Bubbles

Chapter 18

The morning came slowly to Kula.

First, she was aware of her body. This wasn't a hasty affair. Gradually, she realized that she had an earthly form and that she was inside of it. Then, slowly, she began to see the sunlight through her closed eyelids, filtering through the hasty tent-like structure they'd set up in the darkness. Then she felt the coarse fibers of her blanket against her skin. Then, all of the sudden, the sounds of nature hit her and she opened her eyes, the memory of where she was flooding back.

She stepped out of the tent to see Nalia, munching on an apple and sitting on a log.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Nalia's smile was warm.

"Um..." Kula tried to form a coherent sentence. What the hell was going on? Had she slacked off on studying? Was she forgetting how to speak?

Nalia raised her eyebrows. "Wow. You really are tired, huh?"

"Uh, yeah!" Said Kula, relieved to have a valid excuse presented to her. Of course, she was just tired and hungry. That was all.

"C'mon. These apples aren't going to stay good if we don't eat them."

As they ate breakfast, Nalia explained how the day would go. They would walk farther up the mountain, and try to reach the top. They had enough food to last them for the entire day, because by the time they reached the campsite again, it would probably be night. Then, they would go home in the morning.

Kula listened, but her mind was elsewhere. What was happening? She hadn't brought any textbooks. Maybe Nalia would give her some lessons.

"Hey, Nalia?"

The girl in question looked up from her apple. "What's up, Ku?"

"Do you think we could practice some speech? I feel like I'm forgetting some stuff."

Nalia pursed her lips. "Kula, people don't really forget how to speak if they're doing it all the time. I know you're not... exactly a person, but the rule still should apply. Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I dunno, it's like... sometimes I can't speak."

Concerned, Nalia put a hand over Kula's forehead. "You don't have a temperature... but maybe that doesn't matter. Do you want to go back?"

"I'm not sick."

"But you..."

"I'm not sick," Kula insisted. "I just forget how to speak sometimes."

"When?"

Kula opened her mouth – and closed it. Somehow, deep inside her, she knew that she didn't want to tell Nalia about when she had a hard time speaking. She didn't quite understand it, but just the idea of it made fear spike through her heart, hot and sharp.

"It's pretty random, honestly. I can't predict when it's about to happen." Not a lie, just not the full truth.

Nalia sat up a little straighter. "Well... then we're just going to have to crack down on studying!" Her smile brightened. "School's in session, my friend! Ms. Nalia is back!"

The jumpy feeling that lingered in her chest left her emotions raw and vulnerable. Everything seemed funnier, more exhilarating. Kula laughed so hard she almost fell off the bench. Was she going mad?

"Ku, it wasn't that funny." Nalia helped her to right herself. "Okay. What words do you want to say but have a hard time with?"

This time, Kula pushed past the bubble of anxiety inflating in her chest and told Nalia the truth. It was Nalia. She could trust her.

"Beautiful." She couldn't quite meet Nalia's gaze, but she knew that Nalia was looking at her, eyebrows slightly quirked, head barely tilted. "Perfect. Happy."

Nalia was quiet for a moment. Then, softly, "it sounds like the problem isn't with the words."

"What?"

"Ku, it sounds like you've got a crush." Nalia, shockingly, was quiet. Subdued. So completely unlike herself.

Kula was not. "No I don't! I didn't even say it was a person! Just because something's beautiful doesn't mean I have a crush on it! Besides, I think I'd know if I..." she trailed off. Because, honestly, would she? What did she know about love?

Nalia looked at the ground. "All the signs are there. The word choice, plus the whole tongue-tied thing." She looked up, a half-hearted attempt of her bright smile whispering across her face. "I'm happy for you, Ku. Really. I'm sure he's wonderful."

And there it was. The reason Nalia had to be wrong. Girls developed crushes on boys. That was how it worked. That was how every romance story Kula had ever read ended: The boy and the girl, together. The perfect happy ending. She wasn't crushing on Nalia, because she couldn't be.

More likely, she was afraid to tell Nalia she was beautiful because it could be awkward, weird. That had to be it. Had to be.

Had to be.