Chapter 3: Keeping Secrets

Our love was lost

But now we've found it

And if you flash your heart

I won't deny it

I promise

- "Love Lost", Temper Trap

"And that, class, is why monkeys and chimpanzees are not one and the same."

I took a deep breath. God, biology class was boring. I looked up from my desk and saw practically the entire class zoning out as Mr. Jones droned on and on and on about the differences between primates. About three people were fast asleep, drooling on their desks. Two girls in the front row passed notes back and forth to each other, giggling every five seconds. And half the class was doodling. For today, we were having double biology – something all of us dreaded.

Pulling a sheet of paper out of my bag, I looked towards the whiteboard to make sure Mr. Jones didn't notice. No point there – he was so caught up in his own little world of bananas and lice that he seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that no one was listening. Pencil in hand, I began to draw.

At first, I didn't know what I was doing. Then, as the strokes grew more defined and as time slowly ticked by, I realized I was sketching the boy from the dream. It was weird at first, working from memories of both the dream and the last day of school. But in the end, it worked. By the time the dismissal bell rang, I had a complete sketch of the boy – Jim? Jerry? Whatever his name was, at least now I had something to hold on to.

"Hey – hey, Rose! Wait up!" came a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Ashley huffing and puffing as she ran towards me. Ashley was my next-door neighbor and my first friend in Hong Kong. As soon as I stepped foot into the lobby of our apartment building, she had popped up out of nowhere with an eager smile and her hand held out.

"Yeah, Ashley?"

"Okay, so- " she wheezed, holding her index finger up as she tried to catch her breath. "Like, later, can we hang out at the mall?"

I raised an eyebrow as she grinned sheepishly. "And by 'hang out' you mean 'go-with-me-I-need-to-shop-for-a-new-dress-for-the-end-of-school-dance,' yes?" I said.

"Well, when you put it that way . . . aw, come on, Rose! You know I'm out of dresses –"

"Uh huh. Right" I interrupted.

She continued as though she couldn't hear me. "- and, like, freaking Dimitri Dombrovski asked me out! Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeonnnnnn!"

Giving her a knowing smile, I sneered, "ah, Dimitri Dombrovski. That's what this is all about."

Dimitri Dombrovski was, like me, one of the new kids. He just moved into our school all the way from Moscow. Ever since the day he had moved in – well, three days ago, actually – girls were swooning left and right. And why not? He was tall, pretty hot, drove a motorcycle, and, according to Ashley, had a "totally cute Russian accent." Now that she had him as a date for the End of School Dance, there was no doubt that she'd be the enemy of nearly every girl in school.

She looked at me with pleading eyes. "Rose. . . please? You need a dress, too!"

Well, if she was gonna get crap from everyone about this one date, she might as well look good. And what are friends for? I rolled my eyes.

"Okay."

Jake fiddled with his seat belt buckle as the plane began its descent into Hong Kong. The landing was the part of the flight that he hated the most. It was just so scary to him, the whole process of landing. How the wheels unlatch and how the plane kind of bumps the ground before it's completely on the runway.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Hong Kong," came the pilot's voice from the airplane's speakers. "You may now unfasten your seatbelts."

His mind started racing as passengers stood from their seats. Rose, he thought, She could be anywhere . . . But how am I supposed to find her?

The possibilities were endless. She could be at Central, or Tsim Tsa Tsui . . . anywhere and everywhere, really. He had to find her, and fast. They only had three weeks until they left for New York again. Three weeks would be an ample amount of travel time, but not enough to introduce yourself to your one true love.

As they walked out of the plane, Jake's eyes glazed over, his mind completely preoccupied with coming up with a plan to find Rose. So I find her . . .then what? What do I say? "Hey, Rose, it's me, Jake. Technically we've never met, but I'm in love with you."

"Huh," he mumbled. "Crazy."

Susan turned around. "What was that, Jake, sweetie?"

He looked up, startled. For a second, he forgot where he was. "Uh . . .ummm, nothing, Mom! Just, uh, you know. I said 'fly.' Like, it's so fly we're here!"

"Oh," she said, smiling. "Well, wait until you and Hailey meet your cousins! And your Uncle Henry and Aunt Ling!"

Jake plastered a smile on his face as he nodded in agreement. Phew . . . close call.

Jonathan put an arm around his son's shoulder and said, "Y'know, son, when I was your age, I met my mother's siblings for the first time, too. They were in Canada, they were, and I . . . "

Jake zoned out as his dad droned on and on and on. He couldn't wait until they got to the hotel, when he could finally go off on his own.

"Daddy," Hailey interrupted, "When we get to the hotel, can I go to the mall?"

"Oh, well, of course, dear. But not on your own. Jake'll take you," he said.

