Let There Be Peace

Chapter 2

When Soul entered the dorm, he found Keeho and Paz on the couch, sharing a blanket and watching Keeho's favorite movie, "500 Days of Summer." Soul tried not to stare at them. He knew that Keeho and Paz were friends, but he hadn't suspected that they were blanket-sharing friends. His heart sunk a bit, but he tried to reason with himself.

Keeho did know her first, he admitted internally. He knew that jealousy was an unhelpful emotion, especially among band members since they spent almost all their time together. But still, seeing her huddled up with Keeho was disturbing to his equilibrium.

"Hey, Soul!" Paz exclaimed when she saw him. She stood up and ran to give him a hug. Soul stood a bit stiffly and hesitated before hugging her back.

"You wanna watch the movie with us?" Keeho asked.

Soul shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'm going to be in my room if you need me," he said as he turned on his heel and left the living room.

"Was he alright?" Paz asked after Soul had left. "He seemed a little less energetic than usual," she added.

"I don't know. He's kind of a weird kid," Keeho replied. "We're all sort of aware of it. You never really know what's going on in his head," he explained.

"Oh, I see," Paz replied.

"But if you want my opinion, I'm gonna give it to you," Keeho went on. "I think he has a little crush on you. Maybe he thinks we are dating or something," he explained.

"Why do you say he has a crush on me?" Paz asked, intrigued at the possibility that he might be into her.

"I mean, he just talked about you a lot when he came back from your studio. At one point, I think he used the word 'fierce' to describe you. And he's right. You're hella fierce," Keeho teased as he pulled the blanket away from her. Paz pulled back and soon their struggle for possession of the blanket became an all-out wrestling match on the floor. They never noticed that Soul had walked by on his way to the kitchen for some water.

Suddenly, as if sensing another presence in the room, Paz abruptly stopped fighting with Keeho and popped her head up like a meercat. Soul said nothing, but simply quietly walked back to his room.

"You know? I think maybe I ought to tell him that we are not dating. He looked a little bummed out," Paz observed.

"Sure, go talk to him," Keeho agreed, pausing the movie.

The hallway where the bedrooms were had a light, but it was not turned on. Paz didn't know where the switch was. So, she felt her way along the wall until she reached his closed door. She knocked gently.

"Soul," she called out. "May I come in?" she asked. Instead of an answer, Soul came to the door and opened it, making a motion for her to come in.

"How can I help you?" he asked, rubbing his hands together nervously.

"No, it's nothing. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute," Paz replied. She looked around the room, noting his impressive collection of Jordan sneakers. She ran her finger across a few of them and said, "My dad used to love Jordan sneakers."

"That's cool," Soul answered, not knowing how to continue the conversation. He thought that Paz and Keeho were just friends, but after what he had just seen, he was pretty sure there was more to it. He was disappointed, but he knew better than to mention it. If she liked Keeho, that was it. Soul knew he would have to take a step back. Friends don't date their friends' love interests.

"Soul?" Paz asked when he continued in his awkward silence. "Soul?" she tried again. He jerked his head as if being called back from a trance.

"Oh, you can call me Shota if you want to. That's my real name," he explained.

"Ooo, sounds very anime," Paz commented with a bright smile. "So, you're half Japanese and half Korean, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was born in Japan," he answered.

"But like, don't those two groups historically hate each other?" Paz questioned.

"I mean, yeah, Japan invaded a lot of other Asian countries, including Korea. So, there's probably still some bad blood there in some people's minds, especially among older people," he explained.

"You know, I'm half Mexican and half white," Paz replied. "So, I kind of know what it's like to be too Mexican for the Americans and too white for the Mexicans," she added.

"Yeah, I've had that experience," Soul confirmed. "But for me, I've always seen it like my presence in the world shows that there is a way to find peace between enemies."

"That's a really nice way to think about it," Paz replied. "My name means 'peace' because my mom thought I was going to be a real peacemaker in the world. Boy, was she off!" she added, laughing at her own humor. "I'm kind of like a pebble in a shoe. I just keep up the irritation campaign until something changes," she admitted. "I'm more about justice than peace," she clarified.

"I think you can't really have one without the other," Soul posited. "I mean, there's a difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper," he went on. "A peacekeeper just wants everyone to be quiet and play nice, but a peacemaker wants to make sure everyone is treated fairly so that there can be real peace."

"Mm, you're a pretty smart guy, aren't you? You're especially emotionally smart," she said.

"I guess," Soul agreed. "I just hate that I feel things too much," he added, looking at the floor.

"Just so you know, Keeho and I aren't dating," Paz said, seemingly out of the blue.

Soul's head shot up quickly. He didn't know what to say. He hadn't asked if they were dating. So, he wondered why she would say something like that unprompted.

"Oh," was the only response that Soul could think of at the moment.

Just then, Paz' phone buzzed, and she looked at it. Shock registered all over her face. She held the phone toward Soul. "Look at this!" she cried. "This is video from my security camera. It contacts me when it senses movement in the building. Can you see what's going on there?" she asked, her eyes flinty and enraged.

"It looks like someone is writing something on the mirror with spray paint," Soul replied as he peered at the phone intently.

"It's Mishin!" Paz concluded. "That little bitch had the gall to enter my property and deface it!" she screamed.

"Well, let's just take a deep breath before we act, okay?" Soul encouraged.

"Why?!" Paz demanded. "Why should I hesitate to act? You can see clearly that it's her! There's really no gray area here! She's defacing my mirror, and she's gonna pay," Paz decreed.

"I'm not saying you can't respond. I'm just saying you should stop and think first about what the best response would be," Soul explained. "I'm kind of good at conflict resolution," he added.

"Well, good for you, Soul," Paz said. "I'm good at it too. As they say in Spanish, 'Me das una y yo te doy tres'," she said with conviction.

"Meaning?" Soul questioned.

"Meaning, if you slap me once, I'll slap you back three times," Paz declared, her face flushed with fury.