Under Ground (8 page)

The Arch is about a mile away from
my school. I'll have to walk through the forest and go up the hill
until I get there. It's a desolate place in the mountains. The
original monument was located close to Washington Square Park in
New York City. It didn’t get moved; it was simply duplicated. Only
the most important monuments and pieces of architecture were
relocated to Eboracum City and kept in shape. The Statue of Liberty
is one of them.

When the waters started rising,
our state had already spent years preparing for the eventuality of
a surge. But when Hurricane Vega hit New York City by surprise,
people had to evacuate in a hurry to escape, and not everything
could be saved. Some treasures were lost forever. It’s still
possible to see some buildings emerging from the water, or so I've
been told. No one's allowed in that area.

The Arch used to be nice and
clean. But eventually, the authorities stopped taking care of it.
It is now blackened with dirt and intertwined with vines growing
along its sides. Hardly anyone ever goes there anymore, which makes
it easy to hide and remain unseen for a while. Lance used to take
me there to play when I was little. He used to baby-sit me when our
parents had events to attend. Lance wasn't supposed to take me out,
but he disobeyed anyway and we spent hours chasing each other
around the Arch. It will be a good spot to meet Chi.

I’ve made up my mind. Tomorrow,
I’m going to meet him. Elation takes flight inside my heart like
butterflies breaking out of their ensnaring chrysalises. This joy
feels foreign and exhilarating, bringing a genuine smile to my lips
for the first time in years.

Chapter 8

I have trouble
focusing
at school the next day.
I
told Mother I'd be working with Melissa at the library, and she
took it for granted that I was telling the truth. Lying was not as
easy as I thought it would be. The entire time, I felt like the
deception would print itself into my skin for her to read. But I’ve
been molded into obeying so well that it'd never cross her mind
that I could lie to her. She assumes a mere frown would be enough
to keep me in place.

"Are you all right?" Melissa asks
me a few times.

I do want to tell her what’s going
on, but she wouldn’t understand. Marriage is not an iron fist
asphyxiating her the way it's crushing my throat. I’m worried she
might tell on me. I know she would, for what she would believe to
be my own good. I can't even trust my best friend with my secret.
There is no one I can rely on, no one I can talk to about the
doubts plaguing my mind. I’ll just have to follow my instincts on
this and go wherever they take me.

When five p.m. finally arrives, I
leave school in a hurry. Melissa thinks I’m going back to my house
while my mother believes I’m with Melissa. Lies like these never
end well. You either end up getting caught or in deep trouble with
a fate worse than the one you were trying to escape. I know that,
but my situation is already dire at best, and when I think about
meeting Chi, my mind blurs and my rational thoughts turn to
fog.

I walk down the stairs to the
entrance of the school and take a few looks around before I cut
through the woods and head up the hill. Nature is on my side,
hiding me. I walk about a mile, scanning the area with caution the
entire time. When I reach the Arch, I step under it to find Chi
leaning against the stony wall, with his knee lifted up so his foot
touches the monument. The back of the Arch opens to the valley
below and the sight is incredible—all shades of green, with trees
always thriving and benefiting from the recurring
rainstorms.

I’m relieved Chi is here already.
It would have upset me if he hadn’t made a point of being on time.
I’m glad he truly wanted to meet me and wasn't just playing games.
He turns around and beams at me. His smile is breathtaking—his
teeth nicely aligned, white and perfect against his tanned skin.
His grin reaches his eyes, and he looks more handsome than I even
remembered.

This is trouble sent my way to
test me, and I want to fail so badly. I want to fall, fall so hard
I'll break as I hit the ground. I'm drawn to him by magnetism, a
strong pull I can't control, and I know I won’t be able to turn
back now. My insides are in knots, from fear, anxiety, and an
urgent need for him to touch me. I wonder what his lips would feel
like pressed against mine, and I pinch myself for even thinking
such a thing. I don’t know what's come over me. I avert my eyes as
his proximity makes my body shake. My cheeks burn under his stare
and my head spins. I'm sure he can sense my embarrassment, but he
does nothing to show that he has noticed anything.

