Page 35 of Follow My Voice
I can’t hide my disappointment; I thought this girl sat with me because she wanted to be my friend, not because her mother asked her to take pity on me.
Perla looks embarrassed. “Well, I…”
I stand up, empty my tray into the trash, then rush out of the cafeteria.I’m so delusional, I think as I walk down a long corridor of the Hawthorn Commons Hall, crowded at this time of day, but I’m too upset to let that affect me. I can’t believe I thought I’d be able to make a new friend so easily, just like that. How could I buy into the lie that a normal life was something within reach?
“Kang!”
I’ve never stopped so abruptly in my life. My feet are glued to the ground as I stare at the person in front of me who just called out the name Kang. It’s a tall blond guy wearing a leather jacket, looking at someone behind me.
“Dude, Kang, I’ve been looking all over for you,” says the blond guy, shaking his head.
I can’t breathe.
Kang’s voice behind me sets my heart racing. “I was having lunch.”
It’s him, that voice… but it sounds deeper and huskier in person.
“Let’s go.” The blond guy gestures for Kang to follow him.
I feel like everything is happening in slow motion: the guy behind me, owner of Kang’s voice, passes right beside me in a confident stride. I only catch a glimpse of his back and his messy black hair, the same color as the shirt he’s wearing. He’s tall… very tall.
Kang catches up with the blond guy and they move away down the crowded hallway. People jostle past me, but I don’t move an inch. I suddenly notice that I’m clutching my chest with one hand as if my life depends on it. I just saw Kang in person. He just walked right past me. I can’t believe it. After following his voice for so long, I was one step away from him.
“Wow, you’re completely starstruck.” Perla’s voice startles me. She has one eyebrow raised.
I clear my throat and begin walking, my heart still threatening to burst out of my chest.
“Klara.” Perla follows me as I head out of the building, ready to go home for the day. “Klara, listen. Yes, my mom told me a new girl would be joining my class and suggested I talk to you, but it was never an order. I decided to do it because you really do remind me a lot of myself.”
I purse my lips, taking in her words, and sit down on a wooden bench outside. Perla sits next to me, but I don’t look at her, I simply stare out into the distance.
“Really, Klara, my interest in talking to you is genuine.”
Perla seems sincere. Maybe this was all her mother’s plan, but I don’t want to close myself off to the only person who has spoken to me so far other than the redheaded dude.
“You’re wasting your time with me. I’m very boring,” I tell her.
She smiles. “Nah, I don’t think so. You can’t be—for the thirdtime, you remind me of myself, remember?” She looks at me mischievously. “If you still want the scoop, I can tell you all about the guy who just dazzled you in the hallway.”
“Really?” I squeak a little too excitedly.
“Yeah, what do you want to know?”
I open my mouth and close it again, not quite sure what to ask.
“I didn’t imagine a guy like Erick would be your type.”
I frown and can feel the disappointment taking over me. “Erick?”
“Yeah, that’s his name, the tall blond guy you were staring at in the hallway.”
It dawns on me then that Perla doesn’t realize I was actually interested in the guy Erick was waiting for, the one who walked right past me: Kang.
That must be the same Erick from the radio show I hate, Kang’s friend. I try to remember his face, but I was so shocked by Kang that I hardly noticed him. “I’m not interested in Erick.”
Perla looks confused.
“Then why were you standing in the middle of the hallway staring at him?”
