Part III
Chapter 51: First Crush
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Jenny, happy birthday to you!"
Jenny was grinning brightly, as her friends finished this song and she was finally allowed to blow out the candles on the huge chocolate cake they had brought along with them. It was a tradition among them to wake the birthday child directly after midnight and sing for them and afterwards eat the cake. And unpack the presents, of course! Li knew about this tradition, but he turned a blind eye to it, knowing that such practices were good for the morale at his school, as long as they didn't misuse his trust and weren't slacking off in class later that day.
But today, Jenny couldn't care less about it, because she was allowed to sleep in and just be lazy. Birthdays were a really nice invention. Especially when they gave her the privilege of not having to do anything at school except for enjoying the day. No classes – neither normal school classes nor fighting classes – no responsibilities. Not to forget this really yummy cake and the presents!
"So, what did you wish for?" Nik asked with a wink, as he tried to snack on the cake's frosting. A sharp hit on the back of his head from Zoe however, stopped him from doing this. "Ouch! Damn it, woman!"
Feeling childish and giddy at having all her friends with her again on her birthday, Jenny stuck out her tongue. "Sorry, can't tell ya. And even if I could, I wouldn't. A girl should be allowed her secrets."
"Oooh," Ejnar took the opportunity to tease, "so it's about a boy…"
Instead of rising to the teasing, Jenny only rolled her eyes. Contrary to Vegeta's warning, she hadn't really been attracted to any of the boys she had met until now, and even if she were, some of them were strictly out of bounds.
So for example Ejnar himself, who, while being what most girls would consider 'really hot', was going steady with another boy at school. This ruled him out. Selvyn, on the other hand, was pretty handsome himself, but Jenny knew from a very secure source, which meant an overheard conversation between the boy in question and Nik, that the brown-haired boy had a crush on her best friend Mailin. So another no-go. Nik was out of the question because of two things – one, he was far too old for her and two, he and Anisah were simply too cute together. This left the last boy from their group – Damian. Jenny had to admit, he was cute, what with his shaggy hair and sparkling green eyes and all, but she would never see him as boyfriend-material. He was just her best male friend, her Damian-shaped friend. Like a brother. But he could make another girl very happy someday.
So, no thinking of boys as of yet and therewith no wishing about boys.
Well, okay, her wish had been about a boy, but she wouldn't tell them. She was very superstitious about everything concerning wishes, so she would never tell anyone her wish. Otherwise it might just be her luck and it would never be fulfilled. Now, she could at least hope. Hope that she might see her brothers, and especially Goten, her other half, again, and this before it was her time to go to the Afterlife.
Still, nothing short of a miracle or of the Kaioushin bending some rules and allowing one or both of her brothers to visit her on Earth for a couple of hours could fulfill her wish. A twinge of regret and guilt tightened her stomach, as she thought about New Namek and the spaceship that she had destroyed so many years ago. Their only possibility to get the Namek Dragon Balls and resurrect everyone who had died since Babidi had arrived on Earth. So much pain and heartbreak could have been avoided, if she hadn't destroyed it.
"Hey, why the long face?" Damian tore her out of her thoughts. "It's your birthday, a reason to be happy! So smile and let us have some cake!"
Forcing a smile on her face, Jenny tried to banish the depressing thoughts and turn her full attention back to her friends. "Oh yeah, there's nothing better than some cake at midnight… oh, wait… there is! Prezzies!"
"Patience, little grasshopper," Nik told her and reached out to ruffle her hair. But Jenny was quicker and evaded his 'attack', mock-scowling at him. "Your present is at Tenshinhan's."
"Tenshinhan's?" Jenny sounded shocked. This was the first time she didn't get her presents at midnight. And did she hear right? There was only one? Not to sound spoiled or anything, but in the last few years she had truly enjoyed getting presents from her friends. "But why?"
"Because we're all having dinner over there tonight anyway and it's a bit bigger than usual." Nik poked her into the side. "Come on, stop pouting. The wait'll be worth it, you'll see."
