Prologue of The Boyfriend Application

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. My name is Dr. Philip Richards. I will be your instructor for this course." Dr. Richards walked to his desk as he greeted the class, dropping several books on the corner and his briefcase on the floor, then he leaned back against the edge. He was a fairly distinguished-looking man of about forty-five or fifty with brown hair, graying slightly at the temples. He wore what seemed to be the uniform of university professors: tan corduroy slacks, a plain oxford style shirt, and a darker brown corduroy blazer - the kind with the suede patches on the elbows. As he looked out across the faces of his students, he continued his description of the course itself. "In this class," he said as he stood, "we will be discussing, comparing and testing modern versus traditional dating customs, rituals, and theories centered primarily on the books Dating, Mating and Marriage by Martin King Whyte; Measurement of Love and Intimate Relations: Theories, Scales and Applications for Love Development, Maintenance and Dissolution by Oliver C.S. Tzeng; and The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating by David M. Buss." Dr. Richards picked up a stack of papers from his desk and began distributing them as he continued. "This paper that I'm handing out now is a list of ten selected works to accompany your original syllabus that you should have received when registering for my class. If you will notice, the three titles I mentioned are listed here, as well. They will be our primary focus, but we will also touch on the others. Please feel free to utilize these books as your primary sources for research, but please do NOT feel obligated to purchase these books simply for this class." He smiled slightly at the overwhelming sigh of relief that moved through the class. "This list is suggested resources, not required reading," he chuckled lightly as he peered at his students. "Now, on to more important matters." Dr. Richards resumed his stance at the front of his desk, leaning casually back against the edge. He picked up a page of notes and quickly scanned the contents before re-addressing the class. "There will, of course, be various reading assignments, in addition to occasional tests and quizzes as we go. However," he continued as he stood and began slowly pacing the floor area between his desk and those of his students, "your grade in this class will be based primarily on an ongoing research project which will be divided into several parts. Each portion will receive its own grade and then those scores will be added and averaged to determine your final grade on the project." A cumulative groan arose from the class causing Dr. Richards to chuckle again. "Don't worry too much about it. This project is supposed to be fun. I know you don't believe me now, but you don't know the particulars of the assignment, yet. So, please hold judgement until I can explain it in more detail." Dr. Richards walked behind his desk and pulled out his chair as if preparing to sit down. He stopped midway and looked up as he addressed the class. "You may want to take notes from this point. The discussion is about to get quite detailed." He sat in his chair and organized his notes as he waited for the din of students scrambling for paper and pen to subside. Once the group was again silent, he continued his explanation. He could hear the students' writing as he spoke, their obvious anxiety and fear of missing a word of his description quite apparent. "The first part of this research project is to determine and classify modern versus traditional dating values and how they differ between the sexes." He looked around the classroom and noted the general look of confusion on the faces of many of the students. "What I mean by that is that I want you to compare and contrast what women want and expect versus what men want and expect. Then, taking the information you gather, determine which gender is more traditional and which prefers a more modern approach to dating. You can research this most easily by gathering information in an interview type process. We will be discussing your findings next week, so I suggest you get started formulating ideas. You are welcome to work with a partner or in a small group, but I prefer if groups be kept to four people or less. If you have any questions about the assignment so far, now would be the time to ask." As Dr. Richards fielded questions from the rest of the class, Liv turned to her best friend and roommate Sophie with a quizzical look on her face. "Dear God, Soph, " she whispered urgently, "this is going to take major work and imagination to get a decent grade. How am I gonna do that?" Liv was obviously frantic. She had one hand laced through her long blonde hair and her blue eyes were widened and sparkling with fear. "Don't worry, Liv!" Sophie tried to reassure her. "That's why you've got me." Sophie smiled brightly, flashing her perfect white teeth, as she tilted her head to one side, causing her flaming red curls to bounce wildly. The only problem was that Liv didn't look too reassured. Instead she groaned and rolled her eyes. "It's you that I'm worried about." She looked up at Sophie just in time to catch the obviously fake wounded expression form on her face, and the mirthful sparkle in her green eyes. "I'm scared to death of what kind of trouble you're bound to get me into." By the end of class, Liv was even