The haunting Love: That is Unrequited

The prank

On Tuesday afternoon- when I had jazz band rehearsals- I walked to the music block. Callie was there, she was joining us for the rehearsal to sing with our main vocalist Abigail. As I approached and we exchanged greetings and small talk when we heard a piano in one of the small practice rooms. As we walked up to the door, we saw Zhang playing alone. I looked at Callie with a mischievous look in my eye. I help my finger to my lip and smiled devilishly. I gestured for her to go round the corner to hide, once she was hidden, I crouched down and crawled up to the door. I slammed my hand hard against the small window and bolted round to where Callie was. She looked at me horrified- Soon we heard the door open, and she automatically stood up and rounded the corner where there was a terrified Zhang standing. I was laughing so hard I had tears forming in my eyes, my head was throbbing for the intensity of my laughing fit. As I stood and rounded the corner, he was staring at me still shocked but started laughing as soon as he saw me. "I thought I was about to be murdered!" he complained but I could tell how relieved he was that it was just me. I calmed myself and eventually spoke.
"Sorry!!" I wheezed, "I didn't mean to hit the door that hard, but I did want to scare you." Callie was still staring horrified and she turned to Zhang apologizing.
"I didn't realize she was going to do that." She shot me a look as if I was in the wrong. "I said we should have just knocked and come in." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and glared at me to force me into an apology, making guilt course through my veins. As I looked at Zhang's face, I could tell he wasn't bothered by the situation at all, yet as a professional people pleaser, and feeling the glare coming from Callie, I hardened my feelings to stop myself laughing, took a deep breath and looked at Zhang "I'm sorry I didn't mean to be that aggressive I really thought it would be funny." I felt horrible as if the prank I did was suddenly a crime, I looked down at the ground and felt my face flush.
"It's okay, at least I know I'm alive and awake. I was feeling tired before but now I'll definitely be awake for training." I looked up quickly his expression was soft, almost apologetic for the way Callie had spoken to me. "You don't need to apologize; it was pretty funny." He let out a small chuckle. A wave of relief washed over me but the guilt still tickled my conscious. Callie finally smiled at Zhang, her flirtatious smile, and her voice dripped with sweetness as thick as honey- putting an automatic distance between her demeanour and my savage behaviour- "We just came to get some spare stands from the room, we don't have enough up in the demountable." Battering her eyelashes, she started a second too long at Zhang but he moved out of the way and gestured for us to enter and grab the stands. I moved past him and felt his gaze as I stared at the ground. "Thank you, Zhang. ~" she purred as she moved off gracefully. I kept gaze firmly on the ground and slightly bowed my head and I scurried past him unable to look at him.

The afternoon went on and when I finally arrived home, I went straight to the computer to compose an apology email.
'Mr. Zhang, I want to apologize sincerely for this afternoon. Please I didn't think it would so harsh. What do you like to have for lunch? I am going to make you lunch for tomorrow and I won't take no for an answer!! I'm truly sorry again, I feel terrible.' After hitting send I went to unpack my bag and prepare it for tomorrows classes, after changing out of my uniform I decided to go and check if he had responded and sitting there was an unread email. I sat quickly and opened it eager for his response.
'Hi Ali, I already told you it was fine hahaha. You don't need to do anything for me really, it's fine. It was funny afterwards, at first yeah, I thought someone was coming to attack me but it's all good.' As I read his response it was so casual, he really had no hard feelings. But remembering Callie's glare brought back the same wave of guilt. I had to make it up to him somehow. I put my fingers to the keys and typed another email.
'It may be okay with you but I feel horrible and guilty let me make you lunch! Please let me know what you want to eat!! I will not take no for an answer.'

He responded quickly he must have been answering student queries. 'Fine, it seems I can't say no. I like salad, I'm not picky really, I eat pretty much anything. But seriously you don't have to do anything.' I could tell from his response that he wasn't upset by my request and found the whole situation entertaining. I responded with a short and quick email.
'I will see you tomorrow then with lunch!' I could feel my face hurting from how hard I was smiling. I skipped out to the kitchen to where mum was standing. "Mum, we need to go to the shops for ingredients I'm going to make lunch for Zhang as an apology for today's little prank." I wanted to make sure this was the freshest salad; I didn't want to give him something half-arsed it had to be the perfect apology.

As Mum and I walked around the grocery store we picked up some chicken, spinach, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. For dessert I decided to get a punnet of blueberries to keep the entire lunch healthy. As we arrived home mum went back to work and I asked my sister if she could help me prepared the lunch. I was not confident in cooking chicken and thought it best someone else do it. My sister, Kiah was 22 years old at the time, she was much closer in age. Kiah is much shorter than me, she has bright, blond hair, that skimmed her hips- the complete opposite to my short, brunette hair that I was growing out. Her face is small, her skin porcelain and perfect; somehow, she got Dad's genes and look like the perfect small European doll- her eyes piercing blue and large, she had gotten braces in recent year and with feeling confident about her smile she would often radiate beauty from finally being confident. For me I was in my peak puberty, my skin was oily and had pimples, I was excessively tall compared to my friends, in fact I was only a few centimetres shorter than Zhang. By mid-year I finally had shoulder length hair and was rocking a fringe, thankful to cover my forehead which was covered in pimples. It wasn't that I was unattractive but compared to Kiah, I was extremely average. Yes, I have large eyes, but instead of a piercing blue, they're a deep and alluring green-blue. Kiah has more of an innocent and perfect look, I have a darker and more mysterious disposition. I'm often not smiling due to the fact that I hate my smile, I have crooked front teeth but not excessive, but my mouth is small so when I smile it catches my teeth, leaving my lips to practically disappear. While many outsiders compare me to Kiah, many times, they haven't met my other siblings our oldest sister whom I resemble the most, and Kiah looks like our oldest brother. These outsiders say 'you two look so similar', I never see the resemblance because Kiah is gorgeous in comparison to me. I would often make jokes and say 'you should meet Zhang,' 'how funny would it be if you married Zhang,' these jokes were to help me move on from my growing feelings and to help my depressed sister who just wanted to hurry and get married. Kiah ended up making the lunch for Zhang.

As I walked into school the next morning, I headed straight for the maths block. As I walked into the narrow hallway to the staff room, I noticed he wasn't sitting at his desk, another teacher saw me and asked who I was after and she let me know he was in his classroom. As I walked in to the classroom there, he was sitting at a desk on his computer talking with some student who I knew (other music students). He had his back to the door so I took a deep breath, and walked in confidently "Good Morning." I sung and he turned around, as soon as he saw my face, he smiled his perfect smile and responded with his greeting
"Morning Ali."
I walked over to the desk opposite him and sat plopping the bag of food onto the desk he was working at. I grinned. "Your lunch sir, it's a chicken salad and some blueberries. My sister helped me make the chicken." He reached for the bag and looked inside at the colourful salad. His eyebrows raised and he looked up to meet my gaze, I was still smiling. "And again, I really am sorry for giving you a heart attack." He chuckled at the entire situation.
"You really meant it didn't you, thank you for doing this though." The student he was sitting with seemed so confused and Zhang gave a brief explanation.
"Geez, you want to scare me? I want a lunch made for me too." The student looked at me with pleading eyes and his hands wrung like he was in prayer.
I gave a mock pout "Sorry but I'm afraid it's not possible." We laughed together at the silliness of it all. "Anyways that's all I came here for; I'll see you this afternoon for choir." I smiled and made sure as I walked out, I strode with my back straight and head held high with confidence, in the doorway I turned and gave a small, flirtatious wave, that was still in my natural behavior.