Bigger than usual? And she'd have to wait until tonight? Great, now her curiosity was even greater than before, but she knew her friends and this meant she really had to take the suspense until tonight. "Alright… but if I have to wait until tonight, I want a bigger piece of cake than usual!"
Her friends chuckled at her antics, but complied and divided up the cake, with Jenny getting the biggest piece, of course. Not that she wouldn't have gotten it anyway. It was her birthday, after all.
Jenny was whistling quietly, as she was walking through the snow the next morning. The day was really beautiful, fresh snow covering everything and not to forget the blue sky and the sun shining down on her. Everyone else was in classes right now and Jenny just came from a late breakfast in the kitchens – thanks so much, Chao-Zu! – and wanted to go back to her room to get a blanket and a book. With the sun shining down on her, she was pretty sure that the lake was a good place to get some reading done.
However, she didn't get far, as she almost collided with Li, as they both rounded a corner of the dorm building. In a sudden attack of clumsiness – which Jenny still had every so often, despite the better control she now had over her body – she stumbled backwards and would have fallen into the snow, if Li hadn't caught her arm with his fast reflexes.
"Hey, hey," he laughed quietly, "careful."
"Sorry," Jenny apologized with a sheepish grin on her face. "Hey Li."
"Nothing to be sorry for." Li waved her off with a smile. "I should have paid more attention myself. But actually, it's good bumping into you. You're just the girl I was looking for."
"You were looking for me?" Jenny asked confused. "Why?"
Chuckling, Li put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, first I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Fourteen, huh? I can't believe it's been three and a half years since I saw you fight those bikers. You were still a small thing back then."
"Li…" Jenny warned, as she fought the blush that was threatening to appear on her face.
"Alright," Li laughed, "I'm shutting up now. But wishing you a happy birthday wasn't the only thing I wanted. I also have to ask you a favor."
"Sure… what is it?"
"Later today, a new student will arrive," Li explained. "And I know it's your free day, but everyone else is busy, so I wanted to ask you to welcome him and show him around. That is, if don't have anything better to do on your birthday."
"'s okay," Jenny shrugged. "I guess I would have been bored this afternoon anyway. So, what's the deal with the new student?"
Chuckling, Li answered, "Why don't we go to the kitchens for a cup of cocoa and then I'll tell you everything you need to know."
"Sounds great."
A few minutes later, the two of them were sitting at the wooden table in the back of the kitchens, each of them having a steaming mug of hot chocolate in front of them. Courtesy of Chao-zu, who, fortunately, had lunch duty today. Which would leave him free for the feast he was very likely to produce tonight. Inhaling deeply, Jenny caught the scent of cinnamon in the chocolate and smiled. Another Chao-zu special.
"Okay, Li… enough stalling. What's the what with the new boy?" she finally asked after Li hadn't said anything since they had received their hot chocolates. As a matter of fact, now that she looked at him closely, she noticed that he was a bit nervous. This was strange. Li was never nervous when he was expecting a new student – excited, yes, but nervous. No.
"His name is Hamal, he's fifteen years old and he's from the southern regions, from a rather large clan living near the Southern Capital. His family is very high regarded in his clan and apparently there is a very large responsibility resting on his shoulders. He is groomed to be a part of the family business and so it has been understandably hard to convince him to come to this school."
Jenny frowned, as she took another sip from her hot chocolate. Somehow, she had the feeling that there was more to this Hamal than Li was telling her. "But that's not what's got you all nervousy."
"You're much more observant that I give you credit for," Li admitted sheepishly. "But you're right. It's not his position in his family that I'm worried about. It's his cultural background, or rather the culture of the whole clan."
"Why?"
Frowning slightly, Li put his mug back on the table, before he answered, "It's about the way they regard girls and women."
