First Heartbreak

Chapter Four - Confrontation

When Tuesday came, Sam though the long weekend was all too short, she still didn't know how to react or what to say to Zen after reading and possibly re-reading her slum book entry. She had to approach Zen as soon as possible; otherwise she won't get another chance to talk to her.

Class started when she noticed Zen coming into class late…again. She didn't know if Zen did that on purpose or she was just too lazy to wake up for school in the morning. She should be used to it by now, right? She thought.

Lunchtime came when she couldn't find Zen anywhere, so she turns to Melody instead.

"Hey. I read your entry in my slum book last weekend.” Sam began, “So, you're a baton twirler huh?”

Melody looks like a sweet and kind girl. She's fair skinned, had a short bob for a haircut, wears ridiculously cute braces that has rainbow colors. Melody's about as tall as Sam, but she looks perfect for a baton twirler with her frim and slightly strong figure.

"Yup! Been doing that since, oh... third or fourth grade? Couldn't remember it that much."

"Wow! That must be exciting!"

"Indeed it is! They wanted me to become this year's band master but I turned down their proposal."

"Why would you do that?" Sam got carried away and smacked Melody's arm.

Mel gave her a ‘what was that for’ kind of look. "Sorry, I got carried away for a moment there..." said Sam looking down. “Do carry on.”

"I'm just messing with you Sam! Don't worry, it didn't hurt" Melody giggled.

"Really? For a second there I though you were mad at me!" Sam exhaled. Phew!

"I would never get mad at you Sam. You're one of the nicest person around here."

Sam blushed. "Aww… Thank you Mel."

"You're welcome! I have a feeling we'll be best of friends!" Mel declared.

"That sounds nice." Sam sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Mel curiously.

"Well..."

"Come on Sam! I hate suspense! What is it?" asked Mel.

"It's just that, well... I've always wanted to join the school's marching band but my mom never wanted me to participate." Sam remembered what her mom would used to tell her. Her mom told her that it's going to take away her time from her studies because of the fact the all band members are exempted from classes whenever they had practice. She was so blissful the first time she saw the marching band when she was a little kid. Her dad would pick her up and let her sit between his shoulders so she could see from the crowd.

"Really? Why's that?" Mel asked curiously.

"Well, for one thing, she said that a parade all over the city is tiresome. And apart from that, she said I'll lose my interest in singing when I focus on another thing", explained Sam.

"Oh, that's too bad, we could use another pretty face like you. And the parade around the city is great! Your mom, along with other mom’s that I know, just over exaggerates the whole thing. True, it is tiresome, but you get to entertain huge crowds with your twirling and tossing and dancing, so it isn't that bad at all", boasted Mel.

"Oh my gosh! I told her the same thing! But she still insisted I focus on my singing."

"That's alright. You're pretty awesome at what you do, too. Besides, being in a band at school it's unlikely that you'd get noticed right away since there are a lot of people with you, you know?" said Mel. "Whereas, if it's just you singing on stage, the focus is on you. So, think of the bright side!"

"Well, if you put it that way, it isn’t all bad. Thank you, Mel!”

"You’re welcome! Hey, that’s what friends are for."

Just then, Sam saw Zen enter the room at the corner of her eye.

"Uhm hey, may I excuse myself? I have some catching up to do with Zen"

"Zen? The butch-butch Zen?", asked Mel.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nope, nothing at all. Run along now." Mel kissed Sam's cheek.

"Talk to you later, Mel"

"Sure thing, sugar!"

-o-

As Sam was approaching, Zen must've seen her on her peripheral vision that she started to scramble from her seat.

"Please don't do that!” Sam grimaced, clasped her hands and pleaded.

Zen froze. I don't get this girl! What's up with her? "I just want to talk. Can you give me at least 15 minutes?" Sam asked.

Zen just stood by the bookshelf, suddenly finding interest in a cobweb by the corner.

