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5. Nothing As It Seemed


Yani


'Hola Dyani,' a voice said cheerfully.

I could have lied and said I was surprised to hear Diego.
But I wasn't-almost like a wound-up cat, I found myself waiting for him... my ears straining to each sound of a passing car, and each male voice.
In the end it had been easier than that.
The kids, who were again playing an impromptu game of football in the street, had exclaimed over his arrival from work.

'Hey Diego,' I replied, trying to sound okay.

But I wasn't okay.
My friends had often accused me of being a pushover-too gullible, too easy to tease.
Usually I took it all in my stride, to just laugh it off.
But finding out that Diego could have been out on a date last night-I'd waited for him to come home but he came home so late I'd already gone to sleep-I knew I couldn't just lay back and take it anymore.
I had to make changes.

So my goal at the start of the summer about making a difference in a child's life still stands...
But now I'm adding a goal for myself.

To become a stronger person, and be comfortable standing up for myself...

'Como estas?' he persisted.
'Bien, y tu?' I said, still not looking up from what I was doing-which was correcting a spelling test I'd gotten the kids at the orphanage to do.
Their English was improving very well in the week or so that I'd been here and I was really happy about it.
Normally I would have shared my excitement with Diego... but now.

'Is there something wrong?' he finally swapped to English.
And finally I looked up.
'Why should anything be wrong?'

'You don't look happy to see me.'
'Does that hurt your feelings?' I snapped at him.

Diego's dark eyes watched me closely, as though wondering whether he should be insulted by my comment.
In the end he just nodded at me understandably, 'of course not... I just thought for a warmer reception as I am your friend.'

'Oh, of course,' I copied him, 'so do you believe that friends should tell friends everything?'
My hand clenched and unclenched over the red marker that I had been using.
'Si,' he conceded, 'as long as it affects them in any way.'

'And if it doesn't?'
He shrugged.
I was at a loss-I didn't want to push him, after all he'd been a good friend to me since I got here.
Did I really want to alienate him, even if I did feel like he had lied to me?
It wasn't like he was betrothed to me or anything, I didn't have any rights on him.

'-did you go out on a date last night?' I blurted out.

The decision was made for me.

He could have lied to me.
Said anything to make me feel better-Matt used to do that.
But he did.

'Yes.'

Something in me just wanted to shrivel up and die.
But of course I continued to exist standing in front of him, faced with the dilemma of looking not-too-crushed.

'I don't have time for a girlfriend with my schedule, Alexandra is a friend of mine that I see once in awhile for a meal, a movie... yesterday it was her brother's birthday and she invited me into the city for a fancy dinner.'
'With her family.'
'Yes.'

They might as well have been married.

+++

Rach


'Rachael can you hand me the suturing kit?' Paul asked.
I passed it to him while I continued to clean the wound of the little girl sitting in front of me.
She wouldn't sit still.

'Please...' I said in their language, holding her still.
I didn't want to poke her with the eye with the tweezers that was gently wiping alcohol against her gashed forehead.
She made a suffering sound but did make a reasonable attempt to stay still even though the alcohol would no doubt be stinging her.
The way she was so impatient to get back outside to play with the other kids reminded me of Kei.
And when I thought of Kei, I thought of Dyani, Camie and Emi.

A week had past since I landed in Africa, and already I was missing home.
Not that the wildness of the land wasn't enthralling or beautiful-I would certainly miss this place when I left.
Already I was planning to come back at a later date... but for now...

Don't get me wrong, I am happy.
In a way...
Paul, Jamilla and I were working as a really good trio, with me assisting the two would be doctors.
We didn't get in each others nerves and Paul was so funny, making sure no day was ever boring.

But I was honest enough to admit that there was a part of me that was uneasy.
And it was the part that realised that Bishop-who'd been such a great and true friend to me since we got here-was falling for Poppo.
So you're asking... why do you care?
And out loud the answer would be an emphatic 'I don't!'
But deep down...I do.

I don't know why, because he's been a pain in my ass since we got here-
And hasn't exactly been the most forthcoming person, ie. Withholding his name-
And he's not even that good-looking.

(Okay maybe a little.)

In fact I think that's why I like him.
'Because he's so ugly...' I muttered.
'Rach, maybe you should stop scaring the poor girl...' Paul laughed, jolting me back into present.

The little girl in front of me looked like she was about to cry.
'No, no I don't mean you-' I said quickly, not that she would have understood me anyway, but it may have been the grimace on my face that did it for her.
She smiled tentatively.
I returned it and quickly put the bandage on her head.
'Thank you,' she said in her language.

