"The roses are dead,
The violets are too,
Don't mention romance,
You'll make me spew."
Francesca Burton knows all there is to know about love and romance. She knows that love is for the naïve and romance is for the delusional. Her parents taught her...
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Paul Riordan had always told his wife and children that he intended to die at home in a house full of noise and laughter, surrounded by his family and the people who love them most.
And he does.
His son's new girlfriend puts her avoider tendencies to the side to be there for the boy she is almost, probably, most likely, definitely falling for. She's surprised to find that being a supportive girlfriend, or any sort of girlfriend, is much less scary than she anticipated.
The day Paul takes his last breath, the girlfriend goes home to her own parents and tells them that she loves them. They both cry. She does too.
Over the following months, boy and girl go on numerous dates and kiss a lot. Sometimes they double-date with the acapella singer and the rugby player. The DJ drags them to slam poetry readings more regularly than they'd like.
For their six-month anniversary, he takes her to play laser tag. After their resounding victory against a group of primary school students, she declares that she loves him. He says it right back.
The school principal is delighted.
They get an A+ on their Introduction to Business Communications assignment. Amy Burgess takes the girl out for coffee to celebrate.
Against all the expectations of at least one of its founders, DateMate continues to grow in popularity. The identity of the Year 12s behind the app is the source of much speculation among the student population of St Mark's Grammar School.
No one knows how the journalist found out about it, but DateMate becomes the subject of a highly sensationalised 'investigative' piece into the seedy side of Melbourne's private schools. Both Principal Burton and the School Council are less than impressed. DateMate is swiftly disabled.
Eleven weeks later, the app is quietly bought by a US-based tech company for an undisclosed sum, rumoured to be at least eight figures. Gemma Riordan and Andrew 'Gordo' Gordon accept lucrative positions with the same company. Their acquaintance Marissa King doesn't make it through the personality testing.
With a few tweaks and a new website heavy with glitter and pink hearts, DateMate relaunches globally. It is wildly successful.
Today, the rock climbing / high tea combo remains the most popular date on the app.
