Chapter 2

Henry’s POV

This was what I wanted, but I still couldn’t forget about her, people always asked me why I was so cold. Well she is why. Every time my mind is free, it wanders back to her. I could never forget the moment I first saw her.

*1 Year Ago*

            When I first walked into that Chemistry class, let’s be honest. I wasn’t happy about it. I was the new kid, and to top it off I was Asian. I really didn’t want to be at that school. My new chemistry teacher, Mr. Hargraves, had this sarcastic tone about him. I had met him earlier that day, but when he introduced me to the class, one girl with long straight black hair, didn’t look up. She was taking notes. When she finally did look up, our eyes connected, and I couldn’t look away. She lowered her head quickly, but I didn’t miss the deep red blush she had on her cheeks. Mr. Hargraves told me I could have a seat anywhere, and it didn’t take me long to figure out where I wanted to sit. I walked to her table and pulled out the chair next to her. When I sat down I saw her tense up a bit, but I went ahead and introduced myself.

“Hey, I’m Henry Lau.” She looked up at me and her hazel brown eyes were set on me. She was looking at me for quite a while, so I had to clear my throat to get her attention. When I did she blushed again. It was cute, her blushing, it made her seem innocent.

“Sorry, I’m Kelsy Lee.” Her name was pretty. It matched her well.

“Oh wow, that’s a pretty name. By the way, your Asian right?” Right after the words left my mouth I wanted to slap myself. Did I really just ask her that? Obviously she was Asian. She didn’t look uncomfortable by my question, which made me feel relieved.

“Yeah. I’m mixed. My dad is Korean, my mom is American.”

“Oh, I’m Chinese, but I grew up in Canada. I’m fluent in Chinese though.” …Why did I tell her that? She didn’t ask. Gah! Why am I losing my cool so quickly? It was just something about her, she was different. Somehow it seemed that the very aura of her was different than other girls. It made me feel so comfortable, but it also made me feel like a really big creep, that I was feeling so close to her already. She was about to answer but then Mr. Hargraves started talking.

“Well, since this first semester has been pretty easy, I’m going to give you “hardworking” students a lab. Partner up while I pass out the direction sheet.” I turned to her; I didn’t have to think about it, it was like she was a magnet who was made just to pull me in.

“Do you want to be partners?” I asked her. I was surprised at how nervous I was for her, answer. She was going to answer, but then someone called my name.

“Hey, it’s Henry right? I’m Kim. Why would you wanna be partners with her, when you could much rather be my partner?” She was a short girl maybe five foot, maybe an inch taller. She had shoulder length blonde, wavy hair, and light blue eyes. She was pretty, but compared to Kelsy, she was a stick in the mud. Was that too offensive?

“Um, well thanks for the offer Kim, but I kind of wanna be with Kelsy... so maybe next time?” Kelsy had the look of pure shock on her face. She must have thought that I would have wanted to be with Kim. What bothered me though was the look that Kim gave Kelsy. It looked like she wanted to kill her, and it was over my dead body that that was ever going to happen. I turned to Kelsy.

“So, what do you say Kelsy? Wanna be my partner?”

“Sure,” she said, “Why not?” I couldn’t help but smile. During the lab she asked me about myself, and like a babbling fool, I couldn’t stop talking. I told her I wanted to be a singer one day. I also told her that my cousin Zhoumi was in a Chinese sub-unit of a Korean group called Super Junior. She said that she didn’t listen to Kpop, and I was actually a little bit shocked. Not for the fact that she was Korean and didn’t listen to Kpop, but for the fact that not one person I had met in this boring town even knew what Kpop was. It was amazing music. I kept trying to find a way to ask her if she wanted to hang out with me over the weekend, but I didn’t know how, and I was running out of time till class ended. I decided to use my newness to the town to my advantage.

“So, um, I’m kinda new around here. Would you mind showing me around town this weekend?” I was expecting a no or a yes, but instead she looked right at me and said,

“My, my Henry. Are you asking me out on a date?” Her dark hazel eyes were full of humor, but I couldn’t help it. I actually blushed. I looked away quickly hoping my golden-brown hair would cover it, but I think she noticed.

