Chapter 15
Taney sat on her bunk listening to music when Kaila returned to the room. She pulled the earbuds from her ears.
“Hey you, where you been?” she asked Kaila. “Don’t you have any studying to do?”
Plopping down on her bed, and looking exhausted, she replied, “It’s almost lights out. I’m pooped. I’ll work on it tomorrow.”
“You figure out what you’re going to write for English Lit?”
“No, not really,” she answered bluntly. “I thought about it some today. Somebody mentioned out on the boards that they may have seen a whale. I didn’t see it though, it’s too early for them.”
“No way,” Taney said. “They must have been blind. Ain’t no whales here yet.”
“Yeah, I know. But it got me to thinking. Maybe I can do something on whales. Maybe some kind of history on them in Hawaii. There is that museum at the Whaler’s Village.” She started to second guess herself about the idea. “I dunno. I’m still thinking about it though. What about you?”
Taney yawned. “I don’t know. You know me, probably something about Samoa.”
Kaila just stared at her toes. She was feeling very tired all of a sudden. “Yeah, you’d be good with that.”
Just then Kaila’s cell phone chime went off, indicating she received an instant message. She looked down at her phone and smiled happily. It was from Peter saying,
Thank you for a great day I loved it! Goodnight.
Taney became nosey. “Who’s that from? What you smilin’ at girl?”
Kaila quickly tapped away on her phone to answer.
I had a great time too. Thank you! Sleep tight.
Kaila beamed as she stared at her phone. She loved how sweet he was to her.
“Oh I bet it’s that skinny boy,” Taney laughed. She already knew that it was Peter by the way Kaila was smiling so broadly.
“Yeah, it was,” Kaila admitted.
Taney put her work down and a serious expression came over her face. She even looked a little anxious. “Hey, I need to tell you something,” she began.
Kaila did not look up, she had gone back to examining the worn polish on her toenails. “Yeah, what is it?”
Taney fumbled for the words. She became even more nervous with each moment. Finally she got the words out. “I – I have a crush on you.” Kaila froze and her eyes widened. She looked up just a bit and stared at her desk chair. “I mean, I’m attracted to you. Kinda sorta.”
Kaila was aghast. My roommate is attracted to me! Oh, what next? she thought to herself. She tried to compose herself and find the best response to this surprising revelation. “Surprising” was an understatement.
“Um, what?” was all she could get out. She looked for an escape route. A black hole or time portal or something to another dimension to dive into. Anything. But no such luck. She was trapped.
She gulped down some air and finally answered. “I mean, what about all the boys in football pads and tight ends and tight asses?”
Taney looked more composed now that she got her feelings off her chest. “I like them too. I mean, I – I like them both. Girls and boys.”
That did not seem to help. Kaila kept trying to convince herself this was not happening. It could not be happening. Then she remembered something. “Well, what about that incident that got you in here that you told me about?”
“My crime of passion?” Taney asked calmly.
“Yeah! Didn’t you say you stabbed some guy in a fit of jealous passion?”
Taney sat up a bit in her bed. “I wasn’t jealous of him flirting with that girl. I was jealous because I liked her too.”
Kaila looked befuddled. She had no more ideas. She was fresh out. “Oh,” was all she could mutter.
“And I didn’t stab him with a knife or anything. I just jabbed him with a pencil in math class at my old school.”
“Oh, well. Good. I guess.” Kaila was completely flummoxed. She fumbled for something else to say. It was something she had never encountered before. No other girl had ever told her that she was attracted to her. And now she was getting it from her roommate of all people. She could not wrap her brain around it. “Look, um, you’re my friend. I care about you. I just can’t…care about you in that way.” She bunched up her blanket nervously in a ball in her hands. “Know what I mean?”
“Yes,” Taney said. “I just had to make sure. That’s all. I hope you’re not mad.”
“No, it’s OK,” Kaila said, somewhat relieved. She wanted this conversation to just go away. “Just had to make sure, huh?” she laughed.
Taney breathed a heavy sigh. She was somewhat relieved herself. “Yeah, you know why?”
“No.”
“Because of that skinny boy. I know he’s sweet on you. I had to check so I didn’t have to stab him too.”
Kaila burst into laughter. Taney chuckled too. She was glad her friend was not angry with her. Kaila was glad for the tension reliever. And so was Taney for that matter.
The weeks passed and Kaila and Peter continued working together in the mornings at the pig pen and then on Friday nights they kept meeting in the lounge for darts and even some pool. They tried to spend as much of their free time with one another as possible. On weeknights they would take long walks around the school campus and catch nearly every sunset each evening after dinner. They had just enough time before the mandatory two-hour study period to get in their strolls together. They were inseparable. And with each week they became closer and closer and got to know each other as each day went by. It became their routine each week to listen to the Lunas football games on the radio Friday nights while they played pool and talked.
The Lunas continued to have a stellar season and strung together shutouts of Kamehameha Maui, Maui High and even their rival Baldwin. In fact, they were so tough, they had five shutout games in a row at one point in the season. They were undefeated and looking terrific heading into October.