"Wait," Jenny interrupted him, feeling anger well up inside of her. Li wasn't seriously considering letting someone who thought that women were far beneath him come to this school. This was only asking for trouble. Sure, Jenny was pretty tolerant of other cultures and religions, but this was going too far. "You're not telling me that women don't have any rights in their culture, are you?" The anger and indignation she was feeling for this was clearly visible in her voice.
Jenny was ready to argue with her teacher, ready to convince him that someone with this mindset would only have and probably cause problems at this school, especially seeing as all the girls here were pretty strong – and this not just with their muscles. None of them would like to hear him talk bad about their gender, telling them about their right place. However, what she hadn't expected was the amused chuckle, which quickly turned into full-blown laughter.
"Li! This is no joking matter!"
Trying to get his laughter back under control, Li said, still chuckling, "Of course, you're right. However, you shouldn't judge the boy too quickly. As a matter of fact, it is quite the opposite of what you're thinking. In their culture, women are very highly regarded and they can do all the things they want to. Many of them work in high positions in their clans. However, there's one thing. They are very protective of their women, no harm may come to them, so there's one thing that the women simply don't do."
The way Li was looking at her, Jenny guessed that he was expecting her to find the solution by herself, only with the help of the clues he had given her. Taking another sip from her hot chocolate, Jenny mulled over what Li had told her. Highly regarded. Good jobs. No harm. That's it! No harm! "Women don't fight in their culture," she blurted out.
"That's right. And this was another reason for Hamal's reluctance to come here, once I've told him that both boys and girls are taught martial arts at my school. However, he has offered to keep an open mind and take a look at how things work around here. And just as every student, it's up to him, if he wants to stay to finish his training or to leave the school, if he doesn't."
Nodding, Jenny thought that it certainly won't be easy for the new boy. She really couldn't imagine suddenly going to a place where she wasn't allowed to fight anymore. Going to a completely different place, a completely different culture, where everything you were taught all your life was null and void. Everything in her would rebel at such a place. "Alright, I'll help you show him around. When do you want me to come to your office?"
"He will arrive at about noon and then I will show him to his room. So I guess one o'clock would be okay."
"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late…" Jenny mumbled, as she skidded around a corner, almost slipping on the ice that had gathered underneath the snow. How could she have lost track of time like this? One moment, she was sitting at lunch with her friends and then suddenly it was already one o'clock and no one had told her! Just as she arrived at Li's house, her clumsiness reared its head again and she found herself face to face with the snowy ground. "Ow…" she muttered, more out of embarrassment than out of actual pain, as she climbed to her feet again. Dusting herself off, she cast furtive glances around, but it seemed as if no one had witnessed her klutz-attack. Phew…
Now much more carefully, Jenny went into the house and directly to Li's office. Once there, she knocked at the door and took a deep breath, when Li asked her to come in. "Ah, Jenny… there you are. Hamal, I would like you to meet Jenny, one of my best students. Jenny, this is Hamal."
When she had entered the room, she could only see the back of the boy's head, his hair as black as the night, but when he turned around and got up, when Li introduced her, it took all her control to not stare at him open mouthed. Never before had she seen a creature as beautiful as him. Tall, caramel colored skin, shiny black hair that was falling into breathtaking dark blue eyes and a sharp jaw line made up this perfect specimen of a man. Slightly calloused hands gently took her own and he breathed a light kiss over her knuckles. "It's nice to meet you, Jenny."
"L-likewise," Jenny could only stutter, trying to calm her racing heart and hoping against hope that her face was not as red as it felt like. This was just… wow! What was that feeling? The heat running through her body, the quick thumping of her heart, the breathlessness…
"Alright, Jenny," Li's voice tore her out of her stupor, "Hamal has already been to his room, but he hasn't seen the rest of the school yet. I trust you to show him all the important things."
"S-sure," Jenny quickly said, cursing herself that she was still completely wobbly on her knees. "You wanna go?"
"Lead the way."
