Somewhere Else [Damien Haas]

14. Geography

-/-/-

This is the craziest day of my life!

First, I get a call from my best friend at work telling me that my visa was already re-approved. Then, I go to the embassy to get interviewed and to save my ex-boyfriend's ass from being in international court. Lastly, when I thought everything was going to be okay, my boss flies in straight out of San Francisco to swoop me in just so I can anchor on the evening report in time. But also, my ex-boyfriend was about to tell me that he was in love with me, and I didn't even get the chance to say it back because my boss is dragging me back to the hotel!

Basically, I hate everything! I just want to spend my last days in Japan chilling with the love of my life whom I've been missing since freaking graduation day. But now, I don't even get to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Kim. I don't even get to roam one last time. I know I've been aching to go home for the past six months that I've been in here, but now, I'd rather be here than anywhere else in the world.

You can take me to Greece or to Rome or to Thailand or to India all for free, but I wouldn't give a shit at all if I didn't have Damien with me. Well, okay, I might give a shit because those countries have really diverse cultures that I've only read in books and I genuinely want to witness in-person. But the point is, there is not a country in the world map where you can take me alone and I'd be happy unless it's seven more days here in Japan with Damien.

"Embassy was a little tough to deal with, especially because Japan is such a nice place and all that," my boss says as she sits down on my recently fixed hotel bed, watching me pack all of my things. Her secretary was silently listening to something on her earphones, not even amazed that we were in Japan. "But it only took me a good eight days to fix everything in California before I hopped onto my jet, which we will be riding by the way, so clean more quickly."

"We'll be riding a jet back to California?" I ask as I look out at the sunset.

"How else will we make it back in time for the report?" she answers. "Oh, Jade. I know you're a genius, but it doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

"I'm not really a genius, Ma'am," I retort, continuing packing my things.

"That isn't what I saw when you first applied to Athens News eight years ago," she mumbles, walking towards the window and looking at the horizon as I hurriedly stuff my clothes into my bag. "You're a genius, Jade. High GPA in high school, batch valedictorian, always placed somehow in your high school quiz bees, always a stellar gold in college competitions. Summa cum laude with your 3.901, scaring everyone away when you applied to Athens News. You are a genius. But your only flaw is that you didn't apply to Harvard. Would you mind telling me why?"

"I had a boyfriend," I answer, and she sighs.

"Oh, it's love that always wrecks things, you know that," she remarks, looking at me with crossed arms and possibly a glare. I don't know, I should really get new glasses. "It's what wrecked your flight back to SF a month ago. It's what almost wrecked your visa. It's basically wrecking everything you've worked so hard for, yet you continue to pursue it. I don't understand people who fall in love, because I don't really see anything that you can gain from it that isn't concrete."

I was speechless, of course. This was my boss that I was talking to, and if I even slightly disobeyed her, I could lose everything I worked hard for since the time I lost Damien. But of course, when we were walking inside the airport, I kept thinking if it was worth it. I kept wondering if it was worth going through everything without feeling any emotions at all. Since I was in elementary, the teachers said I was a smart kid, but they never said that smart equated to good. I had been following logic and reason my whole life, but I remember bending over backwards for love when I met Damien. I took all the risks that I could, even though I couldn't love him as much as he loved me.