Peter was much better at pool than he was at darts, but still loved to do either one with her. Kaila did too and with pool she was not quite as skilled, but always up for the challenge. And besides that, she loved just spending time with him. It was not work, just good quality free time. Weekends were mostly busy with studying so they cherished the times they did get to be together.
It was Friday night again and the Lunas were playing against Kamehameha Maui once more. Only a few students were in the lounge and Peter and Kaila had the room nearly to themselves as before. There were only two boys who were talking to some girls by the TV. They were laughing rather loudly and teasing each other and it was easy to hear them by the pool table.
Gathering the billiard balls together into the triangle, Peter said, “This time you get to break.”
“No!” Kaila protested. “I like to see you break. You do it better than I do anyway.”
Peter shook his head. “No, you get to break too. You won that last game. Just try it.”
“Oh yeah,” she laughed. “You scratched on the eight-ball.” She relented though and lined up the cue ball for the break.
Peter noticed how close to the edge she was placing the white cue ball to the bumper. “How can you do that so close to the edge?”
Kaila laughed, “This is how I do it, so hush up.”
“OK, I’m hushin.’” He watched as she awkwardly held the pool cue at a high angle and tapped the ball towards the group of balls. The cue ball barely nudged the bunch and only a few balls aimlessly rolled away for her break.
“Dang it!” she cried. “That’s why I don’t like to break. I got nothing.”
“Maybe you could try it from an angle like I do,” Peter suggested. “And not so close.”
“You do it your way, I’ll do it my way,” she answered smartly. “Besides, I can see your eyes when I’m leaning over for a shot.”
Peter laughed and smiled deviously. “Well it is a nice view.”
Kaila flashed
him a wicked grin and answered, “Pay attention, young man.”
“Believe me, I am!” Peter laughed.
The laughter across the room became louder from the group on the couch. Peter chuckled to himself as he and Kaila both eavesdropped. “Almost as bad as Vince and the guys in our dorm. They are always clownin’ around.”
Kaila stared at the table, lining up her next shot and responded, “Well, at least your roommate isn’t hitting on you.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “Oh no way.”
“Oh yes way. Was really weird. But we talked it over and now it’s not an issue. But still…”
“Yeah, that’s awkward for sure.”
“So, tell me,” Kaila said, trying to deflect his attention. “You know what you’re going to write for your senior paper?”
It was a topic he had not put much thought into. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “No, not really. I figured I’d do something on coffee or whatever.”
“Dang it!” she said with exasperation. “Everybody’s got a topic but me.” She was intrigued however by his answer. “Coffee? What about it?”
“My mom works over in the Kona plantations. She knows a lot about it. I used to help her when I was younger, so I learned a few things. I might write about that.” Kaila was impressed. He had not said much about his family or what they did. She was glad that he had actually put some thought into the paper already. After all, it was one of the larger projects for seniors in English class.
“What about you?” he asked.
Kaila stood with her pool queue resting against her side. She wrinkled her nose with a frustrated look on her face. “I don’t know. I’m having trouble finding something. And we have to turn in our proposals next week. It’s like I have writer’s block or something. But I can’t even get to that point. I can’t even come up with an idea. I have idea block.”
Peter chuckled as he took another shot on the table. “You like to write or something? I’ve always been lousy at it.”
Kaila perked up. “Oh I love to write. I’ve been writing since I was a little girl.”
“Wow, no kidding?”
“Yeah,” she continued. “And I plan to go to journalism school at Hawaii Maui College. I’m hoping to get an internship during the summer with the local newspaper or something like that. Would be great.”
“Oh, you mean like a reporter?” he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders and answered, “I dunno. Maybe to start out. I’d really like to be an author though. It’s just so hard for a writer to make it as an author. But I just love to tell stories. Would be great to do it for a living. Far-fetched but still great.”
Peter nodded in agreement. “No, I don’t think so. I think you should go for it if that’s what you wanta do. At least you know what you wanta do. I have no clue.”
Kaila gave him an uncertain look. “You don’t’? Aren’t you going to go to college? We could go to the same one!”
“I haven’t really thought about it too much. I know we can’t afford it. My grades aren’t near good enough for a scholarship. My parents never went either. I just figured I’d have to start working as soon as I finished high school like they did.”
“Oh no,” Kaila said, trying to encourage him. “Apply for a loan or something. You never know. You can do whatever you want.”
“I suppose so, yeah.” Peter seemed very downtrodden about the subject and she could tell it bothered him. But it bothered her even more. She at least wanted to see him have some kind of goal after high school.
“Well, what do you want to do once you graduate?” she finally asked.
Peter had the answer to that all prepared. “Oh, my dad works construction on the roads. He can get me on easily I bet.”
Kaila looked at him like he was a madman. “Road work? Are you serious? Come on, there must be something better than that that you wanta do. Sure he can, but that doesn’t mean you have to.”
“Well what’s wrong with it?” he said, sounding defensive.
“Nothing. I just think you could aim a little higher is all. The whole world is out there for you. I bet you could find a way into college if you tried. What kind of things interest you?” She clearly wanted to help him, but she could tell he had already resigned himself to the same fate as his parents. “What do you like to do?”
