Breaking Down the Wall

Inclement Weather

Phana's POV

I don't think my meeting with Yo could have been more awkward. Why did Pring have to show up? When Yo opened his door, I had hoped that he would let me in so we would have less of an audience, but he had stood right in front of the door, determined not to talk tonight.

At least I'd been able to come up with an excuse to meet him the next morning. He'd even given me his number so I could call or text. Two points for the home team. I laid in my bed for hours, trying to plan what I would say to Yo, until I fell asleep from exhaustion.

The next morning, I arrived at the restaurant a little earlier than expected to find a table out of the way, so we'd have some privacy. When Yo finally arrived, he looked to be in a much better mood. I took a deep breath, smiled, and waved him over to me.

We ordered and sat looking at each other for awhile. After a few uncomfortable minutes, Yo started chatting about the competition, apparently wanting to avoid talking about yesterday. I didn't know how to start, all of my plans from last night seemed to have vanished with the morning.

I offered him a shrimp from my bowl and he took it smiling. Another two points!

"So do you think you can beat N'Ming?" I asked.

"Me? Beating Ai'Ming?" Yo responded, laughing a little. "Not likely."

"Sure you can," I said, trying to bolster his confidence. He just looked at me with an amused expression.

"Weren't you the one who said I wasn't going to win?" he asked. Great, even when I try to compliment him, my own words come back to bite me in the ass.

"I really didn't mean it when I said that," I said, trying to apologize.

"Pha," Pring said as she sat down next to me, interrupting my conversation with Yo. Not again. Would she never leave us alone? "You're up earlier than usual. I'll join you."

"Ai'Pring," I said, "you knew I'd be up this early. You were there when N'Yo and I made plans last night."

I was annoyed at her intrusion, but I didn't want to be rude to her, so I smiled at her anyway.

"You've finished talking about the competition, haven't you?" Pring asked expectantly, ignoring my statement. "How are you, N'Yo? You went all the way to the beach and didn't get any darker."

"I'm fine, thanks, P'Pring. We weren't able to spend much time in the sun, and we were only there for one night," Yo said, taking a bite of his food.

"I wish I'd been able to come," Pring said. "I got some extra work done for our classes though."

"You're raising the average for the class again?" I asked. "You'll have to help me study."

"Sure," she said while Yo continued eating his food, "when do you want to meet?"

"You decide," I said. "I'm too lazy to read it all, I'd rather listen."

I looked up at Yo, still eating his food. There was some rice on the corner of his mouth. Before I could stop myself, I reached over and used my thumb to wipe his lips. I noticed Pring watching me and said, "He's such a messy eater."

"How cute," Pring said, looking like she thought it was anything but cute. Yo's cheeks turned pink as Pring continued, "You used to tease him all the time, but now you seem very close."

"Well," I started, unsure what to say. I cleared my throat and said, "It's just like what you see."

I looked at Yo for a moment and he looked back at me with a look I couldn't decipher. The way Pring was watching us was making me very uncomfortable. I didn't want to say too much, but I wanted to make it clear that my relationship with Yo wasn't really her business.

I took another shrimp from my bowl, and tried to offer it to Yo. But before I could say anything, Pring said, "Don't you need to get to class?"

Yo made no move to take the shrimp that I was holding out, so I put it back in my bowl and said, "It's not far, I can get there in five minutes."

Shot blocked, no score.

"I'll go with you," she said.

"Where's your car?" I asked. Ever heard of walking?

"It's at the shop," she replied. "It'll be two weeks before it's fixed."

I watched Yo, he was mostly just playing with his remaining food. Pring had messed up our entire breakfast. Wanting to be clear with Yo about where my thoughts were, I asked him, "Can she ride with me?"

"What?" Yo asked, looking at me in confusion.

"Can Ai'Pring get a ride to class with me?" I asked.

"Umm, yes?" Yo responded, but it sounded like a question.

"I'll meet you at your car," Pring said, standing up and walking away.

"Why would you ask me, P'Pha?" Yo asked.

I didn't know what to say, I felt like an idiot. Why had I made such a big deal out of asking Yo's permission? I wanted Yo to know that I didn't have anything going on with Pring, but instead of making it clear how I felt about him, I'd made both of us uncomfortable and Pring angry. Three point shot for the away team.

"I wanted you to know that there's nothing between Ai'Pring and me. Understand?" I asked.

"Isn't that something you should be making clear to her, not me?" Yo asked. He put his spoon down and stood up to go. "I have to go, text me the time and place for the piano practice and I'll meet you."

Game called due to inclement weather. This was not my day.