The New Lights

And we were watching the sunrise. Clay was right, it was really beautiful. First, a glint of purple burst into the horizon looked like a colored mist, and then changes into orange, and finally, the yellow lights come peeking out, the sun slowly rose along from the edge of the horizon. It was really a breath-taking view, and he was holding me close while we were watching it.

After everything turned to light, I realized that from today onwards, I would see him with a whole different perspective. It would be from a different angle, as from now I would see him as someone I admired, someone I would always try to understand, and someone I would really like to be with. He looks careless and arrogant but nice and sensitive inside, he seems cold but rather caring, good sense of humor, and of course, a great kisser.

A little before 6 am, he asked if I had class this morning. I said I’ll have a class at 11, and I suggested we grab something on the way back because I am totally starving. We didn’t have anything left to eat, because the chips and the chocolate bar were already finished last night even before the beer-spilling accident..

“Let’s get out of here and grab some breakfast, shall we? I’m also really starving, I could eat a whole cow”, he said.

We walked out from the forest hand-in-hand and got into the car. He drove back to the town and asked me what I wanted to eat. I said everything will be fine, as long as it’s warm. He said he wants to eat some nice chicken porridge from a Chinese restaurant that is already open in the morning.

We arrived at the Chinese restaurant. It is a very small restaurant, more like a stall, but very neat and clean. There was nobody eating there except us since it was very early.

“Good morning, Clay, chicken porridge as usual?” the old man who runs the restaurant asked. He looks very familiar with him. It seems like he’s a regular customer here.

“Yes, as usual, Mr. Chang. And a cup of black coffee”, he said.

“And what do you want, pretty lady?”, the old man asked me.

“Just call me Anita”, I answered. It’s really awkward when someone calls me that because I am not pretty. “What do they have here?” I asked Clay.

“They serve chicken porridge, shrimp porridge, and fish porridge here, pretty lady. It all tastes really good”, he told me and smiled devilishly. I wonder what makes him tease me over and over again today.

“I’ll have shrimp porridge, and a glass of water, please”, I said to the old man. “And a cup of black coffee, I will need that”, I added while glancing at Clay. He grinned and raised his eyebrows to show his regret. I smiled and grabbed his hand for a second.

We sat at one of the tables, facing each other, and Clayton held my hand on top of the table and said softly, almost whispering, “Sorry to keep you awake all night. You must be feeling very tired”.

“Nope. It wasn’t really. It was a blast. Thanks for sharing those beautiful views with me”, I smiled at him.

“I’m glad to have you here with me. Shall we do it again some other time?” he asked.

“Sure, just ask me. By the way, are you working today?”

“Yes, I have an interview and photoshoot after lunch, and tomorrow I will be working on a new movie. I will be back to campus on Monday, on our first rehearsal”, he explained.

And then our breakfast came. The warm porridge was really delicious and soothed my starving tummy. The heat from the porridge also erases the cold I felt the whole night.

After a nice breakfast and a cigarette or two along with the morning coffee, we said goodbye to the nice old man at the restaurant and headed back to his car. Clay told me he has been coming to this restaurant for more than 7 years, from back then when he was just an aspiring actor and model. He used to live nearby, rented a small room when he was still struggling to get any roles. The old man knew him since he was nothing, and used to give him free food when he didn’t have money to pay for it.

“My whole family moved to Europe when I was 17, and I didn’t want to move with them. I had a feeling I would only be able to pursue my dream here. I had a big fight with them, and they refused to pay for my living expenses here, just my school tuition and books until I finished high school. So from that time, I had to afford everything by myself. Thankfully, we reconciled three years ago, after I visited them.”

“At that time, when I didn’t have any money, Mr. Chang always asked me to eat there. I got into the restaurant from the kitchen back door and ate in the kitchen. Mr. Chang always told me not to eat in the kitchen and go out to the restaurant, but I was too shy to eat the free food outside. He is a really good man, sometimes he gave me a job to wash the dishes, or paint the walls, the kind of unskilled small jobs. But I know he could totally do it himself so he doesn't have to pay me for doing that,” he said while he gazed, reminiscing.

I have never known he had struggled that hard to get into this position, and his story had only made me admire him more.

He drove me back to the dorm and told me when he opened the door for me that he would call tonight. I hugged and told him I would see him soon, and have a nice day. I watched him leave then walk upstairs to my room.

When I arrived at my room it was almost 9. Sasha was in our room, sitting on her bed in her underwear, painting her toenails with a blazing red polish.