I gave her a quick kiss on top of the bandage before I let her run out of the medical room.
At the same time Paul finished too.
Black haired and green-eyed Paul-gorgeous but also smart enough to be doing medicine-with enough social conscience to spend his summer as a Young Medic.
Why couldn't I like him instead?
It's probably because he's hot... I always did have weird taste in guys.

'So looking forward to getting back to Hope and seeing the others?' he asked conversationally.
'Yeah, Bishop especially,' I said brightly.
'Me too-as in,' he blushed, 'not Bishop-just everyone in general.'

I eyed him curiously.
Could Paul actually have a thing for Bishop?
'What?' he asked defensively, rubbing a hand to his cheek, 'do I have dirt on my face.'

'Nope, nothing,' I said.

At least if Poppo and Bishop got their act together-I wouldn't be the only one less than happy.

+++


Emi


'Where are we?' I asked, only a tiny bit worriedly.
Armaud had been taking me around Stolberg for the past few days, and I'd let him handle everything.
I didn't have to make decisions, I just had to go along in my own pace, even he knew what I would eat and what I wouldn't-and chose where we had our meals that way.

This was the first time I had been less than confident in him.
But that was because this was the first day he'd actually hired a car.
Every other day we'd taken public transport or walked-but judging from the 40 minute ride we'd had, we were moving fast out of Stolberg.

'Getting worried Emily?' he asked.
For some reason he'd taken to calling me Emily.
There was nothing wrong with that-it was my name after all, but he didn't resort to nicknames like the other backpackers did.
Also the way he said it made me want to sleep, or stretch contentedly like a cat.

'No, it's just that-this place doesn't look at all familiar. And from the list I gave you as to where I wanted to go, none of them seemed this far out of Stolberg.'
'This place isn't on the list.'
'But which place?' I persisted.

He glanced at me, taking his eyes off the road before darting back again.
'It's a privately owned historical landmark, Guttelstahl Hall.'
'I've never heard of it-if it's privately owned, isn't there laws against taking pictures of it?' I asked, just a little bit confused.
'Yes, unless you have permission from the owner.'

'And you got permission from the owner?'
He didn't answer her because they'd pulled up to steel gates about 3 metres high, instead pulling down his window to press an intercom button.
A voice answered and Armaud said something in fast German into it before a buzzer sounded and the gates began to open.

We drove a few more metres before I could even see the Hall, the grounds were so big.

'That is beautiful,' I said once they pulled up to the hall.
It was like a cross between a palace and a mansion in beautiful Victorian style...
'Let's go,' Armaud said.
I followed him up the steps in the almost snail-like pace that we did almost everything.

A woman in a uniform came forward and gave him a swift hug before her face went back into a mask of reverence.
She nodded to me and with a timid 'guten tag', I smiled back.
'Emily this is the housekeeper Frau Venstram, she says that we have an hour to look around before she'll serve us lunch.'

I smiled at the lady once more before Armaud finally tugged at my hand and pulled me into the house.
It was amazing and I didn't think one hour would be enough to discover even a small part of this place.
He must have read it on my face.

'It's okay Emily, we can take our time.'
'It would have been awesome to be able to spend a few days in here.'
'Then let's.'

I turned to him.
'We cant... where would we stay-I didn't see any inns in any of the villages we passed...'
'We'll stay here.'

Something in the way confident way he said it made me look up at him.
'Armaud?'
'I am Lord Guttelstahl's son, you're going to find out about it sooner or later-my father like's to announce that fact, and he's bound to say so at dinner.'

+++


Camie


I'd never been more embarrassed in my whole life.
And I don't think I'd ever forgive Johnie for being the one to witness it.

'Camille, get your ass out of your room-you cant hide in there forever. You'll have to eat eventually.'
'January-tell him to go away! I don't want to see him.'
'Camille...' my cousin whined.

I was set.
I didn't want to see him.
I didn't want to have anything to do with him.

After all-what kind of a boyfriend has that kind of reaction when being surprised by his girlfriend?
Idiot!
Both him and me...
I just cringed even more to think what that bitch Sandra would say if she knew.
Or what she was saying since there was a likelihood the news would have gotten around fast.

'Camille, it's me-Johnie.'
'Go away.'
'No.'
'Why not?'
'I have food.'

'I'm not hungry!'

It felt good to be able to yell at him.
If one thing was good about this entire dilemma-it would be that I no longer felt awkward around him.
I no longer felt like he was a total stranger.
In fact, knowing what a poor excuse of a boyfriend he was made me feel less intimidated and more myself.
Thus being able to yell at him.