“Haha, I’m just kidding” she said. I looked at her and smiled. Why was I smiling so much? I hoped she didn’t think it was creepy.

After we finished our lab I asked her for her number and told her I’d call her before the end of the week for the place we should meet. When class ended I went home, and watched TV. Not long after I sat down the phone rang. I groaned and I got up, not bothering to check the caller ID answered the phone.

“Hello?” I said.

“Hey Henry, it Zhoumi.” It had been like three months since I last talked to him, and last time we talked, he said he’d call when there would be an audition to get into Super Junior- M.

“Is there an audition coming up for Super Junior- M?” I heard him laughing before he said,

“Yes, Yes there is.”

“What? Really?! When? Where? How? TELLL MEEEEEE!!!!!!!!”

“Haha dude calm down! It’s not for couple of weeks. But before you go and sign up to audition you should probably talk to your mom about it first.” I was way to hyper to even considering doing anything but practicing for the audition.

“Yeah yeah yeah, alright Zhoumi. But first………. WHAT SHOULD I PRACTICE FOR MY AUDITION?”

“Well, you’re a pretty great singer Henry, so you should just practice that a little. But you know it’s a big deal Henry. If you really want to get in you should start practicing now. There is another problem though… the audition is in China, and you’re all the way in the states. I don’t know if your mom will be okay with it.” He had a point. No way my mom would let me go to China all by myself, she didn’t have a problem me wanting to be a singer, but she was a big education person, and me skipping school for at least a week could be a big deal to her.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Zhoumi. Which is why I’ll just have to make her let me. MWHAHAHAHA!!” Zhoumi sighed.

“Henry, what did I tell you about maniacally laughing? It’s weird.”

“You’re just jealous because you can’t do it well!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I gotta go. I’ll call you next Saturday to tell you about more details, but for now you should talk to your mom and sign up.”

“Okay, later Zhoumi!!!” I hung up quickly. I already had butterflies in my stomach about just exactly what I would do for the audition. I would be an even more complicated feeling when I have to talk to my mother about this.

***A few hours later***

I was having dinner with my mom, and trying to figure out how to tell her about the audition when she suddenly spoke up.

“So Henry, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or do we have to play 20 questions?” I was absolutely flabbergasted. How do women know these kinds of things? Was women’s intuition actually a real thing? Impossible. “Henry.. HENRY! I was talking to you...” I guess I got caught up in my own thoughts again.

“Mom, I really don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to go out with it. Mom-“

“Henry, are you gay?”

“What? Mom, NO! No, I’m not gay! Why would you just assume I was gay?”

“Because that’s usually how children confess to their parents that they are gay.”

“Well no that’s not what I was going to tell you.” Ugh the nerve of some people. I, Henry Lau, was the farthest thing from gay.  Today I practically almost confessed my love for a girl that I had just met.

“Then what is it you were going to say? Out with it boy! Before you give me wrinkles, I’m not getting any younger.”

“Zhoumi called today. Super Junior- M is having an audition in two weeks.” She looked up at me, and I instantly knew what she was going to ask.

“And exactly where are they holding these auditions Henry?” Yup there it was. The thing that was either gonna make me, or break me.

“China.” Things got quiet.

“Absolutely under no circumstances are you going to China. You know how I feel about school and education Henry. They come first.”

“But mom this is a once in a life time opportunity! I can’t just have them reschedule the audition till after I graduate high school mom.”

“No Henry. You’re not going.”

“Too bad mom, I already signed up.” Oops, shouldn’t have told her that?

“You did what? Without discussing it with me first? Now you are really not allowed to audition.”

“Mom, please. It’ll be a week at most. I’ll get all my school work from my teachers, I’ll work super hard. Mom please, there is nothing I want more than this. Please?”

“I’m sorry Henry, but no.”

