The Stranger Who Beat Me at My Own Playlist
I matched a girl and we ran out of small talk in about three minutes, so she said “okay, new rule: we can only speak in 90s song titles until someone messes up.” I thought I was about to lose. I was not ready for how good it got.
She started with “Sweet Dreams.” I said “Are You Gonna Go My Way.” She said “No Scrubs.” I said “Wannabe.” We went back and forth for a solid ten minutes, both of us laughing, throwing out song titles like a quiz we were somehow both winning.
The first time we messed up, we both just collapsed laughing, and then we started all over again with a new rule, only artists’ names this time. It was ridiculous and I have genuinely never had a stranger get my sense of humor faster.
Somewhere in the middle, between songs, she said “this is the weirdest best time I’ve ever had on here” and I said “same” and we both meant it completely.
We talked for two hours after the game, about music, about concerts we’d been to, about everything. When she left she said “no regrets, you’re the best playlist I’ve ever matched with.”
It made me realize that the best conversations on random chat often start with something completely silly, and the platforms that work are the ones where a random stranger can become your favorite person for one night.