more confused and concerned than she had been earlier, especially considering the thoughtful look on Sophie's face. "What are you thinking, Soph?" Liv asked cautiously. "Well, after Dr. Richards gave us the rest of the details, it kinda sparked an idea, but I'd better run it by him before I get too carried away." Sophie turned to go talk to the professor, then called over her shoulder. "I'll meet you in the quad. Then, if he says OK, I'll tell you my idea." Liv watched Sophie for a moment, incredulous that she had come up with an idea while Liv was more confused than ever. She shook her head ruefully as she turned and headed outside to find a bench in the quad where she could wait for Sophie. She looked around the quad and found a group of benches that surrounded a large tree, their backs leaning almost precariously against it. It looked to be a good place to wait because it was away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, but the door of the building was in sight, so she could watch for Sophie without having to worry about being knocked around by passing students rushing on to their next class. She flopped down on the nearest bench and sighed heavily, dropping her book bag on the ground at her feet. "You sound either exhausted or frustrated." The deep, obviously masculine voice came from over Liv's left shoulder. She turned to see an extremely gorgeous guy looking as if he were awaiting her response. "OH. Uh, "she stammered, then smiled slightly as she felt herself start to blush. "I'm sorry. You kinda startled me." "Sorry." He smiled wryly, causing his eyes to sparkle and crinkle lightly around the edges. "I just said that you sound either exhausted or frustrated." "A little of both I guess." Liv answered ruefully. "My professor just outlined a research project that's going to take more imagination than I have, I'm afraid." "Who do you have?" "Dr. Richards." "Well, he usually allows students to work in groups-" "He is on this, too, " she interrupted, "but my partner on this is why I'm so concerned. It's my roommate and she can be quite eccentric in her ideas." Liv sighed meaningfully as she continued. "She's inside discussing her idea with him as we speak." "You sound worried." "I guess I am." Liv smiled as she looked at him. She couldn't help but notice the bright sparkle of his jade green eyes and the deep dimples that appeared when he smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name." "It's Grant. Grant Ri-" "Liv!" Sophie yelled, unconciously interrupting him. Liv turned in time to see Sophie skipping and jumping toward her with a barely contained level of excitement. "He approved it!" she shouted happily. "He approved my idea! He said it should prove to be quite interesting and he couldn't wait to see how it turned out! Isn't that great?!?" Liv turned back to cast a playfully worried glance over her shoulder at Grant. As he chuckled, she turned back to Sophie. "Great," Liv muttered with no enthusiasm whatsoever. "Now are you going to tell me what kind of trouble you're getting me into or do I have to guess?" "Don't be such a spoilsport." Sophie admonished. "This is going to be fun. And who knows, it may turn out to be quite useful." Liv narrowed her eyes as she noticed the look of cunning and delight on Sophie's face. "Just what is this idea and how is it going to be useful?" "We're going to create a boyfriend application!" Sophie answered animatedly. "And then, we're going to have guys fill it out." "And just how, pray tell, is that going to be useful?" Liv wondered out loud again. "Easy!" Sophie exclaimed. "We're going to use it to find you a boyfrined." Grant laughed out loud while Sophie glared at him, and Liv groaned meaningfully. She turned toward Grant with a downtrodden expression on her face. "See what I mean?" Liv asked him quietly. "I told you she's eccentric." "I'm not eccentric!" Sophie cried vehemently. "I am simply a unique individual with a healthy, active imagination. It's more than most people can say." This caused Grant to laugh harder, which in turn caused Sophie to glare at him harder. "Soph," Liv broke in, "I do not want to turn my life into a research project." "Oh, come on!" Sophie whined emphatically. "It'll be fun! We can poll women on campus to find out what kinds of questions they would ask. Then, we can compile the questions into an application form and have a pre-determined number of guys fill it out. Then, we'll go through them and select a number of those that interest you to set up dates." At Liv's look of stern consideration, Sophie continued to plead her case. "Come on, Liv." She begged forcefully, "It's all in the name of research." Liv studied her friend for a moment, then turned to look at Grant. "What do you think?" "What do I think?" Grant repeated, grinning widely. "I think it's insane. But the idea for the research holds merit." Liv studied him a little longer than necessary, intrigued completely by the sparkle in his eyes, then turned slowly back to an expectant Sophie. "OK. I'll do it." Liv answered on a sigh as Sophie squealed in delight. "BUT" She held up one finger as if to point out a major condition. "I get to choose the guys." "No problem." Sophie agreed easily. She could barely contain her excitement as she grabbed Liv by the arm and pulled her to a standing position. Liv reached down to grab her book bag and swung it onto her shoulder. "Bye," she whispered to Grant. "Bye," he answered chuckling, "and good luck."