"Err, I'd like to talk with you in private. Maybe in the garden?” Sam suggested.

Zen just nodded. Sam led Zen to the garden. With other kids in the classroom, Sam knew she had to talk to Zen elsewhere; somewhere in private where no one could hear their conversation.

As soon as they reached the garden, Sam turned to look at Zen only to find their faces were a few inches apart. Sam noticed how Zen's eyes widen and her face became red. She noticed how close their faces were so Sam took a step back a little and sat on a rotting tree trunk. Zen shook her head feverishly and did the same thing Sam did in the opposite direction, now they were facing each other but were a good few meters apart.

"So, I've read your entry." Sam began. "It was somewhat...how do I put this…interesting."

She looked at Zen's face, which was now sweating like a criminal caught in the act. Zen's body language didn’t help either because she was being so weird that Sam looks at Zen in the eyes.

"Oh... Y-You did...W…W-Wow... That's g-great!” Zen stuttered as if almost spitting the words out in slow motion and turned away to revert from Sam's gaze.

"Yes. And I also read about your dedication to your crush." Sam paused, studying briefly Zen’s face. "S Club 7 huh?" That was cute, Sam thought.

"Y...Y-Yup!"

"They're nice. Nobody has ever dedicated a song to me before... That would make you the first one!" Sam smiled softly at Zen. "But I'm more of a Steps fan, no offence, S Club 7 is nice too! They're cool” she explained further.

"Listen, I've also read the part of you...having a crush....on... uhm, me?" It came out more of an accusation rather than a question the way Sam had said it.

Zen froze once again.

"And I want you to know that there's absolutely nothing wrong with you having a crush on me. And that I'd just be here if you ever need me. You know... As a..." Sam tried tremendously to find the word that would not hurt Zen. "…Friend."

Silence.

Zen was just standing there in front of Sam. But she could see how Zen's sweat was running down her forehead to her neck.

"Could you at least talk to me, please?" Sam was now irritated.

"T-Thanks, I g-guess?" Zen finally answered. "You make me nervous!" She admitted.

I did not see that coming. Sam thought. "Am I intimidating in a way? Cause if I am, I am so sorry, I do not mean it."

"No! Uh… No... You just make me nervous, that's all."

"Oh, okay. Am I making you nervous now?"

Zen just nodded like a bobble-head.

"Oh, okay. Do you want me to leave you alone?"

Sam started to stand-up from the tree bark when she was all of a sudden grabbed by Zen and their faces were an inch away from each other, again! They both stepped back at the same time. "NO! Uh... I mean YES! Oh, I mean NO! Just…” Zen Sighed. “…Just stay here for awhile, please."

"Okay. So, what do we do now, Zen?" asked Sam looking at Zen in the eyes hoping she'd look at her too, but Zen was just looking down. Is the soil so interesting now?

Zen just shrugged.

"You know? I haven't seen you in a skirt." Sam noticed. "The school requires all it's female students to wear skirts you know. I'm surprised the Principal hasn't scolded you yet".

"I…I, ugh, hate skirts. They're not comfortable for me. I've never worn a skirt in my entire life either."

Sam gasped. "NEVER?"

"Yup! You heard that right, never!" Zen was smirking. Sam could swear Zen somehow had winked at her but she's unsure, maybe she was just seeing things.

Their conversation was doing well when a fight between one of their classmates broke.

Sigh. "I'd better stop that. Otherwise I'll be the one who gets in trouble", explained Sam.

"Do you need help?" Zen tried to smile.

Sam smiled back. "Sure! Could you please find the two peace-keeping officers that we have in class so they could help me with this one?"

"On my way, Madame President!” said Zen as she was running away from the scene. Sam rolled her eyes at that. She could've sworn their talk went well if it wasn't for the troublemakers who had to enter the scene. So irritating.

But at the back of her head, Sam was glad she was able to confront Zen. She felt a sense of peace in her mind. But what happened earlier was weird when they almost, ALMOST kissed.