By: Olivia Janis, Taylor Johnson, and Mackenna Stewart
Valentine is coming? WHERE IS YO BOYFRIEND??
Well, lucky for you, there are three matchmakers roaming the Lovett halls. Their newest victims, hit with Cupid’s arrow, were seniors, Katie Fryburger and Sam Franco.
On Monday January 23, we set up two seniors who “shipped” on the Valentine’s Day survey. Last year, Melissa Darville and Chad Parker met in room 219 to have some pizza, discuss music, and talk about their dream date.
This year’s date was a blind one. Neither Katie nor Sam knew who they would be meeting. Their reactions were priceless and worth the wait. In order to lure the victims out we used a Chick-fil-a meal as bait, and Taylor went broke in the process. We were hopeful for great results since last year’s shipping experience with Chad and Malyssa went so well. (Though as far as we know they are still not married.)
Let us set the scene for you.
It was approximately 1:23 and Katie had already shown up to Mr. Newman’s classroom, room 219. We had to hunt down Sam, but as soon as I sent an email telling him which room, he burst into the classroom. They made eye contact and the sparks were flying. He slickly dapped her up (a form of a handshake, for the, ahem, older readers) and they laughed at the fact they were shipped together. They took their seats and the date began.
Like any co-ed friendship, it can be hard to think of your friendship turning into more than friends, which is why it was hard for them to think they would be shipped together. Influenced with curiosity they asked if we had any way of finding out who had shipped them together in the first place. Unfortunately, like every good journalist our sources are forever sealed (that and our google forms are actually anonymous).
Katie revealed that she had been to Sam’s house “many times.” This raised some suspicion in the matchmakers. Sam then explained that his house is the “spot” and everyone always ends up at his house somehow.
We asked Katie and Sam how long they have known each other. They got a bit excited and started ricocheting answers. Katie said she had heard “rumors” about Sam before he came to Lovett. Her brother told her that Sam “was really loud on the bus and screamed at kids.” Sam quickly defended himself, explaining, “I didn’t want to listen to 2nd graders scream about Minecraft.” This made us chuckle.
Katie and Sam don’t have any classes together this year. Apparently, the only class they had together was Mrs. Vernon’s science class their freshman year. That was how they met.
We asked them if they have ever been in a relationship and both of them looked flabbergasted. They didn’t comprehend that we were asking if they had been in a relationship with other people, not if they had ever dated each other.
Katie said she has had a couple of baes before. Sam has never pulled (got a girl…again, for the oldies) in his life before and has never had a bae. Sam seemed intrigued to find out that Katie has had baes and asked “what’s his name?” and “what school does he go to?” Sam was getting a bit upset.
Besides the very special moment they were obviously sharing during our blind date, we asked them what special precious moments they had shared in the past. The first moment mentioned was a bit of a fishing trip. At first, Sam had to take a second to unlock this memory, but as soon as he did he didn’t hesitate to mention how fun it was..
“Remember when went to that creek with Charlotte?” It was hilarious, he remarked.
“He likes doing spontaneous things,” said Katie.
At some parties in Sam’s basement, they danced and sang.
“We did Karaoke,” they both shouted.
Katie said that they once sang Pompeii on a playground together.
Taylor and I couldn’t help but observe how many special moments they have shared and got a bit excited for how well they seemed to get along. (“Have we created a relationship for life?”- we wondered.)
We could not go through with these blind dates having not asked the most basic question in the book. We needed to know what an ideal date looked like for both Sam and Katie.
“I hate movies. You need to talk to someone,” said Katie. Sam agreed, saying that it was not his ideal first date.
“Maybe just grabbing food and he has to pick you up,” said Katie.
“A perfect date would be eating a good meal and spending time with them for a whole day,” said Sam.
Taylor, Katie and I all laughed at the idea of spending your entire day for a date, but Sam was very persistent with the idea, ultimately convincing Katie that at least the entire afternoon could be planned.