Just as she thought she would regain her composure, his smile caught her off guard again. She swallowed hard and wondered, how she would survive this day, or his stay at this school in general. And her worries grew even more, when Li called after her, "Oh, Jenny, I almost forgot. Hamal will join your group."
On the way outside, Jenny didn't say anything, still too dazed and too worried about what might escape her mouth to open it. But Hamal was just as quiet, obviously still taking everything in. As they stepped out of the house, Jenny had just gathered her courage to ask him, what he would like to see first, when her foot hit an icy spot and she once again was on her way to meet the ground. This time, however, two strong arms caught her just in time and a light chuckle could be heard next to her ear.
"Careful…"
Blushing deeply, Jenny allowed Hamal to help her back up, but there was a sheepish grin on her face, as she admitted, "You better get used to this. When I'm not fighting, I'm totally clumsy, though it has become a lot better. I swear my friends are betting behind my back, about when I will again stumble over air."
"Then I better watch out and catch you every time you fall."
Was this guy for real?
"You better," Jenny quickly told him with a grin, glad that the ice seemed to be broken thanks to her third klutz-attack that day. "So, where do you wanna go first? If you're hungry, we can go to the cafeteria or the kitchens – I'm sure they still have something for you. Or would you like to see the gym or the armory or…"
"Jenny," Hamal laughed. "You're babbling. But for your information, I'm not hungry. So there's no need to go to the cafeteria, yet. And the rest… I guess it's up to you. It doesn't matter, what I'll see first, as long as you'll still show me everything."
"Okay… Then let's go to the armory and from there we go to the gym."
While Jenny was showing him around, she found out that it was surprisingly easy to talk to him. He asked her many questions, about where she was from, how long she'd been fighting, when she had come to this school and many more. And Jenny found herself just as curious about the new student. He told her more about where he came from, about his family and his culture. Jenny noticed, how thoughtful he became, when they entered the gym and he saw the fighting girls. How he winced each time, one of them was hit.
"You know, it's just part of our training," she told him quietly, when one girl went down and Hamal let out a sharp hiss. "The cuts, the bruises, everything. We want to fight. We enjoy it."
"I know… I can see it on their faces," he admitted, just as quietly. "It's just hard to watch this. If you were raised the way I was, you would also have problems. But," he then said with a dazzling smile, "I promised Li that I'd be open minded. I imagine it won't be easy, but I have to accept that you were all raised differently."
"That we were, but we also have to accept how you were raised. But don't worry, we'll help you adjust," Jenny promised, daringly putting her hand over his. She was rewarded with another smile that made her knees go weak. "So, you wanna go on? I'd like to introduce you to Tenshinhan, Suki and Chao-zu."
"Sure," Hamal agreed and Jenny was startled to realize that, when he moved his hand away from hers, she really would have liked him to have held on.
She followed him outside and then took over the lead. Or rather, walked next to him, while she was showing him to their next destination – Tenshinhan's and Chao-zu's hut. Well, it wasn't precisely their hut anymore. Just a few months after they had met, when Jenny had invited her to the school, her former teacher Suki Katayama had moved in with Tenshinhan and begun to teach at their school. And then again, just a short time later, they had married in a small and private ceremony.
Jenny remembered this with a grin. While it had been her intention to match up Suki and Vegeta, she had to admit that Suki and Tenshinhan made a much cuter couple. Now she just couldn't wait until they had children. Though she hoped that the children wouldn't have three eyes like Tenshinhan, because no matter how good a friend he was, the third eye still gave her the wiggins sometimes.
"So, here we are," she said, as they stopped in front of the small house. Jenny knocked at the door, something she usually didn't need to do, and just a few seconds later, the door was opened by Suki, wearing an apron and looking a bit surprised by seeing Jenny in front of the door.
"Jenny! I wasn't expecting you, at least not yet! Happy birthday, dear," Suki said, as she gathered Jenny in a tight hug.
"Thanks," Jenny said smiling, once again fighting a small blush. "And I wouldn't have come by until tonight, if Li hadn't asked me to show around our new student. Suki, this is Hamal. He's gonna be in our group."