Jake groaned. So much for going off on his own.

"Won't you, Jake? Oh please? Pretty please?" Hailey begged, her hands clasped together.

"Only because you asked so nicely," he grumbled. Well, there wasn't much of a choice, really. With Jake's parents, you had to either obediently comply or face an hour-long "talk." Oh, well, Jake thought, at least I still have time to look for Rose after the mall . . .

"Oh, and Jake, you must remember to come to my room after your outing," said Grandpa Lao. "We have to schedule our training."

"Whuuuutss? No way, G! I thought this was a vacation!"

Grandpa Lao only raised a hand in response to Jake's desperate protest. "Now, you know the rules. Training rain or shine. And we did not come to Hong Kong for nothing, young dra-"

"Training?" Jonathan piped up. "For what?"

Grandpa Lao and Jake froze. Jake's eye twitched. Great, Gramps. You sure blew our cover.

Susan came to the rescue. "For, uh, training. For . . . noodle eating!"

Grandpa, Jake, and Hailey, all nodded and muttered in agreement.

"Yeah."

"Er . . . yes!"

"Uh huh."

"Because . . . "she continued, "there's going to be a noodle slurping contest next week. Whoever gets to slurp the longest noodle . . ."

"Wins," Jake croaked. "Whoever slurps the longest noodle wins."

"Oh," Jonathan shrugged, still completely oblivious. "Well, that sounds exciting!"

The four simply smiled as the group walked towards the Baggage Claim. Susan shot her father a warning look.

When he was sure no one could hear him, Jake sighed. You're not the only one keeping secrets.

Three hours. That was how long it took for Ashley to choose one itty bitty dress. Well, okay, it wasn't all that itty-bitty. I had to admit, it was actually pretty nice. The dress was blue and long and flowy . . . heck, it was something I would've worn.

Ashley's face scrunched up in a grimace as she asked, "What do you think? Too much? Too silky? Too blue? What?"

"It's perfect! God, Ash, I'm almost jealous!" I laughed. She looked so unsure because, well, she's Ashley. She always had the shortest skirts and the highest heels on to boost her confidence, and now that her dress actually followed our school's dress code, she was probably feeling iffy.

"You sure?"

"Yep. A hundred percent."

She smiled. "Thanks, Rose! Ohmygawd, I, like, totally owe you now."

She gave me a mischevious grin. Oh no, I thought, Here it comes . . .

"Let's go get you a dress!"

"I'd love to, but . . . " I searched my mind for an excuse. I couldn't tell her the truth. But you'd make me look like a tramp. But you're wearing the dress I want.

Too late. She was already picking dresses off racks. "Ooh, how about this one?" she said, pointing to a bright pink bandage-style minidress.

"Yeah," I said, "It's nice, I guess . . . for a shirt."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Ugh, please. Rose, you have legs. Use them."

"But . . . but I don't wanna look like a –"

"What?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "Like me?"

"Well . . ."

She dropped the dress. "Mkay, Rose, how many boyfriends have I had?"

"Uh . . . four?"

"Five. And how many have you had?"

"Ughhh!" I groaned, frustrated with where this was going. "Fine, fine! I get it!"

"Ha! So you surrender."

She said it like a statement, not a question. I didn't want to look like a mini-Paris Hilton. There were so many girls at Sterling International High School – and back at home in New York – who looked like that. But I didn't want to be that kind of girl. I wanted to be, well, me. Pretty, but not in a way that would make boys instantly go, "I-want-to-make-out-with-you." Because that would make me cheap. And I, Rose Smith, am not cheap.

We looked for another hour until we finally found the right dress. It was pink and kind of Grecian-looking. I liked it, and so did Ashley.

"It is so totally you," she gushed as we walked to the counter.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm! Too bad you don't have a date, though . . . "

Then, something – someone – behind Ashley caught my eye. It was . . . no. It couldn't be.

He was a lot taller than I remembered from the dream. He had searching eyes and sticky-out hair. And the red jacket. I couldn't have forgotten the red jacket. This had to be him. He turned around. He was going to leave the store! No!

I must have seemed dazed because Ashley waved her hand in front of my face. "Uh, hello? Rose? Anyone home?"

I handed her my wallet, hypnotized. This was crazy. I can't believe I'm actually doing this, I thought.

"Take care of that for me . . . "

I slowly began to walk towards the boy, but my steps grew quicker as he walked out of the store. I ran.

"WAIT!" I yelled.

He turned around, surprised. His eyes grew larger and larger as we both drank the moment in. Yes, this was him. I was sure of it.

"R-R-Rose?"

It felt so good to hear him say my name.

So . . . any violent reactions? Loved it? Hated it? On the fence with it?

Just review. ;)