Gray

It was Sunday morning, and Kim couldn't get up. Eve was already gone for over an hour.

Melancholy kept her tied to the events of the previous night. It had been all over so quickly, and the many colors had turned to black and white.

She wanted to give him a call. The phone was also within easy reach. All rooms had landlines. But what should she say to him? That she wanted to see him again? So soon? That was too much. Was it?

Finally, Kim decided to call him in the afternoon and devote herself to her music for the time being.

She was late for breakfast, but was still able to grab some orange juice and a yogurt parfait with crunchy granola and various berries.

One of the boys in the cafeteria was looking at her in a weird way. When she returned his gaze, he always looked away. His tousled hair fell deep into his pimply face. He seemed rather short and plump.

However, Kim had more important things on her mind, and it was time to visit the Art Center.

Her progress in the small studio was extremely slow. Kim couldn't express herself, couldn't translate what she felt into music. Something was missing.

After two hours, Kimberly decided instead to rehearse for the upcoming concert. With a fixed plan, it was much easier for her to simply switch off her mind. It worked and soon the afternoon arrived. It was time to return to the dorm. Time to call him.

Her roommate was still out. Kim dialed his number. It rang once, twice, three times...

“Hello?” A voice sounded at the other end of the line.

“Robert? It’s me, Kim.”

“Kimberly? Hey, what's up?”

What was up? She didn’t know.

“I don’t know.”

“Should I come around? We could take a walk near the school and talk.”

“I'm not sure.”

“I’ll be at the dorm in twenty minutes.”

“W…”

He had already hung up.

That was what she had wanted. So why did she feel so torn?

Kim got changed and strolled to the parking lot. The boy from the cafeteria was there, in front of the dormitory. She only caught a glimpse of him as she walked by. He awkwardly wandered around, some magazine in his hand.

Only half of the twenty minutes had passed so far. Kim hopped from one foot to the other. It had gotten a little colder again. Nevertheless, a few small groups of students were hanging around the parking lot. After another five minutes, Robert was already there.

Their greeting was just a brief hug. No kiss. He probably didn't want to flaunt their relationship in front of the other students. She felt that some of them were watching them. The celebrity and the rich boy with the car.

But Robert didn't keep his distance. He took her hand again and they strolled toward a small path, unknown to Kim, that led away from the campus.

“Where we’re going?”

“The path leads down to the Kingsdown River.”

“The same river as yesterday, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s much nicer here than in Hildesia or the rest of North Central.”

They roamed through the green and along the blue, but only talked about trivialities. A state that fueled further unrest within Kim. Not every moment could be as meaningful as last night. She knew that. But something was still missing.

Finally, they came to a bridge over the river. At the highest point of it, they took a break and leaned on the railing.

“About yesterday.”

“Next Saturday again? I already have a few ideas.”

“That's not what I mean. Was all of this still part of just dating? Is it more too you?”

“Those doubts again...”

“Are you my boyfriend? Am I your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“I'm not very good at dealing with all of this. I need these clear labels.”

“I understand.”

“Really?”

“No, but I try. What’s going on? This isn't just about labels, is it?”

“I don’t know and it’s driving me crazy. Sometimes everything happens so quickly, like yesterday, and then at other times incredibly slowly. My brain is a mess. I want to do so much at once and then end up accomplishing almost nothing.”

“You're going through a lot right now. Concert preparations, album release, graduation, us. And all of this far from the home you used to know. Just try to tackle one thing at a time. And whatever happens, I'm here. I’ll stay with you.”

Robert took her in his arms. She clung to him as tightly as she could, feeling tears welling up in her eyes, but she was able to hold them back.

They spent most of the rest of the afternoon on their tour through Arden Park. When Robert and Kimberly parted ways in the parking lot, Kim felt a little more secure, but the feeling that something was missing, the void, was still there.

Dusk was approaching, and Kimberly hoped to make some progress with the songs in these late hours. A second attempt couldn't hurt. And indeed, the aspiring music artist completed the penultimate track on her album. At least to the extent that she was ready to record on Wednesday.

Kim even considered starting on the last song, but was deterred by the growling of her stomach. She realized that she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. The cafeteria was already closed, so Kim returned to her room for the time being. Perhaps Eve would have an idea.

The young actress was doing stretching exercises in their room when Kim returned.

“Been out all day?”

“Photo shoot for the series.”

“Have you already eaten?”

“Catering. But I'd still be up for a little something.”

“Any ideas? I’m kind of lost.”

“Give me twenty minutes.”

Kim sat down at her desk and leafed through a math book. After Eve had finished her exercises and showered, Kim looked at her expectantly.

“There's a good pizza place not far from here.”

“What kind of pizza?”

“It’s similar to New York. Not like the bar pizza you get in most places around the city.”

“Let's go then. I'm starving.”

“Bikes?”

“Sure.”

The journey was quickly completed, and Kim recognized a few of the customers. Probably schoolmates. They agreed on a big pepperoni that they would share and placed their order.

“They've even got a coal-fired brick oven.”

“Robert and I are a couple.”

“What? Finally! It was time for that on Tuesday, given how you behaved.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the way you look at each other and talk to each other and the little hugs. Just young love.”

“Love…”

The pizza was ready, and the two girls made short work of it.

“Have you talked to Blake?”

“He actually called on Friday.”

“The little guy wants to take me out again. I said yes.”

“Little guy?”

“What? He’s like a puppy. Adorable.”

“What's the plan?”

“We’ll go to your concert and after that, I don’t know.”

They pushed their bikes back and talked about school. About graduation and the freedom that would come after.

Freedom? There was something else that was bothering Kim. Eve had said it. Love. That was it. Love. He hadn’t said it. She hadn’t. They loved each other. Right?