“I’m glad you made it,” he says,
forcing me to look at him. “I was hoping you’d have the guts to
come. I guess I was right about you.”

I’m not sure what he means by
that. I can’t think straight. My heart is beating fast, pumping
blood to my head, loud and deafening, jumping over and over again,
almost tearing through me. Being here alone with him is
terrifying.

I just stand here and hold my
hands together so he doesn’t see them quivering. I don’t dare talk,
for fear of saying something dumb. I’m not sure I can keep my voice
steady either, and I don’t want him to know how much he’s affecting
me. But he's staring at the valley below us, with his hands in his
pockets, his demeanor calm and confident.

“Isn’t this view perfect?” he
asks.

“Yes, it is.” My voice shakes
slightly when I reply, and I want to slap myself for it. I try to
push the dread away and force my mouth open to speak. “Why did you
want to meet me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he
replies.

Well, of course it’s not obvious
or I wouldn’t ask. I want to tell him that and make him shut his
mouth. But it would come out as aggressive and there is no reason
why I should be defensive.

"Do I need a specific reason to
talk to a girl?"

He fully turns to me now, but I
stare at the scenery. I don’t want to meet his eyes; I might lose
myself in them.

“You looked so sad that day." My
heart squeezes at his words. He pauses and I force myself to face
him. "Like you were on the edge of a cliff or something," he adds
with a shrug. "I don’t know. I just thought maybe you could be a
part of us.”

I can’t make sense of what he’s
talking about.
What “us” is he referring to?
But what he
says hits me hard. I did feel miserable that day. And I’ve been
trying to hold on to life for a while now. His perspicacity stuns
me into silence. No one has ever bothered to know how I felt. How
disconcerting that Chi—a stranger—saw right through my façade! His
words disturb me somehow, but they don’t explain his interest in
me. I scowl at him.

“Okay. Okay,” he gives in, holding
his palms up before leaning toward me as if he meant to share some
secrets. “I also find you really cute and I wanted to meet you.
Sound good enough?”

I'm so shocked I stumble backward.
No boy has ever been that blunt with me before. It's quite rude,
and I want to remind him that I’m promised to William, but I
already know he doesn’t care. And deep inside, I know that I don’t
really care either. No matter how poorly-mannered Chi is being,
it's flattering in some way. No one has ever expressed any interest
in me before.

“What makes you think I’m
interested in you?” I reply. I don’t want him to think I’m some
foolish girl he can just play with, tossing her future away, before
running out of her life. I’ve heard such stories before, and they
were quite dreadful—girls who threw it all out the window for some
guys who were just playing with them.

“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?”
he says, his lips rising up on one side. “So I’m assuming you feel
some sort of interest in me. Either that, or you have some kind of
death wish. Considering the situation you’re in, I wouldn’t be
surprised if you did. But I just wanted to talk to you, and I kinda
hoped you’d be curious about me too, that's all. Why? Is that a
crime?”

His smile spreads across his face
as if this were but a joke to him. This guy is so arrogant.
Really, what does he know about the situation I’m in or anything
about my life?
And yes, it is a felony for us to meet.
How
can he be so nonchalant about it?

“I’ll have you know my situation
is not that bad, thank you very much. This conversation is getting
quite tiresome, and I might just leave now.” I say it without
moving a muscle because I truly don’t want to go. I actually hope
he won’t take my word for it and dare me to do it. No matter what
he says, I know he’s right and I can’t contradict him without
feeling inside my heart that I would be lying.

“Oh please! Like you want to marry
that jerk William!” He laughs, a small, sarcastic laughter that
feels like sand against my skin.

“Oh, because I guess you would be
a better match!” I retort, increasingly upset.