“I don’t know,” Peter answered. “No one has really asked me that to be honest.” He thought for a moment. “I guess I’m good with my hands, you know, fixing stuff and working outside. I kinda like the coffee groves and stuff like that. Haven’t really thought about it.”
“See!” Kaila exclaimed. “Maybe you could go into science or something and learn all about how to grow coffee or something like that. Not just be the one that harvests the beans. Or be a business manager, learn the business side of it. Like I said, there are so many options out there. You just have to pick something you like.”
Peter smiled at her. He loved her enthusiasm about everything. And it was nice that someone actually wanted to know what he liked and was genuinely concerned about his future. He had not thought much about it at all until now. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said.
She aimed at the eight-ball and closed one eye, staring down her shot and said, “Of course I’m right! Eight-ball in the corner.” Then she struck the cue ball crisply and easily sunk the eight-ball in the corner pocket. She leapt for joy at seeing her shot go in. “Ha! I made it!”
“Wow, great shot! Now you rule at pool too!”
“You better believe it, baby!” Kaila said with a smirk. She put her pool cue away and sat down on the couch by the dart board. Peter had not noticed, but she had brought a small sack with her and set it on the couch when they had arrived. “Hey, come here. I have something for you.”
He came and sat next to her on the couch and said, “You do?”
“Yeah,” she said, grabbing the sack and placing it on his lap. “I found out from a little bird that it was your birthday. Open it.”
He looked at her slyly as he unfolded the paper bag and removed its contents. Inside was a small knitted blanket. His eyes widened in disbelief. It was perfectly woven with fine, soft yarn and had a pattern of alternating colors of dark green, blue, black, and light brown. He held it in his hands, smiling broadly.
“Thank you!” he said sheepishly. “This…this is beautiful. Did you make it?”
“Yes. It's a mixture of our favorite colors.”
“Really?” Peter did not know what to say. “Wow! You are so talented! This looks like it was professionally made by a machine or something.” Kaila beamed at hearing that. Peter looked at it as if he were about to cry. “It’s wonderful. I don’t know what to say.” He just sat there looking at her, falling ever deeper in love with her. “No one has ever made me something before. Thank you. I love it.” He leaned over and gave her a long hug. “This must have taken you forever. When did you have time to work on it?”
“I’m glad you like it," she said sweetly. “Just at night before I would go to bed.”
“I love the colors.” He held the soft fibers of the blanket to his nose. He smiled as if pleasantly enamored with it. “Mmm, it smells just like your perfume.”
“Ha ha. Yeah, I guess because it was on my lap all these weeks while I made it.”
“It took you that long?”
“Yeah. I know it really doesn’t get cold here but sometimes you might want it for your legs or something. Or just to think of me.”
He looked at her with pure love in his eyes which poured out from his heart. “It’s the best gift I’ve ever received.” He looked it over more closely and noticed the varying colors with each knitted section. It was exquisitely crafted. “You had all this yarn with you?”
“Yeah, I collected it over the years, learning it from my mom and my aunt. I have this big box full of it. I just love digging through it and seeing what I can come up with next. I guess you could say I’m sort of a yarn geek. Ha ha!”
Peter laughed out loud. “A yarn geek, I love it! You just do a yarn dive, huh? Sounds fun.” He sat there chuckling, still holding the blanket close to his face. “I didn’t know one could be a yarn geek.”
“Yep, we’re out there!” Kaila laughed.
Peter looked it over once more and smiled gratefully. “Well, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I know it was a lot of work. Thank you. I love it.”
“You’re welcome,” she said as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
It was almost time to head back to their respective rooms. They stepped outside into the crisp night air. A smell of fresh rain filled their lungs and it felt comforting in a familiar way to both of them. The pavement was somewhat wet and rain dripped from the plumeria leaves.
“Looks like we had a little shower,” Peter said.
“I know! I love it,” Kaila replied.
Peter held her hand. It felt so natural in his own. As he gazed at her he realized he never wanted to let her go. There was something about her that he just craved. And he had the notion she was feeling the same way about him. Their eyes stayed on each other as he slowly pulled her into him. They both knew what they wanted. Peter thought his heart would be pounding at this moment, but he felt more calm and serene than he ever felt in his life. He embraced her lovingly and she held him tightly, with her soft hair pressed against his chest. Still holding each other, he pulled his head away just slightly and she gazed up at him as he slowly, lovingly, kissed her. Passion welled up inside them, an incredible sensation of love they had never felt before. They kissed even more passionately as she melded in his arms. It was the most amazing kiss either one of them had ever experienced.
She looked at him dreamily and smiled lovingly at him and whispered, “Goodnight, Peter. Happy Birthday.”
“Goodnight, Kaila. Thank you,” he said softly to her.
She went inside the dorm and the doors slowly closed behind her. Peter just stood there in a celestial, astral state of happiness. He could not even feel his feet on the ground. He knew his feelings for her were as real as the rain that had just fallen. For the first time in his life he knew something as certain as anything he had ever imagined or felt before. He knew it was her. He knew she was the one person in the world for him. Now he knew what had hung in the back of his mind so mysteriously, yet so beautifully, since the moment he saw her that first Sunday morning. He sincerely and completely loved her.