▌│█║▌║▌║Chapter 29║▌║▌║█│▌

I saw Zen sitting there in the night air sipping steaming coffee, and I didn’t know what to do. Should I say something to her, or should I just walk by and wave casually? I never been in this type of social situation! I never been in any social situation anywhere near this with the type of feelings I have going through me right now! Between my bustling thoughts about the attack and my weird feelings, this is confusing me more than any test ever would. I slowed down my walking pace immensely after seeing her, so I could gather my thoughts. She looked in my direction unfortunately when she heard someone walking, and her hazel brown eyes met with my blackish brown ones. I immediately looked down instinctively for some reason. I continued to walk forward slowly. She stood up with from her seat and asked me, “How are you feeling? We could hear the explosions from the attack in our classroom.”

“I’m feeling fine right now. I may feel a little sore tomorrow though. How long have you been waiting here?”

“Not long, I usually go here later in the afternoon to get some coffee and release some stress. I didn’t know you come by here though.”

“Yeah my parent’s apartment is near here. I walk by the shop every day to and from school. If you haven’t eaten yet, I’m sure my parents have something cooked up to eat if you want to join us.”

Her hazel eyes eyed me intently. Eventually she told me, “Sure if it isn’t a bother. I’ll text my parents.”

“It should be fine. My parents always cook more than we can eat.”

What did I just say? Did I really just invite a girl over to my house to eat? I didn’t realize what I did until after I did it. The whole situation hit me like a brick wall. I could feel my face getting red and flush with warmth. We walked a couple more apartment buildings down until we got to mine. “Sorry about the appearance.” I told her. “It’s not the best apartment out there, but it could be worse I guess right?”

She looked at me and back at the building and told me, “No it’s fine. Honestly, it’s a lot better than people say it is. People back at the old school used to say you lived in the slums because they saw you down there.”

Saw me down there? Oh yeah, it must have been because they saw me at Lainey’s house there. I wonder what she thought about the whole terrorist attack situation? Zen and I walked up the stairs to my apartment, and opened the door. As soon as I opened the door my mom hammered into me with a hug. I fell back onto the floor, and landed right next to Zen’s feet. My mom started sobbing telling me, “Oh my God Khan! Never scare us like that again! We saw what happened on the news, and I was so worried Jesus. Until the school called and told us you were okay, I thought you were dead!”

“Thanks for the confidence mom.”

My dad looked down at us on the ground, and then he looked at Zen standing above us with slightly wider eyes than her normal melancholic gaze. He looked back at my mom and me on the ground and told her, “Umm, Dear. Our son has brought a visitor.”

My mom looked up from me and directly up at Zen. She moved up faster than I have ever seen her moved before, and told Zen, “I’m sooo sorry for losing my composure. It’s been a long day.”

Zen smiled a bit, and instantly my day got better. Any positive expression from her is rare, and every time I see a one it seems it gets cuter and cuter. Zen told my mom, “It’s fine. I completely understand. I can come back another time if it’s better?”

My mom told her almost at a shout, “NO! Umm… No please, come in. We have some food prepared. Don’t worry we always have plenty to eat, so please eat as much as you want.”

Zen helped me get up from the ground, and our eyes met yet again. This time I didn’t look away from her gaze. Our eyes locked, and this time instead of feeling anxiety and fear. I felt a calmness and serenity from it. I got up and almost saw a little bit of red flush on Zen’s face before she turned and walked into my home. I think I noticed my mom and dad give each other a long and knowing glance, and for once I felt like the dumbest person in the room. We sat down and had dinner for the night, and talked about today’s training events. I didn’t want to talk about the attack, for fear of making my mom go crazy again. Eventually, dinner was over and I walked Zen out the door. We told each other bye, and she gave away another smile which I savored for the rest of the night. I walked back in the house, and my parents were staring at me. “What?” I asked, kind of annoyed.

My dad just looked at me with a smirk, “You know what, you sly dog.”

“No, I don’t. If you are talking about Zen, we are just friends sorry to inform you. She is way too good for me, and probably doesn’t even notice me.”

My dad responded with a knowing hmm, and my mom changed the subject back to the attack. She looked at me and asked, “Why didn’t you respond to anything on your phone? I called you like five times.”

My eyes went wide. My phone! I have been so caught up in the events and my thoughts that I have completely forgotten to text people I’m okay! I told my mom, “I’m soo sorry. I have been completely wrapped up in today’s events that I completely forgot about it.”

“If you aren’t going to use the phone then why are we paying for it, Jesus. Just remember next time to text us PLEASE!”

She started to tear up again. I went and gave her a comforting hug and answer. I then went and got ready for bed. As I laid in bed, I took my phone out and looked at my messages. I texted back Via that I was okay, and told Thomas what happened. I looked at my latest message, and it surprised me. I had a message from Lainey saying, “I heard about what happened to you, and I hope you feel better!”

I couldn’t help but smile at this. At least she still knows I exist. I texted her back thanks, and went back to my thoughts about earlier today. I wonder if I’ll ever see that terrorist group again?

▌│█║▌║▌║To be Continued║▌║▌║█│▌