"Hey, man. My parents will be away this weekend and I'll be having a party over at my place. Want to come? There'll be drinks and everything."
Robert Zheng listened to the invitation of his friend Marcus. He wasn't really into parties and gatherings of that sort in general. Having immigrated from China at the age of 12, he had initially been self-conscious of his English and thus avoided social interactions. Though his language skills swiftly improved, his shyness had persisted throughout his teenage years. Now, as an 18-year-old high school senior, Robert seemed like a typical nerd. He preferred indoor activities, shied away from social occasions and by and large, he kept to himself. He had a pleasant-looking face and was of average height, standing at 5'10" but his body was skinny from lack of exercise. He also excelled in academics and despite his usual introversion, he often agreed to help his classmates with their schoolwork and had a knack for explaining concepts to them.
Robert lacked close friends for most of this time. While he was respected by his classmates for his willingness to help them out, his interactions with them were primarily limited to schoolwork. Over the past half-year, however, he had struck up an unlikely friendship with Marcus Brooks. Marcus was the school's star basketball player and consequently, one of the most popular boys there. Standing at 6'4", his flowing blonde locks, his handsome facial features, and his toned body ensured that he was an object of desire for the girls around him. Even Robert had to admit how attractive he was.
Marcus's easy confidence stood in contrast to Robert's shyness and despite being classmates, they inhabited completely different social spheres. Six months ago, Marcus had been dismayed by his troubles with his studies and had approached Robert for help. And so it was that Robert visited Marcus's house many times for intensive tutoring sessions. He would then be invited to stay back after the sessions and have dinner with Marcus's family or watch TV together. Robert was appreciative of this treatment and he found that Marcus was his first peer that he could really talk to and meet outside school. The latter had also encouraged Robert to go on outings with his other friends. A part of him had always wanted to open up and gain new friends. But thus far, his doubts had always conquered him, telling him that it was not a good idea to intrude on existing social groups, that others saw him as this serious boy who wasn't really friend material.
It was with this in mind that Robert listened to Marcus's new request. Parties, he would normally reject out of hand, but amid his other doubts, he also felt that he had been a little ungrateful for his prior rejections of Marcus's earnest attempts to include him. He thought that for the sake of courtesy, he could easily spare a few hours, exchange a few idle words with the other partygoers and find a corner of the room to snack on his own. Thus, he found himself responding.
"Sure, I'll come. What's the actual time? And who else will be there?" he added.
Marcus broke out into a big smile "Cool, I'm so glad you could join us. The party will start at 6 on Saturday. There'll be around 10 of us there, Harold, Salim, Jenny, Tiffany, the usual group. Jenny's also bringing along a friend who's not from our school, you probably won't know her. Well, there are a few others I need to invite, I'll catch you later."
Robert's ears perked up at Jenny's name. Jenny Ng was like him, a Chinese-American, and Robert had maintained a crush on her, finding her to be the most attractive girl in his class. She was tall for a girl, at 5'8". She had a pretty face topped by short black hair and the sweet smile she often wore set Robert's heart aflutter whenever he saw it. She played badminton doubles at state level and as an athlete, she had a fit, trim body and was part of the popular crowd. She seemed to have a new boyfriend every few months and had in fact, dated Marcus briefly during the previous year. She didn't seem to have one at the present moment, though. Jenny had always been pleasant to him and had in fact, frequently sought for his help in her schoolwork. Their relationship had never progressed past a cordial one though and they had never met outside school.
Jenny had remained good friends with Marcus even after their breakup and more than once, Robert had pondered over the possibility of having Marcus help him pursue something more with her. It felt awkward to him though and so he contented himself with just gazing wistfully at her and enjoying their time together, even if it was just at school. This party though, would he dare strike up a proper conversation and find out more about her? These thoughts went through his mind just as Jenny came into his view.
"Hi, Robert. Sorry to bother you again but could you help me with Physics after school? I'm so far behind right now."
His reply was short as usual. "Sure, that's alright."
"Thanks, you're such a lifesaver. Catch you later." Then she went to her seat, chatting with her friends before class started.
Robert was pleased with the opportunity of spending time with her. Yet, he cursed himself for not being able to speak more casually with her. He found out later that Jenny had just lost early on in the junior state championships over the weekend.
After class, he was alone with Jenny in an empty classroom, poring over books. Outwardly, she was her usual bubbly self but Robert could see that she seemed rather discontented and was more distracted than usual.
"Jenny, are you alright?" he asked cautiously.
"Oh, sorry, I lost attention for a second. I'll get right back to it," she said as she looked over her book again with exaggerated eagerness.
"We can take a break for a minute. Jenny, I'm sorry about your result in the championship," he responded, thinking that it was a possible reason for her unhappiness.
She smiled at him. "Thanks. It's not a big deal. Everyone loses and the important thing is to have fun. Or not really," she added as her eyes darkened.
They continued their session for another half hour. Though Jenny tried her best and maintained her smile, Robert could somehow sense that she was not merely disappointed with a poor result. He was caught in two minds though. Should he try to console her further? Or would it be presumptuous of him to continue to probe, given that they weren't close? He tried to put his own feelings aside and thought that she probably needed someone to confide in.
"Jenny, is anything else the matter? You really haven't been yourself today. I'm here if you need someone to talk to," he found himself saying.
She looked sadly at him and replied. "I'm thinking about quitting badminton. I love it, but I know that I'm not good enough to make it professionally. And with all the training and competitions, it's been taking up too much of my time. I should just focus on my studies and enter a good college. To be honest, I feel guilty about constantly seeking your help. I really ought to be able to pull myself up without wasting your time in the process."
Robert looked back into her eyes and gathered his thoughts for a moment. "Jenny," he finally said. "You've put a lot of thought into this and I'm sure you'll make the right decision for yourself in the end. I'm more than happy to help you though, I really wouldn't spend this time any more productively. If you need to," he slowly added, "I could provide more tutoring to you beyond these short sessions."
"Thanks, you're the first person I'm telling this about. I haven't even discussed this with my partner yet. I'll talk to my parents as well and probably make my decision by next week. Sorry to impose on you further but could we continue this session tomorrow. You're right, I haven't been myself, I'll try to do better tomorrow."
After packing up, the two of them walked together to the school's exit. Before they parted ways, Jenny gave Robert's hand a small squeeze. "Thanks again, you've been so sweet. I'll think about your offer. See you tomorrow." Then, she was gone, leaving Robert blushing at their contact. He hoped that she hadn't noticed how his face had gone red at a simple touch.
Robert continued helping Jenny after school for the rest of the week. As per her word, she was indeed more focused and the majority of their interactions were related to schoolwork again. He considered asking Jenny about whether she had made progress in her decision, then decided not to put further pressure on her.
On Thursday, Jenny had asked him, "Robert, I've heard from Marcus that you're attending his party this Saturday. Is it true?"
Robert responded, "Yes, I'm coming. I've actually been to his house many times, though not for something like this."
Jenny smiled brightly at him. "I'm so glad you're coming. Come to think of it, I don't think you've joined us outside school before. It'll be fun."
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