On the Way

story by Zoey Shih

illustrations by Tina Fang

“Come on Zoe, we gotta go. It’s 7:25 now, we’ve got only five minutes left for the meet.” My new roommate Ariel shouts through the doorway. “What? Can’t hear you!” I rush out of the bathroom, still holding my towel. “Never mind. Let’s go!” Ariel sighs, dragging me into the hallway. It is our first day at camp, which means we’re gonna meet a bunch of “strangers” who are supposed to be our “family” for the next two weeks. I peek at my watch—it is already 7:30! It’s the first day and we’re gonna ruin it. What’s worse, my hair is drenched, which makes me look as if I’d wandered in the stormy rain for three days. 

And now, we’ve just broken the very first rule: “Never be late.”

  As we dash into the lobby, twenty pairs of eyes stare at us, including the teachers. “You must be Zoe and Ariel.” A teacher in yellow T-shirt and blue jeans says disapprovingly. “Go join your team over there.” He points at some kids in the corner near the television. Ariel and I hurry up to join our team in awkward silence. 

It’s awful when you introduce yourself to a bunch of people in the morning, especially when your hair is still wet, but I’ve got no choice. After only a few minutes, it’s my team’s (the white team) turn to introduce ourselves. I’m so nervous that I mumble something like “Hellu everyune, my name is Hoe,” so Ariel ends up introducing me to everyone. I’m so embarrassed (mostly because of my hair) that I want to dig a hole and hide in it for a million years. While I am walking back to my seat, I notice a pair of eyes staring at me. I look up, and see a boy my age in  black shirt and jeans sitting across from me. He’s got a big bright smile on his face, which captivates my heart right away. When he finds me looking at him too, his smile grows even bigger. When he waves at me, I notice his red wristband. I wave back, meanwhile doing my best to hide my blushing cheeks. Then it’s his turn to go to the front. His voice is very soothing but so full of confidence. Then I learn he has a beautiful name that perfectly suits him—Jacob. 

  When we get down to business, I find myself in one of the worst teams in history ever. While the other teams are busy drawing their posters together, our team (if you could call it a team) just sits back and does nothing. As a team, we are supposed to prepare our coming presentation tomorrow, but none of our teammates seems to care about it. They just keep playing with their phones. I glance across the lobby, and find Jacob with his teammates. They’re building a model out of boxes to illustrate their topic. Jacob was born to be a leader. He’s got great talent in giving clear instructions and herding the sheep in his group in the right direction. I glimpse one last time at his teammates again, feeling totally jealous of them, and that’s when our eyes meet.

   It’s amazing that he can always see through me, like now. 

  He seems to notice the tiredness in my eyes, so he gives me a comforting big smile. Then he whispers something to his teammate and walks out of the lobby. Without any hesitation, I get to my feet and follow him. I feel privileged because it’s like there is a secret between only the two of us. Leaning against the wall outside the hotel under the chilly moonlight, I pour out all my frustration to him like a child. I tell him that I’m so tired of being the leader. I tell him that I have no idea how to organize my team. I tell him that I have stage fright—my brain stops working as soon as I spot the huge audience. And I’m worried about the coming speech tomorrow. My confidence is fading away every day and I could do nothing about it. He stares into my eyes while I am talking. The warmth in his eyes melts away all my worries and disappointment, leaving something firm and bright called “hope.” 

   While we take the elevator back to our rooms, Jacob takes off his red wristband with the Rockets on it and hands it to me. “Just be yourself on the stage. Don’t think too much. This band keeps me calm whenever I’m nervous.” he smiles, as bright as usual. “Sure it’ll do you the same!” he laughs as we walk out of the elevator.   

  On the way back to my room, I can still feel the butterflies in my stomach. As I step into the room, Ariel is checking her email on the bed. “ Where did you go?” she asks, putting down her phone. “Just strolling around.” I lie, still holding the wristband. “Have you taken the bath?” I ask, walking toward the closet and taking out the towel. I do not mean to keep my friendship with Jacob from Ariel, but I have no idea how to share my crush with her. My feelings are too fresh, too delicate to be put into words.

  Nobody seems to notice the wristband in the morning. I keep touching it during my speech, trying to absorb as much courage as I can from it. The speech turns out surprisingly good. After the morning lessons, we hop on the bus to the science museum. When I want to make it up to Ariel and ask her whether we can sit together, she has already taken the seat beside Michael, which really surprises me. Well, something is going on in her life as well. So I take the seat beside Jane, and that’s when it happens.

  We chat about some funny people and things, like how fast John talks when he’s nervous. Somehow Jane mentions that she saw a picture of Jacob and his potential girlfriend in his computer when they were preparing their presentation.

  I am stunned speechless.

  Tons of questions spin around in my head while we are walking around in the museum. Following everybody’s step, I can’t help but keep staring at Jacob. Go and ask him, a voice repeats in my mind. But what if he’s really got a girlfriend? Another voice protests. “Zoe?” someone shouts. “ Are you coming?” another voice chimes in. It is Jacob and Zack. “We’re going to take a look around the science museum, are you coming?” “Yeah, of course,” I answer quickly and race up to join them. We walk around the museum and accidentally find a cool room with much exhibition space. Zack goes to the bathroom when we are taking pictures of all kinds of weird rocks on the moon. 

  At that moment, Jacob and I lean against the barrier, staring at the glowing stars on the wall. Finally, I get up my nerve. “Jacob?” I ask, wishing to some degree he didn’t hear me. “Yeah what?” he does, though. “Do you ... Nah, nothing.” I act like a wimp. Part of me is afraid of hearing the answer, because I just want to stay in the way we used to be.

   When we walk through the dark hallway, I feel a hand holding mine. It is big and warm. Somehow the so-called potential girlfriend never seems to matter anymore. It’s just here and now.

    “So why not reach for it?” A loud and clear voice in me tells me to step forward.