Novice in Love | on hold

Eight

ELLIE

I was in awe. 

Bryan was so photogenic. The angles were bad but he still managed to turn out looking fine in the pictures. Some were blurry, catching times when he was moving, but others captured his face quite well. The best ones were when he waved goodbye and the wind was blowing at his hair before he started walking away. Jenna is going to be so proud of me. 

I select a few of the best pictures of him and text them to her with a grin on my face. 

She answers back at unbelievable speed. "OMG. THIS IS BRYAN??"

Knowing how many more follow up questions she is probably going to ask, I call her instead of replying. I know she is not in class since we exchanged our fall semester schedules with each other. "Yes, that's him," I tell her when she answers. 

"Oh my god," she gushes  over the phone. "It's not like I didn't believe you when she described him, but boy, he is a hot specimen."

"Yes, he is." I smile as if the compliment was directed at me. "Do you see the dilemma I am facing now?" I hold my phone against my ear and start to fast-walk to the building where my 2:30 PM class is located. With the building a ten-minute walk away and less than twenty minutes left, I did not want to lose my seat to someone else.

"Totally," Jenna responds with understanding. "Clear as ever. Now I know why you don't know what to think about this guy." 

"His personality is weird, for sure, but there are some moments when he seems like really nice person." And it makes me want to get to know him, I add in my head. "You know he even gave me some chocolate chip cookies his mom made today?" 

"Wow, cookies." Her voice changes, sounding unimpressed. "Are cookies enough to forget all his shadiness? You know better than that, Ellie." She clicks her tongue at me disapprovingly. 

"Yeah, I do. I just thought it was a sweet thing to do. I am not implying that he's suddenly boyfriend material or anything." Just that he was close to it than anyone else.

"Hmm." She sounded unconvinced. "Oh my gosh!" she suddenly gasps in my ear. "Did you eat all his cookies? What if he drugged them?"

I have an internal facepalm. "Is this a movie or drama, Jenna? Stop being so dramatic."

"I was just thinking! Better safe than sorry. What do you even know about him?"

Well, she did get me there, but I didn't want to just assume the worst of someone. I'd like to have a more positive mindset of humankind even though I fell victim to pessimism at times. "Don't worry, I am still alive. Thanks for asking." I reach the entrance quickly and pull open the door to the stairwell. "My class is starting soon. Talk to you later."

"Alright, you can give me more details on how the tutoring went when you're back then."

+++

Back at my apartment much later in the evening, I diligently answer all of Jenna's prodding questions while we eat dinner together on the kitchen island. We were sitting side by side on the stools eating our own food that we cooked since we are both picky eaters. The only food we had that was the same was the rice, but other than that, our dishes were pretty different. Korean and Chinese cuisine were unique in their own ways, and after eating our respective cuisines while growing up, we grew accustomed to them. 

"So...that's all that happened?" she asks doubtfully as she finishes the last spoonful of food. "You're not hiding something, right?" 

"Of course. I would never hold back on telling you these things, Jenna." I turn to look at her with hopefully my most trusting gaze. "You don't trust me?" She probably thought I was holding back information because I found him good-looking and so she wouldn't have another reason to think Bryan was shady.