a great conversation in line. They had a lot in common and they wanted to learn more about each other. They decided they wanted to give love a shot as well. So when they returned, <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> I saw they also decided to sit together in the other booth.

Both couples exchanged numbers, as well as Skype, Instagram, and Facebook usernames. At the end of the dates, I came from my booth and asked them how the dates were. They all decided that the beginning was kind of rough but when they switched dates, they enjoyed it more. They thanked me for putting them on dates together. I found out that they had already planned to double date the next day.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">The next day the couples met up again and went on a picnic in Central Park. Each couple individually went on a carriage ride. Lysander and Demetrius both bought flowers for their dates. At this time Helena and Hermia met and became good friends. The two couples enjoyed themselves at the picnic and really got to know each other better. They went on many double dates to the movies, putt putt golfing, <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;"> and to the beach after their outing to Central Park.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Because Lysander and Demetrius were on my dorm floor, they always told me how thankful they were to have met their girlfriends, Hermia and Helena. I was excited that I had made four people happy with their loved ones. They always tried to have me join them on their dates since I had gotten them together, but I don't like being the third wheel.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Six years later, after they were all out of college, the two couples were engaged. I was the best man for both of the weddings. After they left for their honeymoons, I decided I was done putting couples together and realized I needed to love someone for the rest of my life, so I went on my search.