“That is freaking ridiculous! Why are you being like this?” I was seriously starting to get pissed off. My mom of all people knew how much I wanted this.

“Because you have responsibilities here. You can’t be a singer forever Henry. That’s why I want you to have an education to fall back on, so you can succeed and prosper after you’ve accomplished what you wanted to do.”

“I can study in China.”

“The only reason I moved to this country was so you could have the best education you could get.”

“I don’t care about that right now!! I don’t understand why you’re like this! You promised and I quote ‘if the opportunity presents its self, I will let you go and audition.’”

“No means no Henry.” Bull! How could she just do this to me? I knew it was gonna be hard to convince her to let me go, but she didn’t have any fool proof reason to not let me audition.

“Then I’m not going to go to school.” The look she gave me could have sent a thousand of the deadliest serial killers running for their mother. Her already dark brown eyes seemed to get darker, but I refused to back down.

“What did you just say?” It was a challenge, I knew that much.

“I’m not going to go to school until you let me audition. I’m going to become a homeless bum if you don’t let me audition.”

“You’re going to school whether you like it or not.”

“We’ll see.” After that, I went to my room, slammed the door, and locked it. I really couldn’t believe her. I don’t know why she was being like this. I didn’t care I really didn’t care; I was going to audition if it was the last thing I did.

Since I obviously wasn’t going to be going to school tomorrow, I decided to come up with some master plan to actually accomplish that goal. I couldn’t just lock myself in my room that would make it too easy for her. A thought ran through my mind, but it was dangerous. Very dangerous. Probably not dangerous for most people, but most people didn’t know my mother. I thought of the idea to put up a little fight in the morning and then burst out of the house saying “then I guess my only other option is to work as a stripper, and use the money to go to China.” She would tell me to go to school, with an evil glare on her face and then I would storm into the house with her at my heels, sit down on the computer, and type ‘Strip clubs that are hiring,’ in the Google search bar. That will at most make her roll her eyes, but I knew my mom enough to know that if I kept at it we would eventually get in a fight, which will give me my opportunity to convince her to let me go to China. Mwhahaha I was becoming an evil genius.

*The Next Morning*

It was 6:55am. My mom usually came in my room and woke me up at 7:00; I had five minutes left, so I quickly ran through my idea again in my head. A few minutes later, I heard my mother’s footsteps coming up the stairs. She opened the door slowly,

“Henry, wake up.”

I groaned, “Mom, I told you I wasn’t going to go to school anymore.”

“This isn’t about you going to school. It’s about the audition, so hurry up, get dressed, and come down stairs.” That was weird. I put my plan on hold till further notice. I pulled on black khaki shorts, and put on a plain blue shirt. I went to the bathroom, and saw my reflection in the mirror. I had dark circles forming under my light brown eyes from the minimal amount of sleep I had gotten yesterday night. My light golden-brown hair was up in every direction, and I just looked terrible. If you put up a picture of how I looked now, and a picture of how I would have looked if I repeatedly got hit by a bus side by side, the picture of me getting hit by a bus would have looked better. I combed my hair down, brushed my teeth, and washed my face, then headed downstairs. My mom was sitting on the couch with a serious look on her face and I was getting worried.

“Mom, is everything okay?”

She took a deep breath, “Henry, I’m letting you go to the audition. But before you go jumping up and down and telling me how much you love me you should understand why I am letting you do this. I’m letting you do this because I know how much you want this. I was thinking about it yesterday and I realized how much it actually meant to you. The look of sadness in your eyes was a look that no mother ever wants to see, and Henry, you may not understand now, but everything I’m doing and have done is for your own good. I don’t want to be the person that holds you back. I’ll try my best to support you on your dreams of becoming a singer. But this, in no way shape or form means that you can start falling behind in school.” No way had she just said that. No way was my mom that cool. I instantly regretted everything bad that I had ever done or said to her.

“Mom, can I tell you how much I love you now?” I grabbed her and pulled her into the biggest hug I think I have ever given her. You can record this as our number one hallmark moment.

