you’re an extrovert, is your partner an extrovert as well? Or does he or she complement you by being perfectly content to sit in the background and let you shine?
“What do you think, people? Like attracts like, or opposites attract?”
Sheila stopped and scanned the room. Several hands were raised. She pointed to a young man in a plaid shirt and horn-rimmed glasses. “Mark. What do you think?”
“My girlfriend is the exact opposite of me.” Mark’s lazy voice barely carried through the large lecture hall. “She’s short, I’m tall. She’s smart, I’m not.” The class laughed appreciatively. “She questions everything, whereas I mostly take things at face value.”
“Very good,” Sheila said with a smile. “So opposites attract as far as you’re concerned, at least in terms of personality. I’ll come back to you in a second. Anyone else? Priya?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend, but I know I’m drawn to people who are like me.” Priya was a pretty girl with jet-black braids who always sat in the third row. “I don’t know if that makes me boring, but I always have a lot in common with my friends and tend to shy away from people who seem too different.”
“Which is a common thing, actually.” Sheila clicked the small remote control in her hand. The large screen changed to show a picture of smiling, similar-looking people attending church. “Think about all the social groups out there. School clubs. Organizations. We’re drawn to people who are like ourselves, people who have the same beliefs, because most of us just want to belong. It’s human nature.”
Her eyes passed over Ethan’s face. He was smirking. Suddenly her throat felt a bit dry. Sheila paused to take a sip of water from the stainless steel bottle she always kept on thedesk in the lecture hall and forced him out of her mind. “Now let’s talk about appearance. Mark, you said your girlfriend is short and you’re tall. But what does she look like? Facially?”
Mark’s eyebrows furrowed in thought behind his glasses. “Um . . . she has blue eyes, like me. People say we have the same coloring. And both our noses are crooked.”
“How about you, Michelle?” Sheila looked directly at a student in the front row. “What does your boyfriend look like? Does he sort of look like you?”
Michelle, a blonde with huge blue eyes, giggled and blushed slightly. “Yeah. People think we’re brother and sister.”
“Gross!” said a male student from somewhere in the middle of the lecture hall. The class erupted in good-natured laughter.
“Folks, this is not uncommon.” Sheila forced a smile. “So here’s your homework assignment for the week. I want you to think about all the couples you know—could be your parents, grandparents, even celebrity couples—and consider their appearances. Think about what they look like, and conclude whether these couples look more the same than they do different, or more different than they do the same. Also, think about the people you find yourself attracted to. Girls and guys you’ve had crushes on, or dated. What did they look like compared to you? Similarities? Differences? Next week we’ll compare notes. I’ll be interested to know what you’ve discovered. Thanks, everyone.”
Time was up. The room grew loud as students shut laptops, shoved books into backpacks, and flipped open cell phones.
Sheila downed the rest of her water and stuck the hard steel bottle into her leather bag. Valerie Kim and Caroline Stevens immediately approached her to ask if she needed help getting prepared for next week’s class, something her TAs typically did beforeleaving the lecture hall. She assured them they were clear, and they left Sheila alone to pack up her briefcase.
She was painfully aware of Ethan’s eyes on her. He’d made no attempt to leave the room and was still seated in the same spot he always occupied during her lectures—front row, right side, the desk closest to the podium. The last
“What do you think, people? Like attracts like, or opposites attract?”
Sheila stopped and scanned the room. Several hands were raised. She pointed to a young man in a plaid shirt and horn-rimmed glasses. “Mark. What do you think?”
“My girlfriend is the exact opposite of me.” Mark’s lazy voice barely carried through the large lecture hall. “She’s short, I’m tall. She’s smart, I’m not.” The class laughed appreciatively. “She questions everything, whereas I mostly take things at face value.”
“Very good,” Sheila said with a smile. “So opposites attract as far as you’re concerned, at least in terms of personality. I’ll come back to you in a second. Anyone else? Priya?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend, but I know I’m drawn to people who are like me.” Priya was a pretty girl with jet-black braids who always sat in the third row. “I don’t know if that makes me boring, but I always have a lot in common with my friends and tend to shy away from people who seem too different.”
“Which is a common thing, actually.” Sheila clicked the small remote control in her hand. The large screen changed to show a picture of smiling, similar-looking people attending church. “Think about all the social groups out there. School clubs. Organizations. We’re drawn to people who are like ourselves, people who have the same beliefs, because most of us just want to belong. It’s human nature.”
Her eyes passed over Ethan’s face. He was smirking. Suddenly her throat felt a bit dry. Sheila paused to take a sip of water from the stainless steel bottle she always kept on thedesk in the lecture hall and forced him out of her mind. “Now let’s talk about appearance. Mark, you said your girlfriend is short and you’re tall. But what does she look like? Facially?”
Mark’s eyebrows furrowed in thought behind his glasses. “Um . . . she has blue eyes, like me. People say we have the same coloring. And both our noses are crooked.”
“How about you, Michelle?” Sheila looked directly at a student in the front row. “What does your boyfriend look like? Does he sort of look like you?”
Michelle, a blonde with huge blue eyes, giggled and blushed slightly. “Yeah. People think we’re brother and sister.”
“Gross!” said a male student from somewhere in the middle of the lecture hall. The class erupted in good-natured laughter.
“Folks, this is not uncommon.” Sheila forced a smile. “So here’s your homework assignment for the week. I want you to think about all the couples you know—could be your parents, grandparents, even celebrity couples—and consider their appearances. Think about what they look like, and conclude whether these couples look more the same than they do different, or more different than they do the same. Also, think about the people you find yourself attracted to. Girls and guys you’ve had crushes on, or dated. What did they look like compared to you? Similarities? Differences? Next week we’ll compare notes. I’ll be interested to know what you’ve discovered. Thanks, everyone.”
Time was up. The room grew loud as students shut laptops, shoved books into backpacks, and flipped open cell phones.
Sheila downed the rest of her water and stuck the hard steel bottle into her leather bag. Valerie Kim and Caroline Stevens immediately approached her to ask if she needed help getting prepared for next week’s class, something her TAs typically did beforeleaving the lecture hall. She assured them they were clear, and they left Sheila alone to pack up her briefcase.
She was painfully aware of Ethan’s eyes on her. He’d made no attempt to leave the room and was still seated in the same spot he always occupied during her lectures—front row, right side, the desk closest to the podium. The last
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