"Nice to meet you, Hamal," Suki greeted him and shook the boy's hand. "I'm Suki Katayama. I'm one of the two teachers at the school who teach the non-fighting subjects."
"Nice to meet you, too, Miss Katayama," he replied, but then turned to Jenny, "You didn't tell me that it was your birthday. You wasted a part of your birthday to show me around."
"I thought Li had told you," Jenny said shrugging. "And besides, it's no big deal. I would've been bored this afternoon anyway. And it's a real pleasure showing you around and getting to know you."
"It's a real pleasure getting to know you as well," Hamal told her smiling. "And thanks a lot for sacrificing a part of your special day for me. I just wished I had a gift for you, to say thank you."
"Hey, you didn't know, so no big," Jenny waved him off. "But hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you come to the party tonight? Okay, it's not gonna be a real party, just a get together of some friends. We'll meet here at Tenshinhan's, Chao-zu and Suki will spoil us with their skills in the kitchen and we'll just have a good time." Suddenly a sheepish grin spread over her face, as she turned to Suki, "Of course just, if you don't mind."
"Of course not," Suki told her with a wink. "Any friend of Jenny's is welcome."
"Jenny, I really don't want to intrude."
"Nonsense, you're not intruding. After all, you're a part of our group and the other guys will be there, too. So you'll fit right in."
Jenny had no idea, why she was so nervous. She was standing in front of her mirror, frowning at her reflection. She had to be at Tenshinhan's in five minutes and the others were already there, but probably for the first time in her life, Jenny didn't know what to wear. At this moment, she was wearing boots and skinny jeans that Mailin had talked her into getting and a dark green, long-sleeved peasant blouse. Admittedly, it looked pretty good, but would it be good enough?
Shaking her head, Jenny threw her other options onto her bed and put on her thick jacket and scarf. Even if she stood in front of the mirror for another thirty minutes, she wasn't going to find anything better to wear. Switching off the light, Jenny left the room and hurried downstairs. She was going to be late, again! Once she stepped outside, she shuddered, as a breeze hit her. It was again damn cold and she had to walk through the snow for a few minutes, so she tightly wrapped her arms around herself and began her trek over to Tenshinhan's.
Bundled up as she was, Jenny almost didn't notice the other person that was standing outside. "Hamal? What are you doing here?"
"I was waiting for you. I know that your friends have already left, but there was still light on in your room, so I thought I could accompany you. This way I can also keep my promise to catch you, should you slip again." There was a teasing grin as he said this, and Jenny grumbled about her clumsiness under her breath. "And besides, I thought I could give you this, before we meet up with your friends."
A wrapped box had appeared in his hands, holding it out for Jenny to take it. "Oh, you really shouldn't have," Jenny replied with a shy grin, as she took the box. "Where did you get it? And what's in there?"
"Master Li went into town later this afternoon, after we got back to the dorms, and I asked him if I could join him. I went to the store there, Kioko's, and once the nice owner figured out that I was looking for a small gift for you, she gave me this. She said it's your favorite chocolate."
"Oooh, really? That's so sweet, thank you," Jenny said beaming. She really wanted to hug him, to thank him for the nice present, but wasn't sure if she could do it already. They had only known each other for a few hours, after all. Instead, she settled for taking his hand and squeezing it. "Now we better go… I was already late, but now we're even more late."
"You're right. Let's not let your friends wait any longer for the birthday girl…" With a gentle tug at her hand, Hamal pulled her along. Jenny's heart soared, as he didn't let go of her hand until they were standing in front of the hut.
"You know, they're gonna be your friends, too."
Hamal laughed, a sound that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. "You're a very optimistic girl. I like that."
This time, when they reached the house, Jenny didn't knock, but just went inside. There she was immediately greeted by her friends, hugged and passed around to those who hadn't had the opportunity to wish her a happy birthday, yet. First after everyone was done with her, Jenny had the chance to introduce Hamal to them. Just as she had expected, he was accepted warmly into their group, and just a short time later, they were all sitting around a large table, which was loaded with enough food to feed an entire army.
