The eye contact game

This game is often played in schools between unconfident teenagers.

Rules:

1. Find a member of the preferred sex that you think is cute.
2. Affix your gaze upon this person while ey are not looking.
3. If you are caught, you may perform two actions.
• Avert your gaze and pretend you were never looking at em. This option is the more popular of the two.
• Hold eye contact. If the other party looks away, realize you are a creep and feel like a jerk. If the other party returns the stare, it will be enjoyable but uncomfortable. Break the tension by making a face, laughing, and approaching.
4. If you notice someone playing this game with you..
• If you like this person, return the stare and eventually make conversation.
• If you do not like this person, avert your eyes and feel uncomfortable. Congratulations, you now have an insecure jerkwad as a stalker.

It happened to me today. I took the train in Bondi Junction and noticed an attractive girl sitting a few rows of seats in front of me, facing my way (For those of you who don't live in Sydney the trains here have two levels and the seat direction can be changed, so you're not always facing the direction of travel.) I noticed that she wasn't particularly stunning, but had an appeal I could only describe as "oomph." I decided to carry on looking at her, seeing if she would notice it. Surely enough, after a couple of minutes she noticed she was being looked at. I wasn't staring or anything, as I made a concious effort to look in other directions, but every few moments I'd look her way again, in the hopes that my gaze would be returned.

And then she did it. She stared at me with the same determination as me. And we continued to look at each other across the rows of seats and between other people's heads. The feeling that overcame me was amazing. I felt a bit embarassed but more joyous than anything else. And so we continued to stare at each other, for about 10 seconds or so (it seems an eternity in that kind of situation). This happened two or three times before I got off at Town Hall Station to go to work.

No, nothing happened. I didn't talk to her, she didn't talk to me. I wasn't willing to do that. But that moment felt so good that now I will make it a point to practice the eye contact game until I get it right and it no longer feels uncomfortable. You guys should try it. There's no harm in it, just pick a random target in a train, bus, ferry, cafe' or food court and see how great it feels.

At the University I attend, I find this is a fun game to play when walking around during the spring and summer months. While certainly not the only facet of it's population, this University has a high geek guy concentration. For this reason, i suppose, the last place girls predict you will look at them in passing is right in the eye. Sometimes they'll smile and blush and touch their hair. Other times they'll just continue to stare at the edge of the sidewalk in front of them. Two extremes, I guess. No practical results, yet, but fun nevertheless.

I have tried this on my college's campus from time to time. I have come to one conclusion: no matter where you are walking, 85% of the people around you find the ground completely engrossing. The general aversion to eye contact amazes me. Not only that, but this campus has some fantastic architecture. Of course, the key to seeing this is to look up.

To confirm domaindudu's writeup, it is exhillarating to successfully execute this maneuver. And no, it does not matter if conversation comes about. It's almost more fun just imagining what might be said by this intriguing person, whose eyes you have engaged in a staring match.