Page 25 of Love Hollow at Last
“I didn’t ask to attract attention!”cried Aya.“I was helping my mom with a class, for my job, on a weeknight.Love Hollow is the most boring town on earth.I never thought it would become a national story.”
“Well, you know how quickly narratives can take on a life of their own,” said Professor Jin.“If nothing else, you should have learned at least that from your work.”
Aya remained silent.
“Is there anything in it?”asked the professor.
“What?”
“I mean, this thing with Noah Kato.You’re not going to give up your career for him, are you?Because he seems like someone who would not be able to make the accommodations needed for you to continue your work.”
Aya clutched her phone.“There isnothingin it.There were rumors in high school.”
Her professor was too smart to be put off by that.“Were the rumors true?”
Aya shook her head, though Professor Jin wouldn’t be able to see it over the phone.“We went to prom together.That wasit.Classic case of people thinking the two Japanese kids in the school needed to date each other.”
Another silence followed.“Well, good.Have your next draft to me by the end of the holiday.”
Only Professor Jin would expect one of her mentees to finish a dissertation draft over the Fourth of July weekend.The troubling thing was she must have been very serious.And her tone had been sterner than usual.If she dropped Aya, that might be it for the doctoral program.
And all at once, it felt just as awkward and twisted as that fateful night in high school.
Aya ended the call but was unable to head back into the house.Professor Jin’s questioning had taken her straight back to prom night—otherwise known as the most beautiful, torturous night of her life.
22
Aya
When Aya and Noah arrived at prom, Aya’s first stop was at the drinks table.
They weren’t alcoholic, of course.But something about those star-spangled cups seemed to confer a little liquid courage anyway, as if the cheap, store-brand soda were begging her to come back to her senses, to remember that this was just the school gym dolled up in lots of confetti and strange posters.
But she had trouble remembering that.She’d always hated the music that was popular in high school, preferring instead old ballads and revolutionary folk music from the sixties and seventies.She didn’t really know the nuances of anything that had happened during those decades, of course, but it sure sounded good on the guitar.The way her white classmates yelled the lyrics to all the rap music was jarring, and the pop music felt like something from an arcade game.
Aya had spent a great deal of time finding a dress.Her mother had suggested several they could have sent away for, but they were expensive.Eventually, Aya and her friends decided that wearing short dresses would give them many more options.Emi and Sheena were going with a large group of uncoupled people, and they were already enjoying themselves.Celine was with Leo, the exchange student she had been dating for a year, and they were already dancing.Aya had eventually settled on a fit-and-flare black dress with meticulously layered shapewear beneath it.She still felt like she looked a teensy bit fat, but it got her much closer to a body she would have liked than anything else she’d tried.And it showed enough cleavage that Sheena unhelpfully referred to it as the “Oh shit!”dress.
Noah went off to talk to some of their classmates.He didn’t really like soda.Aya could see him with a group of girls, his head towering over theirs.
Nobu, who was volunteering at the drinks table, gave a long sigh.“My brother, right?He’s always been such a favorite with the ladies.”
Aya gave a tight smile.“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you do all the A-Wing stuff.”
A-Wing was the place Aya and Noah spent most of their time.The school theater was there along with the rooms where the choir, band, and orchestra practiced.Both of them had been in the choir for ages, and Noah played trombone in the band as well as jazz band.
And most of the activities were more or less packed with girls.The guys at Love Hollow Senior High were much more likely to do sports or even overtly academic stuff like the math team rather than risk having to appear in a tuxedo with a bright-red bow tie.Noah, who genuinely loved music, was an exception.
“Aya,” said Nobu.“I have to tell you something.College is going to be a lot easier for you if you don’t go there with a lot of expectations.”
She turned and looked at him.Aya was first in the class, a shoo-in for valedictorian, and though she knew college would be harder, she didn’t think she was likely to flunk out.Nobu was only in his first year, but the rumor mill was already running.Apparently, his performance was lackadaisical, and Dr.and Mrs.Kato were begging him to transfer rather than quit entirely.
“I can hack it,” she said.It was the phrase she always used when she wasn’t quite sure if she could achieve something.
“Sure,” he said.“I mean, academically, you’ll be fine.But don’t expect any of this high school stuff to go with you to college.Best if you plan on being unattached.Know what I mean?”
Noah made his way over.“Dude, nice shirt,” he said, laughing.The volunteers were supposed to wear all black, but Nobu’s shirt had glow-in-the-dark stars on it.
The older brother stuck out his tongue.“Looks better than your tux,” he said.“Good thing you won’t be keeping that.”
