Kallie sat across from Nari at the table, averting her eyes. “So… Sorry we haven’t talked or hung out until just now… Funny that you’ve been here a week, and we’ve done little more than bump into each other in the halls…” She smiled. "Oh... And I guess I yelled at you yesterday for the alarm at two in the morning... I never apologized about that. I'm really sorry about it..."
Nari fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she stared at her lap. Why was she having the conversation with Kallie anyway? Oh yes… Because Chenn had said Kallie was a good friend to have, and because Chenn thought that she needed more friends, not just him.
The problem was, her conscience still bothered her over befriending Chenn. She wasn’t sure she could reconcile making yet another friend she would have to betray.
“Yes, funny, isn’t it?” Nari mumbled.
Kallie cleared her throat, blushing. “This is sort of awkward, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Nari smiled at Kallie’s directness.
“To be fair…” Kallie hesitated. “Well, I’ll be honest with you… Chenn put me up to this. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to meet with you. You were all the girls talked about besides Chenn and other guys they thought were cute. Everyone said you were one of the best at West Base… Maybe in the whole MBC.” She dropped her gaze back to the grey surface of the table, drawing imaginary lines along it with her fingers. “I was worried that you would look down on me like all the others did because I was so quiet and strange.”
Nari’s eyes widened. “I would never do that, Kallie! Just because you’re quiet or different doesn’t give people the right to pick on you…” She looked away, a faint blush rising into her cheeks. “Besides, I’m all too familiar with being picked on or despised for being different… I couldn’t inflict that sort of pain on someone else. Not after going through it myself for years.”
Kallie smiled. “Really? You’re the first person besides Chenn and Ali who hasn’t picked on me on first sight.”
Nari frowned. “Why would they pick on you? There’s nothing wrong with you!”
Kallie’s gaze flicked up to meet Nari’s for a second before dropping again. “Yes, there is… I read too much, I wear glasses most of the time because I’m near-sighted, and everything about me is plain…”
Nari grinned. “It is not. You have the most beautiful chocolate hair color I’ve ever seen. And your grey eyes compliment your hair beautifully. If you wore your hair down instead of in a messy bun or ponytail, you would be stunning!”
Kallie blushed. “No, I wouldn’t… Not like you. Your auburn hair and emerald green eyes captivate everyone instantly… People like me don’t stand a chance against people like you.”
Nari sighed. “You’re selling yourself short. Come on, Kallie! You just need a good dose of self-confidence and a healthy shot of reality… That’s all.”
Kallie looked away. “I do not… I know what reality is, and reality is that I’m ugly and mundane. No one really likes me, and the few who hang out with me do it to make me feel better because they feel sorry for me.”
Nari laughed. “Kallie, I’m hanging out with you – not because I feel sorry for you – because Chenn said you were a delightful companion and that he thought we’d get on wonderfully. He had nothing but praise for you… So you shouldn’t put yourself down so much. Chenn has very few compliments for anyone, in case you haven’t noticed, and he doesn’t give them away lightly.”
Kallie grinned. “Truly? He said that about me?”
Nari nodded, grinning back. “Look, I’m going to do something with your hair, and we’ll see if you still think you’re ugly and mundane when I’m done…”
Kallie’s eyes widened, and she glanced at her watch. “Now?”
“Why not?”
“I… I… You couldn’t do that! It would take up your time…” Kallie stammered.
“My time to do what? All I do is lounge around after work hours and wish I wasn’t bored. Come on… This’ll give us both something to do since we’ve got free time right now.”
Kallie sighed. “Very well. I suppose you can do it…”
***
When Ali walked into the room, he was greeted by a strange sight.
Nari was sitting at the communal table in their dorm chatting with someone else, whom he didn’t recognize. He moved deeper into the room, frowning.
Only when the woman turned to face him did he realize it was Kallie. His eyes widened. “Kall…Kallie?” He stammered. “You… You look… D…Different…” He managed.
She looked away, blushing. “I’m sorry… I know I look horrid. I will take it out right away.” Her hands flew to the intricate braids sweeping about her head in an elegant crown, prepared to pull the strands loose.
But Ali swept into the room, taking her hands in his own. “No! Don’t take it out, Kallie! It’s beautiful.” He murmured, gazing at the hairdo and moving around Kallie to take it in at all angles. “You should do this with your hair more often.”
Her blush deepened to a crimson red, and she avoided his gaze. “You really think so?”
Ali laughed. “I know so. You’re truly breathtaking, Kallie.”
His last words served only to cause her blush to deepen.
Ali felt something stirring within him. It had been stirring since he first met Kallie, a few weeks before he had taken off with Amory. In fact, she was the reason he’d gone with Amory in the first place. He hadn’t thought much about it, but he felt protectiveness towards Kallie as well as some other, indefinable feeling.
But seeing her like this, with her hair neat and braided, her face covered with a light coating of foundation to make her natural honeyed skin tone glow, and wearing a sprig of lilacs – who knew where she’d found them – in her hair, she took on a whole new look for him, stirring deeper feelings he’d never experienced before.
He smiled at her. “Want to come hang out with me?”
She stared at him, wide eyed. “You… You want me to hang out with you?”
He nodded. “Of course! Why shouldn’t I?”
She looked down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. “Be…because… I… I might be an embarrassment to you or a burden…” She stammered.
He shook his head, eyes filling with moisture. "Kallie…” He knelt down beside her chair, lifting his chin so that he could look her in the eye. “Kallie…” He repeated, voice soft. “You’ve never been an embarrassment or a burden. I like spending time with you… I would never have asked you to hang out with me in the first place if I didn’t.” He murmured.
She nodded. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“Then, I guess I’ll go…” She whispered, smiling at him.
***
Nari felt as though she was a second party as she observed the two talking. They were good together, she reflected. Ali gave Kallie a shot of confidence that she needed with desperation. No one else seemed to make Kallie glow the same way.
Despite her former misgivings about creating bonds with anyone else, Kallie had grown on her in the little time they had spent together. The young woman’s cheery personality and unassuming light-heartedness brought a light into Nari’s soul that few had ever brought.
In many ways, Kallie’s shy uncertainty reminded Nari of her sister, Hanna. That, more than anything was the reason that she accepted Kallie so readily into her heart. Her sister’s face flashed in front of Kallie’s at unexpected times, reminding her of what she’d lost.
It had been a struggle not to break down in tears as she did Kallie’s hair – remembering similar times spent doing Hanna’s thick auburn hair was painful. But she had managed not to, and she felt that she had gained a new, loyal friend in Kallie, whatever she thought of her choice of allegiance in the war or her motivations for joining Amory.
It was good to see how happy Kallie was that Ali had asked her to hang out with him. Despite hardly knowing the girl, Kallie’s joy made Nari happy too, and she felt instinctively protective of the younger woman for some reason.
As she watched the two leave, she smiled. Yes, they were perfect for each other. Ali’s confidence with Kallie’s gentleness created a combination that made everyone feel lighter. Including Nari – who hadn’t felt this good for years. Helping people did have its benefits.