They feasted and talked and laughed, Hamal joining in, telling the others about himself and other stories, much to Jenny's delight. It really seemed as if he was giving her friends a chance, even though half of them were girls who were fighting. Maybe it would really work with him at this school. She really hoped so.
Once everyone was full and had even managed to eat at least two helpings of the delicious chocolate pudding that Suki had prepared for dessert, the table was cleared and Jenny noticed how Nik and Tenshinhan disappeared. She was almost giddy, when she realized what this meant – she was finally going to get her present!
And her suspicions proved to be correct, as they came back just a few minutes later with a long colorfully wrapped package. Grinning brightly, she jumped up, much to her friends' amusement. Nik even laughed, as he said, "Alright, Jenny… You've been patient all day. So, here's your prezzie. But I've got one warning – before you can use it, you will have to wait a bit longer."
"What are you talking about?" Jenny asked, as she put the package on the table and then began to tear the paper open.
However, the moment she spotted what was inside, her eyes went wide. There, in front of her, was a sheath, or better, two sheaths, made of black leather. A long one and a short one, almost crossing each other, with two adjustable straps of the same leather. There was metal at their tips and the top, where the swords entered the sheaths.
"This is… amazing…" she breathed, as she very carefully took the sheaths into her hands, feeling the soft and at the same time sturdy leather under her fingertips. They looked as if they were to be worn on her back, and without needing her friends to tell her so, Jenny slipped her arms through the straps. She adjusted the lengths of the straps and then rolled her shoulders. She barely noticed the sheaths on her back. "Thank you guys, thanks so much!"
She hugged each of them in turn, still not believing what her friends had given her. When she got to Nik, he explained, "It's handmade by Li, though Zoe designed it. We just gave him some money and the designs and he did the rest."
"Then I'll have to thank him tomorrow, as well," she replied grinning, but the grin was quickly replaced by a pout. "But it's not fair! Now I have a birthday present that I can't use for another couple of years."
Nik laughed and ruffled through her long hair, "But you can hang them into your room and you'll know what you're training for."
Laughing as well, Jenny hugged Nik again, but as she let go of him, she noticed Hamal going to the door out of the corner of her eyes. "I'll be back in a few," she told Nik and then went to her, hopefully, new friend. "Hey, you're leaving without saying goodbye?"
"I apologize, I didn't want to disturb you. But I'm really tired, it's been a long day," he explained.
"It's okay, I can understand. Here, let me show you outside." Forgoing her own jacket, she followed Hamal outside. "Thanks again for coming and for the chocolate of course. You made a chocoholic very happy tonight."
"Thank you for having me," Hamal replied smiling, before taking Jenny's hand again and kissing her knuckles just as he had done earlier that day. However, this time the look in his eyes was completely different, almost smoldering. "I'm really glad to have met such a nice and beautiful young woman on my first day."
Blushing again, Jenny lowered her gaze slightly. This was the first time that a boy had called her beautiful. And most importantly, also meant it. "Thanks…"
A strand of her blond hair fell into her eyes and another pleasant shudder ran down her spine, as Hamal tugged it back behind her ear. "You better go back inside. It's cold."
Jenny nodded and then, before she could get cold feet again, embraced the new boy. "Thanks again, for coming. You made the day even nicer. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Jenny. Sleep well."
Jenny stared after him for a moment, after he had let go of her and was on his way back to the dorms. Once he had disappeared in the darkness, she sighed with a dreamy smile on her face. She felt so warm, even though it was freezing outside, but common sense told her that it would really be better to go back inside. Besides, she still had guests in there, after all.
However, she hadn't expected the whistles and cheers from her friends, when she had closed the door behind her. Apparently, they had all watched through the window what had happened outside. Great.