“Hey, how was the date?” she asked enthusiastically.

“It wasn’t a date, Sass”, I answered, still hiding the details so she’ll be surprised.

“What’s not a date? You’re out with him all night, going to Climber’s Hills. It IS a date.”

“Okay, okay…it’s more like he kidnapped me. Well, when I called him last night, we had a little misunderstanding, and suddenly he said he’ll pick me up here in twenty minutes. He took me to his secret place, it’s a small opening in the hill, a platform of boulders. We saw city lights and the sunrise. We talked a lot, well… HE talked a lot and I listened, we smoke, drank beers, held hands, cuddled and kissed”, I told her lightly as if nothing important happened.

“YOU BOTH KISSED????” she shouted and then stood up and hugged me and we jumped together.

“Yes, it was after you called. When you called me, I just confessed my feelings to him, and he said he felt the same.

“Really??? Did you say that you love him??”

“No of course not, I don’t even know whether I love him or not, I just said I like him, and he said he likes me too. He said he likes being with me, that I can make him comfortable and be himself. He said he still doesn't know what he’s feeling right now, is it a crush or anything. So, I still don’t think we’re officially dating right now”

“But he kissed you first, right?” Sasha asked. I nodded.

“He kissed me to stop tickling him back after he teased and tickled me. And he’s kinda changed a bit after our confession, and hours of talks. He seems more cheerful, and likes to tease me a lot.”

Then I told her everything, every detail. While we’re still talking, a text came into my phone. It was from Clay.

“Don’t fall asleep, it’s already 10! You have class at 11. Looking forward to seeing you on Monday. Call you later, pretty lady!”.

I show the messages to Sasha. She asked why he called me a pretty lady, she knew how I hate those kinds of things. I said he teased me because the old man in a Chinese restaurant called me that way this morning.

“He definitely had something for you, you lucky girl!” said Sasha, smiling.

I felt really sleepy in class today, as I predicted. I didn’t even have a chance to take a nap, coz I have a full schedule until 4.30 pm. I kept yawning and almost fell asleep a few times in class and at the second class after lunch, Georgina, Jess, and Caddie wondered what made me so sleepy and asked when our lecturer was away from the class, leaving us with a reading task.

“I haven’t got any sleep last night. I was having a night stroll and drinking beer all night with a guy,” I tell them without spoiling his identity.

“You got a date?? Really? Who is he? Is he studying here? What’s his name?”, the three girls asking me eagerly.

“Nope, I can’t say I’m dating him. We were just going out. It’s some guy I met in the theater club”. Well I didn’t exactly lie to them if I put it that way, right?

“Really? Is he from the same year as ours? What does he look like?”

“No, he’s a senior, he's a cool, careless kind of guy.”

“But you like that bad boy type, right? What happened last night? I bet that bad boy did something good to keep you up all night,” Georgina kept digging the details from me.

“Well, it’s the first time I went out with him, he picked me up at my dorm at 10 and we went to Climber’s Hills. He seemed a little troubled last night, so I listened to his problems. We chatted and drank all night long, then watched the sunrise together.”

“Aaah…. So sweet… Did you guys kiss?”, Caddie asked.

“Yeaaah, we kissed. He’s a good kisser”, I said while remembering Clayton’s soft and warm lips.

“Hhhhh… I wish I could have a date with Clayton like that, watching the sunrise together”, Georgina said, sighing dreamily.

Okaaaay… I couldn’t possibly tell them, especially to Georgina that I REALLY WAS going out all night with Clayton and DID watch the sunrise together. She’ll kill me for taking away his perfect prince. I’m sorry Gina… I truly don’t know what to do. Telling my friends about Clay means I have to break the secret, but not telling them somehow feels like I’m backstabbing my friends, especially Gina.

“Hey, what is his name, actually?”, Jess asked me.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t tell you. It’s a secret. In the theater club, we aren't allowed to date people from the same club, actually, so I can’t tell you his name”. (Yes, I made up the rule to cover his identity, and barely managed to get away smoothly this time..)

“Oooh, so you kissed and going out behind everyone’s back at the club? Like a secret, backstreet dates? Interesting… So, you will act like you are just friends at the club?”, Caddie asked.

“Most probably, because we couldn’t let them know. It’s going to be a little hard because we will perform together, but we can’t break the club rule, not in the crucial times like this, when we prepared for the biggest play this year.”