In a high school full of smelly, touch-deprived teenagers, the search for love can be quite the challenge, especially when it comes to going on dates. Often filled with awkward silence and the constant worry of whether or not the other person likes you, first dates are nerve-wracking, to say the least. From bizarre situations to out-of-line partners, many teenagers who put themselves out there have experienced the occasional awful date. Although it may be embarrassing a couple of days after, many are able to look back at their worst dates through a humorous lense. From messy chicken wings to vomit here are some of the absolute worst dates that students have been on.

“Chicken Wing Disaster”
Simply getting a bite to eat is the most popular first date outing. When choosing a restaurant, many pick a restaurant in which they feel comfortable, avoiding some restaurants such as ones with messy food. This was not the case with Senior Auna Bramer’s date. “I met this guy through a mutual friend, and after about a week of talking he asked if I wanted to go get dinner,” said Auna. Among all the restaurants in Grand Junction, her date chose to take her to Flyin Roosters, a wing restaurant off Grand Ave. “I was super worried about being messy and rude,” said Bramer, however it’s clear that her date did not have the same concern. “This guy started munching,” Auna exclaimed. “I mean shoving multiple wings into his mouth at a time”. Despite this, Auna tried to keep an open mind hoping that their conversation would possibly salvage this date.
On first dates, the conversation can serve as a way to let the person know more about who you are. It also helps find possible common interests, but this was not the case in Bramer’s date. “He was nonstop talking about anime,” said Auna, of which she has no knowledge or interest. During the conversation he would only occasionally pause to “burp very loudly,” said Auna.
At this point in the night, Auna had seen enough and was ready to leave but this nightmare date was not over quite yet. The unspoken rule regarding the bill on first dates is that the person who asked the person on the date typically pays for the bill, but unfortunately for Auna, this was not the case. “He asked if I could pay for both our meals because he is a college student who doesn’t have a lot of money.” After a few minutes of arguing Auna, accepted defeat and paid the bill ending her worst first date.

“Pizza, True Crime, and Vomit”
The mortality rate for bad first dates is low. Most couples don’t make it through the odd events that can sometimes play out on first dates; however, seniors Jackson Haftel and Devyn Allen’s obscure first date only brought them closer.
After putting on his dapper pair of pants and escaping the interrogation of his father, Jackson was picked up by Devyn and they went to Smokin Oak Pizza. “It was her idea to go to Smokin’ Oak Pizza, ” said Jackson, so it was to his confusion as to why when the pizza came out that Devyn lost her appetite. “I couldn’t eat,” said Devyn “I was too nauseous”. So instead Devyn said she just “sat there and watched him scarf down his pizza like a madman.” She specifically recalls that Jackson’s drink of choice was a concoction of root beer and Dr. Pepper, which Devyn thought “was a major ick, to be honest.”
When Jackson was done with his pizza dinner, the two drove around and the topic of true crime arose. As the two drove around, Devyn had an idea of where to go that was very relevant to the conversation occurring. “She took me to the spot where a homeless man had been murdered,” stated Jackson.
If you can recall earlier in the story, the mention of Devyn’s nauseous feelings, well these feelings did not go away and on the way back from the crime scene, Devyn pulled over the car and vomited on the side of the road. Although it was quite embarrassing for Devyn, Jackson didn’t seem to mind
A couple of weeks later the two went on another date in which Devyn vomited again. And although this story is quite strange and eventful, the two have been together and going strong since their first date. Now they have even created a vomiting procedure for the car which includes a stash of barf bags. “Our first date was nice,” said Jackson. “We definitely skipped the awkward stage.

“The Date that Never Ended”
“It was my first ever date,” said an anonymous FMHS student. “We planned to go get lunch and take it to the park and eat it. During the picnic the conversation was odd, to say the least. “The first thing he asked me was what was my biggest fear,” said the student. “I was so confused and a little concerned as to why this was the first thing off the top of his head.
Typically, after dinner and a couple of hours of discussions, dates come to an end and both people go their separate ways but that is not the case with this date. “It lasted an entire nine hours because he wouldn’t leave,” says the student. She then ended up going to a friend’s house that lived nearby to which he came along as well. He stuck around until 12:00 when her friend’s parents finally kicked him out. “I woke up the morning the next day so grossed out by him I threw up.” And with that, it was clear to this student that a second date would not be in the plans.

If you can take away anything from these worst first dates, it is that no date is perfect and experiencing bad dates is completely normal. They serve as a way to figure out qualities that you like in potential partners and in Devyn’s and Jackson’s case it serves as a test to see the strength of your relationship with the other person. Bad dates are inevitable, but it shouldn’t be a reason to not put yourself out there. The worst-case scenario is you have a humorous story to tell your friends.