Sam seems to definitely be an outdoor person because he mentioned that his ideal date would be somewhere outdoors.
To get a better idea on their types, we asked who their celebrity crushes were and which celebrities they thought were attractive. Katie instinctively said Tom Holland while Sam said “the girl dating Machine Gun Kelly.” Lucky for him, I know my celebrities and was able to identify her as Megan Fox. (Who doesn’t know Megan Fox, I’m thinking Katie might have to educate him in the future)
We then tested how well they knew each other with pretty personal questions. To our surprise they answered diligently and accurately.
The first question was what each other’s music tastes like. Katie got the question spot on, saying that Sam listens to 2000 throwbacks and artists such as Katie Perry (is the same name just a coincidence?). Sam told Katie she was missing a band that he enjoys, but she was unable to name it. It was an older band, so no one can blame her. Sam remarked that he and Katie listen to similar stuff, but he was also able to name an artist dear to Katie, Taylor Swift. He even was able to address her as the fan name, Swiftly. The minute he said this, Katie rejoiced and we could tell she was proud.
Second, we asked if they knew what sport each other played. Katie was quick to answer, saying football in a frat boy voice. Sam told her she was missing one, and after two seconds of thinking she passed the test: it was rugby. Sam was very proud saying, “Yeah, she knows.”. (Taylor and I fell to the floor, because we saw too many sparks flying). It was Sam’s turn to list Katie’s sports and he passed as well. Katie plays tennis and then joked about theater being a sport and we saw Sam chuckle a bit at her joke.
Surprisingly, given the awkward circumstances that a blind date being observed by two sophomores in a high school classroom on a Monday at 1:20 can sometimes have, both Sam and Katie fearlessly answered the questions as if Taylor, Olivia, and I were not there at all. For example when Olivia asked the two to guess what their favorite food was they dove right into the question, thinking deeply about what the answer might be. She then said he gave off a hot dog vibe, while laughing. Contrary to Katie’s belief, Sam’s favorite food is Seafood. Kaitie, who didn’t let one wrong answer discourage her (Pretty relentless for the first date I would say.), continued her guessing game. “I bet you like [alli]gator,” Kaitie said, laughing at yet another one of her wild assumptions.
The correct answer, according to Sam, was Oysters (“especially Fried” Sam made sure to add). Since Sam loved seafood so much, Olivia even proposed that the two should go to one of those seafood restaurants that give you the big bibs. While Kaitie brought the enthusiasm and thought the date was a great idea, Sam brought the perfect suggestion. “Have you ever been to Atlanta Fish Market?” Sam asked. While Katie had never been, Sam reassured her that it was definitely a place worth trying. “Second date??” we thought to ourselves.
And the good news is, if Kaitie and Sam ever run out of date ideas, Sam has a long drawn-out list of places to go. What’s not to love about a man with a plan. Sam was so excited about his list that he decided to share some of his ideas. (All the men out there need to grab a pen and paper because VALENTINE’S DAY IS HERE) Thrifting, Center Ice, going to the gas station and getting weird snacks, aquarium, zoo, mini golf, karaoke bar and the list goes on. But, in order to prevent all the Lovett couples from showing up at the same QuikTrip on Valentine’s Day, we won’t give away any more of Sam’s ideas.
Besides all of the first date and favorite food talk, it is very clear that the two genuinely enjoyed talking to each other and made a real connection. This is a great example of how sometimes in your dating life you really have to go on a date blindly. No expectations and no preconceptions. Simply relying on yourself, your personality, and praying to Moses that nothing embarrassing happens to you. But, even if it does it might be a cute story that you and your date can cherish forever.
Although we are not sure if Sam and Katie will go on a 2nd date (because when asked they agreed it is better if they remain friends), we still consider this blind date to have been a success and we will pray Sam and Katie get married one day.
Or at least hang out and do some karaoke.