Mailin was grinning brightly, as she said, "Oh girl, you've got it bad!"
Yes, Jenny was attracted to the new boy. Yes, she had a really bad crush on him. And yes, she had no idea, how to deal with it. This was the first time this had happened to her after all! So she did the best she could do in still being nice to him, trying to act as normal as possible and hopefully hiding really well what she was feeling for him.
However, it was a lot easier said than done.
Since he was working with the quarterstaff, it would fall to Jenny to train with him, but in the first two weeks, she was lucky, as Li was taking some time to personally train with the new student. But once those two weeks were over, it was up to her to tutor him. At least for the first few months.
She tried, she really did, to talk and joke with him like she did with her other friends, but it was getting increasingly difficult, especially as he had claimed the seat next to her during the meals.
However, just before the two weeks were over, something happened that she had never expected. On Saturday morning, after breakfast, Hamal asked her to go for a walk with him. Confused, but with a racing heart, she agreed. It was a beautiful day, if a bit cold, but the sun was shining and there was no cloud at the sky. Her hands were sweaty, so she wiped them in her jeans, and this just in time, as Hamal suddenly took her hands into his own and said, his dark blue eyes meeting her light blue ones,
"Jenny, there's something I need to ask you," he said, sounding a bit nervous himself.
"What is it?"
"I…" Hamal cleared his throat, suddenly not sounding as eloquent as he usually did. "You're truly a great girl. Funny, beautiful, smart… everything a guy could want. And I wanted to ask you, if you'd do me the honor of going out with me tonight."
"As in on a date?" Jenny asked slowly.
"Preferably."
Jenny didn't know what to say. Okay, she knew what she wanted to say, but what if this was a dream, or just a joke? Could she really say yes?
Apparently, Jenny was hesitating too long, because a disappointed look replaced the expectant one on Hamal's face. "I see…"
"No, wait," Jenny hurried to say, grabbing his hand as he turned to go. "I'd love to go on a date with you. Really. I was just surprised that you asked me."
"Great!" Hamal was beaming at her. "I'll be at your door at six o'clock tonight. We'll go into town. Dinner and movie, perhaps? I've heard that those are the classics."
"Sounds good," she replied with a bright grin on her face. She really couldn't believe it. She was going on her first date with a really great boy!
They were lucky that a few more students had decided to head into town that night, so Nik had offered to drive them all into town in a small bus and bring them back to school later after the movies were over. Jenny was really glad for that, because walking the distance would have taken too long, and it was also far too cold for this.
Jenny and Hamal started their date with dinner at a nice restaurant in town, nothing too fancy, but also not too cheap. They enjoyed a delicious meal – Jenny swore she had never had a steak this good – and with good conversation and a lot of laughter the time passed quickly and they had to pay to go to the movies. Being the gentleman that he was, Hamal paid for everything, though it went a bit against Jenny's independent streak to accept it. The movie was okay, though some special effects were really bad, but at least this gave them something to laugh and talk about on their way back to the school.
Hamal had his arm wrapped her shoulder and had her pulled close against him, and he didn't let go, as they got into the bus and took the seat furthest in the back. Jenny relished in the warmth of his body and pressed herself even tighter against him. She sighed happily. The only thing missing now was a goodnight kiss. Or maybe even more than a simple goodnight kiss.
Nik let them out of the bus in the main yard and all students headed back to the dorms. However, before Jenny and Hamal went inside, Jenny suddenly got another idea. It wasn't too late, yet, not even eleven o'clock and this meant no curfew yet. Grabbing his hand, Jenny pulled him away from the others.
"Where are we going?" Hamal asked laughing. "What are you doing?"
"We're going to the gym. I challenge you to a sparring match," Jenny told him only glancing over her shoulder, but still grinning. She didn't notice the dark look pass over his face.
Inside the gym, Jenny took off her jacket and pulled the blouse that she had borrowed from Mailin over her head. She was wearing a top underneath, so it wasn't as if she was doing striptease in front of her… boyfriend? Was he her boyfriend now?
