Chapter 18 Hide from Me
THIS IS NOT going to work.
It’s been over two weeks of class, and I have realized I can’t go on hiding from Kang every time I come to campus.
This constant state of anxiety and fear whenever I turn a corner or pass a classroom is not healthy.
My plan to get through my first semester of college wholly unnoticed is not working, either, since my new friend Perla is one of those people who attracts attention wherever she goes.
She is the complete opposite of me: loud, cheerful, outgoing, talking to everyone and laughing easily with a cackle that can be heard miles away.
The redheaded guy from my class won’t let me pass unnoticed, either.
Diego, Perla said his name was. He takes every opportunity to try to talk to me.
I have blatantly ignored him because I don’t need another friend who draws so much attention to themselves, and, with his loud voice and huge laugh, everyone notices Diego wherever he goes.
And now, like a cruel joke fate is playing on me, the storm hits earlier than expected and I find myself stranded on campus. There was talk of classes being suspended, but since the storm was not forecast to hit until much later in the evening, the dean kept classes as scheduled.
I tried to convince Kamila that I should stay home, but she insisted that I should try to keep my momentum going.
She promised to come for me if anything happened, and I agreed, despite the fact that her hospital is on the other side of town and so is Andy’s office.
So now I’m one of the many students stuck on campus and—more proof of fate’s cruelty—Diego is here, across from me in the hallway where we’re clustered since the wind gusts are so strong we can’t sit near any windows or doors.
“I told my mom we should’ve stayed home today,” Perla grumbles beside me.
“I said the same thing to my sister.” I sigh.
“Hey, Hoodie,” Diego says.
Perla shoots him a murderous look. “Leave her alone, Diego.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not talking to you.”
We hear the sound of voices, and I glance down the hall. Ms. Romes, Perla’s mother, is leading a group of students toward us and asks them to sit down along the wall.
“Everything good?” asks Ms. Romes, looking at her daughter.
“Yeah, good and boring. When can we go home?”
Everyone in the hallway is listening attentively.
Perla’s mother sighs. “We can’t leave until they lift the extreme wind and tornado warnings; it’s too dangerous. If anyone has asked a family member to come get them, I’d recommend you cancel the ride. No one should be out in these conditions. We’ll keep you safe here, don’t worry.”
But the grim expression on Ms. Romes’s face awakens my latent fear.
How have I been so calm up till now? My breathing quickens, but I try to relax, glancing around at the other students.
We’re all here together and no one else is panicking.
We’ll be fine. Won’t we? I look to the end of the hallway as I see more students filing in and sitting down.
I frown. “What are they all doing here?” I ask as the hallway quickly fills up.
Perla glances down the hall. “This is a designated ‘safe corridor’ in the event of a tornado warning.”
“Does that mean all the students are going to be crammed into this tiny space?”
Perla nods. “The ones who have class in this building, yes.”
Please don’t let Kang have class in this building, or at least let him have been smart enough to stay home today .
I scan each new group of students as they arrive, examining them carefully, hidden beneath my hood with my heart in my throat. Somehow, the prospect of sharing physical space with Kang terrifies me more than the fury of the storm outside. I must be totally insane.
After a while, students stop trickling in and I lean back against the wall, relieved.
Thank you, fate .
But I called it too soon.
As always, I hear him before I see him. His laughter echoes down the hall as he says hello to several people sitting against the walls. It’s that voice that haunts my dreams, that makes my heart race and my brain run wild. And it’s coming from mere feet away. I’m dying to get a look at him.
“Hey, Kang!” a guy calls out to him. “You really think there’s a storm coming? Last time you talked about one on your show, it barely drizzled.”
Kang laughs. “I don’t know, dude. Can’t trust the meteorologists after that.”
I feel eyes on me, and when I look up, I see that Diego is watching me with curiosity. Oh, no, the last thing I need is for him to notice my weakness for Kang.
“Let’s find a place to sit down.” Erick’s voice sounds very close.
I look away from Diego and fix my eyes on the ground in front of me. Two pairs of shoes walk past, and I shrink into my hood to hide my face. Erick and Kang sit down along the opposite wall, diagonally across from me; if I turned my head, I would be able to see them. They are close, too close.
It wouldn’t hurt to take a peek at him, Klara .