“Henry… I can’t breathe…” Oh whoa, oops! That wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Haha sorry mom. Guess I better get to school now huh?” I turned toward the stairs to get my backpack from my room.

“Actually no. We have to go get you your plane tickets, so hurry up and get your shoes on.”

On the way to the travel agency I couldn’t help bouncing in my seat, the very thought of the audition made me nervous and ecstatic all at the same time. I wondered about everything, about how China would be like, how the audition space would be set up, all the different people that would compete against me to get into that one spot in Super Junior-M. I had to get that spot, this opportunity has been the closest chance I’ve had to reach my dream that I have ever had, and I was not going to take it for granted. I made a silent promise to myself right then and there that I would practice my absolute hardest, day and night, to get into that group. I had to do it, not only for me, but now also for my mom. After giving me this chance I was not going to let her down.

By the time we got to the travel agency it was 7:45am. I thought it would be a pretty simple process. Quick and easy. Then we actually walked in, and the place was absolutely packed. I was flat out shocked at how full the place was, my mom, however, acted like this was perfectly normal. Well, maybe it was. I had never been to a travel agency before. We took a seat and waited for our turn. Two hours later, two stinking freaking hours later we were finally called. There was a lady behind the counter with short, brown curly hair. She had brown eyes, and she really needed to get her upper lip waxed. She was chewing gum rather loudly, and popped a big bubble before speaking.

“So, where you headed to hun?” She really didn’t say it to me or my mom in particular; she was just staring at the computer screen.

“A plane ticket to China please, just for one.” My mom replied. The lady snorted,

“Well that’s not surprising...” That completely caught me off guard and if I’m gonna be honest it was kinda offensive. My mom saw the look I had on my face, and she shook her head at me signaling for me not to yell at the women.

It took like twenty minutes for us to be done. “Okay just sign here.” she said. After my mom signed and grabbed my ticket information we left. While we were in the car, we had to take an alternate route because of traffic, and we ended up on the highway. We drove smoothly for about ten minutes before hitting and even larger amount of traffic. I sighed and leaned my chair back.

“Mom, I’m gonna sleep. Wake me up when we get home please.”

“Okay,” she said. In a manner of minutes I was fast asleep. When I woke up it was around 2:30pm. I guess we had gotten stuck in more traffic. My mother told me that she had to head to work and she would be at home around nine. I went inside and watched TV. After about an hour, I went upstairs and found the pants I was wearing yesterday on the floor. When I picked them up a small paper fell out. I opened it and found Kelsey’s phone number on it. I smiled to myself before I remembered I didn’t call her to tell her where to meet me. “Oh ! How could I forget?!” I dialed her number and waited for her to answer. After five rings the phone went to voicemail. I waited about ten minutes thinking she was probably doing something before I called her again. This time she still never answered, and I was worried that she was avoiding me. I decided to wait a few hours. When I called then and she still didn’t answer, I decided I probably shouldn’t call her again. That three calls where the limit before she I was a creep or ert. While I was sitting on the couch, I must have drifted off to sleep. I was awoken by my phone ringing. Thinking it was most likely my mom I answered in the most unattractive voice possible. My voice was all tired and scratchy.

“Hello?” I said.

“Hey Henry, it’s me Kelsy. You sound like you’re really tired, so do you want me to call you back later? Sorry, I didn’t answer by the way, I fell asleep.” A wave of relief washed over me as I realized she didn’t purposely ignore my phone calls.

“No! No! It’s okay. I’m not busy. Haha don’t worry about it. I just wanted to know if you could still show me around tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sure. Where do you want to meet?”

“Okay, cool. Um… how about we meet at the Starbucks on Jonathon St, at around 1:30.”

“Yeah, that’s fine I’ll see you then.”

“Okay then. Bye Kelsy!”

“Bye Henry.” I hung up before I could say anything stupid.

So, tomorrow I was going to hang out with Kelsey. Well, I just hoped I wouldn’t make a fool of myself.