Chi's face turns sorrowful when I
say it, as if my words slapped him. But I still want to defend
William somehow. Though I don’t like William much, I can’t help
myself. Chi's behavior is making me mad. I take a step back and
walk away for good, but Chi runs after me and grabs my
arm.

"Please, don't go." His tone is
apologetic now. "You don't have to defend him, you know. Any girl
would deserve better than to end up with a guy like him, trust me.
I don’t have anything to offer you. I just wanna talk to you. You
can leave if you want, but I’m not used to begging and I won’t ask
you twice. You know, not all guys believe in this stupid society of
ours. Not all of us believe you're an object. Now, if you want to
leave, just go. I'm not gonna force you to stay."

I stop in my tracks and look back
at him. There's kindness in his eyes now, and genuine sweetness.
I've never seen such benevolence in William's gaze. Chi's sympathy
is warm and comforting—something I want to wrap myself into. But I
still know better than to think a man would consider me an
equal.

“What are you saying? That you
believe women are on the same scale as men? That women should have
rights? Who do you think you're kidding?"

“You can take my word for it or
not, it's all the same to me. I know I see you as a person and I'd
like to get to know that person. You can take it or leave
it.”

He shrugs as if he didn't really
care either way, but something flickers through his eyes, betraying
him. He's worried that I might leave without giving him a chance.
This is the second time he’s given me an ultimatum though. I want
to take him up on it and just leave it at that. But I can’t.
Something inside me is keeping me here and I don’t want to walk
away. I’ve already broken a lot of rules to meet him. I might as
well listen to what he has to say.

I cross my arms over my chest and
raise my chin. "How do I know William didn't send you to test
me?"

A laugh rolls in his throat, low
at first, and then louder and louder, as if my question were just
hilarious.

"What do you take me for?" he
asks. "I have better things to do than hang out with jerks like
him."

"You were talking to him at the
gymnasium," I insist.

"No, I was not. Trust me. I was
too busy looking at you," he says while raising an eyebrow. My
cheeks flame in an instant and my eyes widen just a bit.

He sits down in the grass, unaware
of my discomfort, and asks me to join him. I do so, but only
because I need to hide how much I'm shaking right now.

“I’m glad you came today," he
says. "Believe me, I know what it took for you to be here. I know
the risks. I like that you were brave enough to come.”

“I prefer not to think about what
would happen if my mother found out.”

“Well then, let’s make sure she
doesn’t.” He sends me a lazy smile. "You shouldn't leave too
late."

“Why did you want me to come
today? I mean, really.”

“This is bigger than you and me,
Thia.”

It’s the first time he says my
name. The sounds roll off his tongue delicately when he pronounces
it, "Thah-ee-ah." My heart skips a beat.

“How do you know my name?” I
ask.

“I did my research.” He locks his
eyes on mine. “Anyway, this whole thing is bigger than us. It’s
finally happening and when I saw you, I wanted you to be a part of
it. I heard you were promised to William. I know him, not too well,
mind you, but he’s not a nice guy. He's a robotic sheep at best. He
doesn't have the brains to question anything he's been fed." His
voice turns acidic as he says it. "And the way he was treating you
at the ball...I don't know, it just pissed me off. I don’t have
status to offer you, and I can’t promise you anything. I just wanna
get to know you. It's just crazy, a girl and a guy can’t even get
to know each other anymore. I saw you and I'd like to hang out with
you, if you'll let me. I don’t care if others don’t like
it.”

His words sound rebellious, so I
change the subject. “Can you explain that poem to me? The one you
gave me. What is it about?”

“Things out there are worse than
we think they are. And when I saw you that day..." He pauses, his
eyes still holding on to mine. "The look on your face, it was
heart-wrenching. You looked so fragile." He takes a deep breath.
"And beautiful." His gaze doesn't waver at all when he says it, and
I can't stop the somersault in my chest when the last word escapes
his mouth.