Cautiously, I glance up and try to get a look at him out of the corner of my eye, but Erick is blocking Kang, animatedly telling some story. I’m about to give up when Kang leans forward, past Erick, and I see his face.
I feel as if the wind is knocked out of me.
He’s good-looking, much more handsome than I expected—not in a conventional way, but in a different, unique way.
His black hair falls across his forehead over his deep black eyes.
His skin is smooth and his cheeks are slightly flushed from the hustle and bustle of this whole affair.
What strikes me most, however, are his smile and the two dimples that appear in his cheeks as he laughs; they’re adorable.
I stare at him, awestruck, until his black eyes meet mine.
Immediately, I turn away from him, hiding behind my hood.
What was I thinking? Did he see me? No, no; I was quick enough, I think.
Perla leans over with a raised eyebrow. “Kla—”
I cover her mouth. “Shh! Whatever you do, do not say my name.”
I move my hand away and she gives me a What the hell! look.
“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later,” I whisper, using her words against her.
Perla is about to object, but, suddenly, the lights go out. Shrieks and gasps echo down the darkened hallway. I hear Mrs. Leach’s voice. “Everyone, please remain calm—the emergency generator will kick on soon.”
I lean closer to Perla. Between the storm and the nerves of having Kang so close, my poor heart feels like it might burst. At least I can hide from him better in the dark.
But fate is truly not on my side today. Out of the silence and darkness, my cell phone dings twice, alerting me that I have new messages.
I don’t think anything of it until I hear Kang speak. “What the… Did you hear that?” he says to Erick. “I just sent a couple messages and a phone alert sounded at the exact second.”
Crap. Kang messaged me.
Erick snorts. “Dude, shut up. You’re imagining things.”
“Could be, but it seems too coincidental. I’m going to send another one to check.”
Shit, shit! I fumble in my pocket for my phone, but I’m not fast enough and it dings again.
“Hear that?” Kang asks.
I can feel his eyes probing the darkness of the hallway. Sitting on my phone to muffle it, I press the button to silence it.
“It’s a coincidence.” Erick chuckles. “There are a hundred cell phones in this hallway. Look around you—everyone’s using their phone.”
Kang sends another message. This time my phone doesn’t ding but the sound of the vibration is clearly audible in this narrow, enclosed space. I should’ve turned the phone off.
Kang stands up.
“Hey, come on, sit down, man, it’s a coincidence.” Erick sighs. “Dude, Kang!”
Kang puts his phone to his ear and my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. It’s an incoming call. He stands up, trying to figure out where the vibration sound is coming from. If I pull out my phone, he’ll see the light from the screen.
He begins to move toward me and I panic. What should I do? Without thinking, I get up and rush in the opposite direction, to the end of the hall.
“Hey!”
I hear Kang behind me, and I run even faster.
“Stop! Hey!”
“Excuse me…” I hear Mrs. Leach say as I rush past her into the main hallway.
Please don’t follow me, Kang, please .
To one side of the hallway is the main entrance to the Blue Ridge Health Sciences Center and on the other are bathrooms. There’s a staircase that leads to other classrooms upstairs, but I’m unfamiliar with that part of the building.
I can’t go out into the storm—besides, I’m sure the door is locked—so I run for the women’s bathroom, the sound of footsteps trailing behind me.
“Hey, stop!” Kang’s voice is close; I know it won’t be long before he reaches me.
I grab the edge of the doorframe and slide into the ladies’ room. The door swings shut behind me but there’s no lock. I press my back to the wall, trying to hide. My chest is rising and falling. Kang wouldn’t come into the girls’ bathroom, would he?
“It’s you.” Kang’s voice on the other side of the door destroys me. “I’m not moving from this spot until you come out, Klara.”
I slide down the wall and sit on the floor. I turn my face to the entrance and catch a glimpse of Kang sitting against the wall as lightning strikes and the strong winds outside make the door sway gently open and shut. A smile plays on his lips.
“I can’t believe I found you. You don’t know how many times I’ve imagined seeing you, pictured your expressions. I’ve been dying to put a face to your name, Klara with a K—the girl I haven’t stopped thinking about since the first time I talked to her.”
More lightning, followed by a gust of wind that causes the door to slam shut, but not before giving me a brief look of the excited expression on Kang’s face. I’ve followed his voice for so long and now he’s only a few steps away. But I’m afraid of his reaction if he sees me.