'I can burst this door open you know,' he threatened.
'No you cant-it's a very heavy door. Plus January will kill you,' I called back smugly.
I heard him sigh.
'You're being stubborn again.'
'Stubborn my ass! I'll talk to you when you get better at handling surprises.'

'So you admit it was a surprise.'
'Why wouldn't I, Einstein?' I glared at the door.
Boy, if looks could kill, not only would the door be charred but the man behind it.

'I don't handle surprises well-is that a crime.'
'Yes, especially if I've traveled halfway around the world to see you!'
'I do think that was very sweet and romantic of you... what did I ever do to deserve such a girlfriend?'

My heart fluttered, but my resolve was strong.
He was the reason I was stuck in my room and haven't eaten for half a day.
My stomach grumbled angrily.

'Nothing! Which means we probably should break up!'
'Are you serious?'
I sighed.
I wasn't... seeing him had only deepened whatever feelings had already been there.
But it didn't change the fact that he hadn't had the reaction I wanted, to seeing me... and that made me feel more than a little lost.

'Johnie, just go away- can we talk in a few days?'
'How many days.'
'A few.'
'Give me a date, that way if you back out of it-I can finally have an excuse to burst this door open...'
'Three.'

'Why three?'
'Johnie, stop being a pain in the ass and go,' I said, trying to hide the laughter in my voice.
I felt instantly better.
It was a good thing that we were able to make each other laugh even when we were supposed to be fighting... right?

+++


Kei


'Kei, are you sure you don't want to go?'
I looked over to where Jed was sitting with his surfboard, waxing it or whatever.
He didn't even pause at the question...
Ah Kei, way to make yourself feel self important, I patted myself on the back.

'I do want to go...'
'Then get dressed and let's go.'
I was almost tempted to say yes, I'll go.
But I'd made a deal with Jed and if I went back on it, I knew he would go back on his part of the deal too.
And I couldn't afford to deal with the consequences of it.

'No that's okay, I'm still feeling a bit tired anyway...' I finally answered.
'Okay, well I'm sure Jed will take care of you. But if you change your mind, you can just come on over okay?' Julia kissed me on the cheek.
I nodded and watched wistfully as Duncan, Avery, Julia and Jennifer left.
Brian had already gone beforehand because he was standing in a bassist for one of the bands.

I went back into the hut, sending Jed a last withering glance before stomping in.
He'd grounded me.
He really had.

When I asked him what made him think he had any right to do so-he'd told me that he would tell Aunt Belle about my stupidity.
It wasn't that I didn't want to feel foolish.
But it would mean they would come just that much earlier, and I would ruin any chance of unsupervised fun the others would have.
Why should everyone suffer for my stupid mistake?-he had asked.

I sat on my bed and read.
Just as well that I was home anyway... I didn't feel much like going out now that I thought about it.

'Hey.'
A voice interrupted me and I looked up.
'What do you want?' I glared at Jed.
'I came to bring your dinner, I'm planning to go to the party-,' he said, dropping a bag with twelve secret herbs and spices onto my bed.
'Thanks, have fun,' I said cheerfully.

A comment which made him frown rather than reassure him.
'What are you planning?' he demanded.

'What are you talking about?'
'You seem too glad to be left here on your own... you're meeting a guy aren't you?'
'Uh Jed-I think you might have spent too much time getting dumped in the water-you're not thinking straight.'
'I think I'll stay tonight,' he said.

'Suit yourself-,' I shrugged, 'but for what it's worth-I wouldn't be stupid enough to be obvious about it if I were to be meeting someone.'
He stared at me.
I stared at him-which was really no hardship because he was a very handsome guy.
I smirked at him.

'What the hell are you smiling at?' he asked exasperatedly.
'Just the fact that the girls of Turtle Cove will be asking who was it that kept gorgeous lifeguard Jed Johnson from the party tonight-and I get to say 'me',' I grinned.
He made a sound of annoyance.

'You can't call my bluff... I will stay,' he threatened.
'Then stay, I just hope you brought enough food for two,' I peered into the bag.

He smiled, totally catching me off-guard as he sat down across from me on my bed.
'Well this can be your punishment instead-having to eat less.'
'Are you saying I eat too much?' my nostrils flared.

'Yes,' he said and bit into the chicken, smiling at me with his mouth full.


+++

A/N: This is the long awaited chapter for some, so I hope that it has been enjoyed. More to come hopefully. Love Kei