“Hey, Sam,” he said, somewhat flustered.
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever made it to class before you,” I said in a friendly voice.
“I was up late working on another scene for Playwriting. I had to get it just right,” he smiled. His expression dropped when he saw Kamiko ignoring us on the other side of the room. “I see that Kamiko still looks like a wounded bunny rabbit. Poor thing.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. I had already told Romeo in detail what had happened at Charboneau with Brandon and how he broke Kamiko’s heart. “You told Kamiko I was sorry again, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve told her a hundred times how bad you feel,” Romeo said.
“And you told her that Brandon had totally come on to me? Not the other way around?”
“Yes, Sam,” Romeo reassured compassionately. “I don’t think she’s actually mad at you. More than anything, I think she’s just sad. You know how it is, Kamiko’s so busy with studying, she never gets out, never dates, and that hot bastard Brandsome had to go and send her a bunch of mixed signals on New Year's Eve. She’s probably been making secret wedding plans ever since.”
“Doesn’t she tell you everything?” I asked.
“Usually. I mean, she’s been prattling on about Brandsome non-stop for weeks. But I know Kamiko. I’m starting to think she was holding something back. I guess I didn’t realize how bad she had it for the guy.”
“Oh,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m a little worried about her,” he said. “She’s been secluding herself more and more lately. It’s not good for her.”
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked. “I mean, I know she’s not talking to me, but I want to help somehow.”
“If you’ve got any of that love potion you used on Christos left over, maybe we can trick Brandsome into drinking some,” Romeo joked.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “I wish I did,” I smiled forlornly.
“Wait, I know!” Romeo said. “Professor Bittinger is a witch! Maybe she can stir up a fresh batch in her cauldron!”
I smiled. “Sadly, I think if she knew how to brew potions, she would’ve already used one on Hunter.”
“You’re right,” Romeo sighed. “I guess all we can do is give Kamiko time to get over it.”
“Yeah,” I said. I glanced at the clock on the wall. We still had a few minutes until class started. Professor Cogdill still hadn’t arrived. I looked around the room and saw that all the students were chatting or setting up. All had a lightness of spirit and purpose. Except Kamiko.
She sat on a stool, slumped over, totally miserable. She was breaking my heart. I walked over to her.
“Hey, Kamiko,” I said quietly.
She looked up at me with heavy eyes that revealed an equally heavy heart. She didn’t respond.
“I, um, Kamiko? I just wanted to say again I’m really sorry about what happened. It wasn’t my fault. Brandon came onto me, and when you left I told him what a jerk he was for treating you like that.” I sounded nervous, and the proximity of the other students wasn’t helping. At least they were engaged with setting up, or were chatting with the other students nearby. I wished this conversation had been private, but I hadn’t been able to find a better location. I was desperate.
Kamiko stared back at me, her face long. She looked completely miserable. Was I making things worse? Should I leave her alone? I glanced back at Romeo. He shrugged his shoulders sympathetically. He didn’t know what the answer was either.
I squeezed around Kamiko’s easel until I was standing beside her. I put my hand tenderly on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Kamiko. I really am. I don’t know what else to say. But it makes me sad to see you hurting like this.”
Kamiko had to crane her head to look up at me. The naked heartbreak in her tearing eyes almost broke mine.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. I wanted to hug her. I leaned tentatively toward her.
She shrugged me off and turned back to stare at her feet.
I let my hand slide from her shoulder as I walked back toward my easel. I was ready to cry. I needed to step outside for a minute. When I opened the door to the studio, Professor Cogdill came walking in.
“Thank you, Miss Smith,” he beamed. “You must have X-Ray vision to have seen me coming through a solid door,” he quipped.
I stammered, “Oh, uh, no, I…”
He smiled back. “It’s okay, your secret’s safe with me,” he winked. “Ready to start painting?”
“Yeah,” I muttered. I would have to save my cry over Kamiko’s distress until after class. It made me so sad to see her like this, but there was nothing I could do. Romeo was right. She needed time to heal. I just wanted to help take away her pain somehow. But I couldn’t. I could only offer support which she didn’t necessarily have to take.
Maybe she just hurt so bad because she thought the whole world was against her. I could totally relate.
I knew what it was like to have strict parents like hers. Hers were pushing hard for her to become a doctor as soon as she possibly could. But all you had to do was take one look at all the paintings covering her dorm room to realize that maybe medicine wasn’t the path for her.
Sadly, no matter what I did, I couldn’t change her situation. It was her struggle between herself and her parents. Would she grab hold of her dreams and never let them go, or would she succumb to the demands of her family?
I almost felt guilty for having Christos in my life. He was the one light that had guided me into safe harbor from the tumultuous, miserable life I had lived back in Washington D.C. under both the iron influence of my parents and the rejection of my peers.
For all I knew, Kamiko was wishing that Brandon Charboneau would be her Christos, her savior from a bleary future she didn’t want, her guide out of the prison of her parents’ dictatorial demands. And now Brandon had closed that door for her.
As I returned to my painting easel next to Romeo, I silently thanked my good fortune that I had Christos in my life. I feared that without him, I would be as distraught and lost as Kamiko was right at that moment.
I shivered and pushed my dark thoughts away, determined not to fall prey to my own morbid worries.
Besides, I had my own issues left to deal with. When Oil Painting was over, I would have to go to Sculpting and face Hunter Blakeley. I still hadn’t seen him since the incident with Christos.
SAMANTHA
Romeo had lunch with Kamiko after Oil Painting, just the two of them. He told me was getting worried about her, and wanted to check in with her privately. I understood.
I bought a sandwich at the Student Center convenience store and went to the Central Fountain to eat in solitude.
I sat down on a bench and unwrapped my sandwich. I couldn’t believe how warm it was for February. My heavy winter coats were all packed away in the back of my closet in my apartment. I didn’t think I’d ever need them in San Diego. The thought brought a smile to my face.
While I chewed on a bite of my sandwich, I glanced around and noticed someone carrying a huge bouquet of flowers along one of the walkways that connected to the Central Fountain.
I wondered who the flowers could be for. Maybe they were going to some professor’s office, a gift from a secret admirer, delivered by some singing telegram man? Maybe some graduate student was about to propose marriage to another graduate student who was a T.A, and the guy with the flowers was going to walk into his girlfriend’s section in front of a bunch of undergrads, and get down on one knee? I smiled. The romantic possibilities were endless.
I smiled to myself as the massive bouquet and whoever was carrying them approached the fountain. I felt increasingly nervous as the flowers got closer and closer. By now, I would’ve expected the person holding them to have turned and headed off toward their destination.
But the flower man kept coming, until he stopped right at my feet.
Gulp.
I couldn’t see around the bouquet. Who was it?
