24
KING
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Erica’s head tilts back as she laughs at Seo-jun’s jokes. The man can’t be that funny.
Wasn’t that guy awful to her?
Why does Erica always put herself with people who don’t know her worth?
Dirt crunches under my boots as I head back to my cabin while the bonfire is still going strong behind the hall. A bunch of people are out there, but it got too loud for me.
Now that it’s dark, I stand in front of my cabin looking up at the sky. It’s beautiful.
All the stars are clear out here, no city lights to drown them out.
Random sounds drift on the wind, people heading to their cabins, some of the older kids laughing in the distance.
Then I hear slow-moving, soft footsteps. I look down from the sky as the wind picks up a little harder before calming again, almost like being at the beach. It’s Zosha.
Seeing me, she smiles and walks closer. “Hey, King.”
“Hey, Zosha.”
The first thing I notice is that Erica isn’t with her.
“Where’s Erica?” I ask.
“Oh, she’s still out there with Seo-jun at the bonfire.”
Nodding, I look back up at the sky, away from her. It bothers me.
It bothers me that she’s out there, so close to Seo-jun. Things got very intense between me and her, so I needed space, for my spiritual health.
But honestly, it’s been very hard.
I don’t know when it happened, but Erica became part of my routine somehow. I got used to seeing her, interacting with her.
Now we barely talk. Aside from the three texts I sent her days apart, checking on her, making sure she was feeling better, those two weeks after, I said nothing to her… and she said nothing to me.
Aside from me dropping her at the Youth Camp when I felt she still wasn’t well enough to drive on her own, she’s been driving herself, so there’s been no need for us to interact.
But it feels hollow.
Strange.
“Are you okay?” Zosha asks as she steps a little closer.
That’s right, she’s still here. I completely forgot.
“Yeah,” I breathe out, not sure if I believe it.
“I… I’m sorry that I didn’t talk much on our round,” she says. My eyes find hers, wondering what she’s talking about. “At the Valentine’s Day thing?”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I don’t do well under pressure,” she replies, smiling with embarrassment.
“That’s okay. I think you did fine. Between you and me, I wasn’t really into the whole thing,” I assure her.
“Really? Me neither!” she pipes up.
Shrugging, my gaze drifts off into the distance. “It just feels a bit invasive. I don’t think people should be forced to sit down and get to know each other unless they both agree to that. I understand why we do it for the kingdom and everything, but… it didn’t feel natural.”
“Oh my God, I feel the same way,” she states, clearly feeling a lot better.
Good to know we’re on the same page about that. My phone dings. When I take it out of my pocket, I see a text from Yvonne.
Yvonne: Thank you for the flowers baby. You spoil me.
My lips curve up in a small smile.
“Is that your mom?” Zosha asks, seeing me looking down at my phone.
“No,” I answer.
We both stand there awkwardly. I lean my right shoulder against the pillar outside my cabin that holds up the little porch area. She looks like she wants to say something, so I wait, just staring at her.
“Actually… there’s… there’s a movie that I wanted to see and I don’t want to go alone. I was actually wondering if you could come with me. Not as a date! Just friends,” she gets out.
That came out of nowhere. Zosha is a nice girl. I’m aware how shy she is around me and that she likes me, or at least she did. Lately she’s been hanging out with Caleb, even though the two of them seem to fight more than they get along. I assumed she moved on from that.
Over time, unless she’s hiding it better, she seems to just genuinely look up to me. I have no idea why. I’m not that interesting. I’m not that great of a Christian.
Clearly.
I wonder if she knows about me and Erica.
Did Erica tell her what we did?
She isn’t saying anything about it, and there have been times when she’s talked to me about my faith and staying on the path, straight up even warning me when it came to Erica. So I have a feeling if she knew, she would say something now, especially while we’re alone.
Maybe she wants to go to the movies with me so she can tell me. Now I’m actually curious.
But is she inviting me specifically for that reason, or is this a group thing?
My heart beats faster at the thought that Erica might come.
I want her to. I know I’ve been pushing her away, but I’d like to see her, in a setting that’s more public, that doesn’t make me feel like I’m sinning against God.
“Is Erica coming?” I ask.
“No. She’s hanging out with Jun and his friends.”
That’s not the answer I wanted to hear. That’s when I realize poor Zosha probably feels alone. “Why are you not with them?” I ask curiously.
She takes a deep breath. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not the right fit for Erica’s friends or the people she hangs out with. They’re vulgar and not very God-like.”
The look on her face makes me believe her. Because she’s not wrong.
She’s a nice person, and she’s looked out for me too.
“When is the movie?” I ask her.
Her face noticeably lights up. “It’s a late showing at 8:30.”
“That’s in 20 minutes.”
She nods expectantly, as if hoping I’ll come along. Feeling bad for her, I give her a smile. “All right, I’ll go. We can take my truck.”
She grins, the gratitude of a kid who’s just been given the one thing they’ve ever wanted.
It’ll be a good distraction too, since Erica insists on hanging out with Seo-jun.