Ghosted, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut

The beginning of Fall term, I was sitting on the bus reading a Kurt Vonnegut novel. When I put the book down, I heard a voice calling to me from across the aisle. I lowered my glasses from the top of my head to find a cute, boyish face looking back at me. “How are you enjoying Breakfast of Champions?” he asked. He told me he loved Vonnegut’s works, and listed off three books (one of which was not written by Vonnegut). I knew this was wrong, but found myself questioning myself instead of correcting him. We smiled at each other, stealing glances the rest of the ride home.

Weeks later, while swiping on Tinder, I saw someone who looked strikingly similar to the boy on the bus. I messaged him, asking if he took the same shuttle as me. It was him! We messaged back and forth for a few weeks, and he seemed genuinely interested in what I have to say.

When he asked me about my course load, I mentioned the Theories of Masculinity class. I asked him how he defined masculinity. He never responded. Truthfully, that told me so much more than anything he might have written.