Hamal also took off his jacket, only much more slowly. "Are you sure that this is a good idea, Jenny? What if we get caught? I don't want to get you into trouble."
"Hey, first of all, it's me who'd get me into trouble," she said, as she passed him a quarterstaff. "And second, we're allowed to train as long as we want, as long as we're in our dorms at curfew. Now, come on. I wanna see what you can do."
Still hesitating, Hamal followed Jenny into the gym onto one of the mats. Jenny made the first move and Hamal managed to block her hit. "Not bad," she said, grinning in excitement, and attacked again.
Jenny wasn't using her full strength, of course, and just the basic moves. She shouldn't forget that Hamal might have had some previous training, but that he was still fairly new to this. But she was impressed by what he could do, the way he moved and instinctively parried her blows. He was a lot better than she had expected and it was really fun sparring with him and according to the light sparkle in his eyes, he seemed to enjoy it as well. She couldn't wait until Monday, when she got to train with him for real.
Jenny lost almost track of time, so she was surprised, when Hamal pointed out that it was almost curfew and that they'd better head back, or they would really get into trouble. They quickly got dressed again and hurried to the dorms. Once again being a gentleman, he brought her to the door to her room. Here it comes, Jenny thought, once again feeling incredibly nervous. This was usually the moment in all the movies, when the boy kissed the girl.
"So…"
"So…"
"It was really nice," Jenny offered. "Thanks for the great night."
"I enjoyed going out with you as well, Jenny. I had a lot of fun."
And then he did it. Hamal carefully leaned down and placed his lips upon hers. It was soft and light, but still better than she had imagined. Tingles spread all through her body and she had to resist the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer.
All too soon, Hamal pulled away. Jenny sighed and opened her eyes again. He was still very close to her and she could feel his breath on her face. "Goodnight," he whispered, and placed another kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight…" Jenny replied just as quietly and then disappeared in her room, ready to face the Spanish Inquisition going by the name of Mailin.
"What do you mean, you're breaking up with me?" Jenny asked shocked the next day, as Hamal took her aside before lunch. Here she had expected some smoochies or cuddling, but not this! She fought the tears that were threatening to appear in her eyes. No, she wouldn't cry. She wouldn't!
"I'm leaving the school," Hamal told her soothingly. "I'm sorry… I've tried, I've really tried, but I can't do this. You've shown me this last night."
"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything."
"You've shown me how it is to fight against a girl, a woman. While you were a great sparring partner, I've felt so bad afterwards. By fighting against you, I've gone against everything I've been taught. I could have hurt you and I never could have forgiven myself. That's why I can't do this. I'm sorry…"
"So, it's not because of me?"
"No…" Hamal shook his head forcefully and gently grabbed her shoulder. "I meant what I said yesterday. You are truly an extraordinary young woman and any man would be happy to have you at his side. And I would have loved to be this man, but then I would have had to ask you to give up fighting, and I could never do that. Fighting is in your blood and this is something I can't take away from you. You would be unhappy and I couldn't bear that…"
Jenny nodded, still not crying, but feeling so incredibly small and insecure, though his words had been slightly soothing. "I'll miss you," she whispered eventually.
"And I'll miss you… and once again, I'm so sorry…" He kissed her on the forehead one last time and then turned around and left.
Jenny watched him retreat, feeling numb, until she couldn't see him anymore. Then she turned on her heels and went back to her room, where Mailin found her a short time later. First when she told Mailin what had happened, she let her tears fall. Mailin, fulfilling her duty as best friend, stayed with her the whole afternoon, even organizing a huge bowl of ice cream as comfort food, and allowed Jenny to wallow, reassuring her friend again and again that Hamal was an idiot and that everything would be fine.
…
Fortunately, Jenny's feelings for Hamal had really been just a crush, and while he had been her first date and first kiss, Jenny realized a few weeks later, that she was already over him.
