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Playing With / Escape Call

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  • Basic Trope: A character claims s/he is getting a phone call from someone to get out of a bad or annoying situation.
  • Straight: Alice is on a first date with Bob, but it isn't going so well. She takes out her phone, pretends to have a conversation with her boss, explains to Bob that she needs to go in to the office, and hurries out the door.
  • Exaggerated:
    • Under the table, Alice texts her friend Carol "HELP!", which is code for Carol to call her and pretend to be her boss.
    • Alice comes up with a real emergency, like someone calling to inform her that her house is on fire, or that a family member is in the hospital.
  • Downplayed: ???
  • Justified:
    • Alice doesn't want to be rude, so she comes up with a plausible excuse to get out of the date gracefully.
    • Alice is feeling unsafe; to just leave without a good reason could cause Bob to harm her.
  • Inverted:
    • Alice tells Bob this isn't going to work and not to contact her again.
    • Alice calls Carol to help her get out of a bad date.
    • Alice calls in to work, saying that she's sick.
  • Subverted:
    • Alice doesn't excuse herself to take a phone call, she excuses herself to the restroom.
    • Alice goes to the bar and orders an "Angel Shot, on the rocks" or asks to speak to "Angela."
    • Alice really is getting a call from her boss.
  • Double Subverted:
    • She never comes back to Bob, as she snuck out the back door, and then proceeded to block his number. (Or, she tells Bob that she got called in to work while in the restroom and has to leave.)
    • The bartender understands that that's code for "Please call me a cab because I'm feeling unsafe."
    • The date wasn't going well, and Alice wanted to leave anyway; now she has an excuse.
  • Parodied:
    • Alice tells Bob she's going to order them some drinks, and that she'll be back soon. Bob waits for her...only she never comes back, even as the sun sets.
    • Bob sees that Alice is a complete Gonk, unlike her profile picture, so he sends a text on his phone which ends up setting him on fire.
    • "Oh, sorry, that was my friend, she's on a date with a douchebag and needs me to stage a phone call so she can get away from him." "Oh, okay."
  • Zig-Zagged: ???
  • Averted:
    • Alice's date goes smoothly, and she feels safe and secure the entire time. Even if she doesn't choose to see Bob again, she at least doesn't feel the need to leave early.
    • Alice doesn't have a cell phone with her, or has turned her phone off.
  • Enforced: ???
  • Lampshaded: "Hi, Mr. Pointyhair...oh, oh no...I'll be right there." "That was work, I need to go."
  • Invoked: Alice is on a date, but she's feeling unsafe or uncomfortable, and doesn't want to provoke Bob.
  • Exploited: ???
  • Defied: Alice decides it's better to just be direct, and to tell Bob that she doesn't think this is going to work out, and please not contact her again.
  • Discussed:
    Dave: So, how'd your date with Alice go?
    Bob: Eh, she got a call from her boss, and now her number's been disconnected.
    Dave: Dude, bummer.
  • Conversed: ???

Sorry, that was my boss, I have to go back to Escape Call.

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