Where Was I

It was 7 p.m. The two ate and chatted casually again about school and Kim's upcoming concert, her music, Robert's art, what kind of sweets she liked. After half an hour, they left. Robert drove her back. The farewell in front of the dorm was brief and heartfelt. One more kiss, and the rest of the week lay ahead of Kimberly.

The next day started slowly. Fortunately, Kim was well rested and mastered the lessons with flying colors. She felt strong. Ready for the concert, for the recordings, for graduation. During break, Kim called Franca from her room and asked for the exact location of the concert.

It was lunchtime. On their way to the cafeteria, Eve and Kim passed the boy Kim had noticed twice on Sunday. He recoiled when he saw her and scurried away. She didn't think too much of it. Some boys just acted weird around girls. Especially around her. Especially after her breakthrough the year before last.

Robert had made caramel French toast with walnuts, strawberries, and raspberries. A welcome change from the hearty meals of the previous days.

“Do you know the venue for Friday yet?”

“Swanage Theater. Does that ring a bell?”

“I think it was built recently by some sports holding conglomerate. They also own Swanage Park.”

“Baseball?”

“Yeah. The theater should be next to the ballpark.”

“Are you into baseball?”

“Only as a kid.”

“Have you ever been there? To watch a game, I mean.”

“A few times. Upstairs in the lounge with my family. Just an excuse for my father to market himself as a family man.”

“What does your father do for a living? You never told me.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know. He probably runs some kind of family business, like Ford or Walmart.”

“My grandfather used to run a larger company. Manufacturing sector. Parts for the automotive, aerospace, and industrial sectors. My father still has a 60 percent stake in the company. But he's not really directly involved in the business. No, he's a politician through and through. He's the mayor. Has been for 11 years.”

“Of the city? Really?”

“Yeah.”

“And your brother should’ve gone into politics too?”

“Both of us.”

“And now?”

“He is used to always getting his way. First my brother betrayed him and then the lackluster replacement as well.”

“And are you still in touch?”

“At the beginning, yes, when he thought I just wanted to prove that I could manage on my own and would be back after a month. But not anymore. We haven’t talked in almost two years.”

“Have you tried?”

“No. We both didn’t.”

He stood up.

“We have to get back to class.”

They hugged each other and went their separate ways. Separated until the next lunch once again.

After school, Kim didn't have her usual Wednesday session at Square Studio in her schedule. Now it was time to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. She persevered. Kimberly got through the concert rehearsal, the trip back, and the night.

Her mood had changed again. Kim felt energized, restless. She wanted to work on the songs that were still unfinished. But she wouldn't have time for that until Saturday at the earliest.

During class, she wrote down lyrics that came to mind. But without her guitar or a controller, it remained just a bunch of text. It was unsatisfactory. During break, she went back to her room and tried to make the most of the time with her guitar. But it just wasn't enough.

Kim also spent the next two hours distracted from class, hoping to find some distraction during lunch.

Eve had disappeared from class before Kim could walk with her to the cafeteria as they usually did and another surprise awaited her. Robert was there, in her class.

“Hey, would you be okay with eating somewhere else today?”

“Hey, sure. What do you have in mind?”

“I’ll show you.” Robert said with a smirk and took her hand.

Outside the building, they headed north, past the five tennis courts and the football field. They crossed a narrow road and reached a meadow with a table and benches. The property was located in front of an old windmill. A few people were already there. Eve, Blake and Gail.

“What are we doing here?”

“I thought we could have lunch together.”

The boys greeted Kim, Blake rather shyly, and Gail in his usual jovial manner.

“Is Abby also coming?” Kim asked.

“Oh no, you just had to twist the knife.” Gail groaned.

“What do you mean?”

“She still doesn’t talk to me. Maybe you could put in a good word for me? After all, we all wanted to go to your concert together tomorrow. I can't show up unaccompanied.”

“Take it easy, Gail. Let's sit down and have lunch.”

Robert had made turkey club sandwiches for Kim and himself. Eve only ate some salad, and Gail conjured up chicken wraps for himself and Blake from a bag.

“Robert makes her lunch every day, Blake.” Eve remarked.

“Wow, that must be hard. Do you like cooking, Bo... Robert?”

“I wouldn't call it cooking. Just sandwiches.”

“It's still work. Are you a couple now?”

“Yeah, we are. And you two?”

“Blake still has some work to do to understand the subtext of a statement. Let's see how he does tomorrow.” Eve giggled.

“What? What did I miss?”

Gail sighed and Eve burst into genuine laughter. Kim also couldn't help but smile and took a big bite of her sandwich.

“Maybe you'd like to try making sandwiches too some time?” Robert asked, amused.

Blake now understood too and blushed.

“Oh.”

“I wasn't entirely serious. You don't have to make me sandwiches or anything. I have to watch my weight anyway.”

“Um, no way. You look great!”

Eve gently nudged Blake.

“But seriously, can you girls talk to Abby?” Gail interjected.

“How did you let her know that you knew all along?” Kim asked.

“I just told her and also that I don't care and that we can keep it a secret from our fathers. Abby turned red as a tomato and ran away. Since then, she's been ignoring me like we're in elementary school. I don’t get it…”

“She had completely shut me out. I had tried to talk to her about it last week, and today she didn't want to come along either.” Added Eve.

“I'm not as close to Abby as Eve is, but I'll give it a shot if I run into her.”

The group also talked about graduation and Kim's upcoming album. It was friendly banter that Kim wasn't used to anymore. She hadn't spent lunchtime like this since her junior year back in her hometown.

Finally, they strolled back together and went their separate ways.

After school, Kim gave her all at the penultimate rehearsal before the concert. The live musicians were professionals and had never complained. But on this day, the two of them came up to Kim afterwards and praised her for her performance.

Franca drove her back as usual and praised Kim, but also reminded her that the acoustics at the venue would be quite different. They would have three hours to rehearse before the doors opened at 7 p.m.

When Kim arrived at her room, it was almost 8 p.m. However, she still had plans for the evening. Kim searched the dormitory and the library and finally found what she was looking for, after asking a few girls, on one of the tennis courts.

Abby sat alone on the edge with a sports bag that looked comically oversized compared to her. The other members of the tennis club had probably been gone for a while, since the sun had set almost an hour and a half ago.

The short girl seemed surprised to see Kim. With good reason. When had she ever tried to talk to Abby? Never.

“Kim? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

“You? Why?”

“I want to talk to you about Gail.”

“Oh, never mind. He already knows. He knew all along. And he didn't care at all.”

“I know, but you're ignoring him now? Why? Wasn't that what you wanted?”

“I don't know. I like him, but I like everything, really. Gail and I are kind of similar in that way. And then I see you and Robert, and how genuine and fragile your love is. I don't know what I feel for Gail. Whether I can feel as much for anyone or anything as you do.”

“How did you feel that Saturday when we went out together with the boys? At the restaurant, on the boat, afterwards?”

“It was fun. And I wanted the night to never end. But I can’t describe what I felt. If my feelings were attached to Gail or just the moments we shared by accident.”

“Moments like these don’t happen by accident. You can only experience a moment with the person you are actually experiencing it with.”

“Duh...”

“Give it a thought and him a call or hit him up at school. Whatever. I would be happy to see you two together at my concert. That’s all.”

Kim walked away without giving Abby time to respond. That would have to suffice. After all, she still had a busy day ahead of her.