Kerosene Hearts

iii.

Mid-August
Zelda

If anyone who had just arrived at a foreign country decided that it would be a good idea to wander around on their own, I would tell them they were out of their mind. But since this was me wandering, and I knew how to handle myself just fine, I would just skip that.

Not everybody would agree though.

"Hey Zelda. Where are you?"

"I don't know," I said honestly through the phone. "I'm just walking around the area."

"You don't know?" Karen, who thought that it would be cool to host an exchange student for a year, was probably regretting her decision now. "Are you lost? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I promised, completely relaxed. "I know my way back. I'm just not sure where I am."

That made more sense when I said it in my head.

I wasn't surprised when she didn't sound convinced. "You sure?"

"Yep."

Silence. The she sighed quietly. "Just- call any of us if you need someone to pick you up, okay?"

"Will do. Thanks."

To my defence, it had already been three days since I arrived in this town. I had unpacked most everything, gotten to know the neighbours, and taken a tour around the school I would be attending. I had wanted to walk around and get to know the environment for a while now, so I did today. I informed my host family as well. With a sticky note. Not the best thing I could have done, but I wasn't used to having to report to people about what I was doing, or where I was going, or when. It made me feel trapped. Besides, I could hardly breathe and be on my own in a household of three out of five siblings and their parents.

With the end of the phone call, I shoved my phone back into my pocket and continued my wandering. It was getting hotter as the time neared noon, but the weather was still pretty good. At least it wasn't humid. Humidity and heat made a horrible combination. The only thing worse than that would be humidity and coldness.

I took in my surroundings as I walked, slowing when a craft store came into view. It was empty, save for a couple of employees here and there, but it didn't feel like that at all. Despite the size of the store, the cramped space made it look smaller than it actually was. I hadn't seen that happen a lot around the area, so I decided to walk in, intrigued.

"Hello," a blonde haired girl greeted me, smiling, when I was barely three steps into the shop. "Can I help you with anything?"

I still remember how freaked out I was when this first happened to me- people coming up to me and asking if I needed any help when I hadn't even started looking. It was polite and nice of them, really, but I most likely wouldn't know what I wanted yet. I had grown accustomed to it by now, though.

"I'll look around for a bit first," I politely declined with what I hoped was an equally friendly smile. "But thank you."

She nodded. "No problem. Just let us know if you need any help."

With her retreat, I resumed to looking around the place. The whole place smelled like fresh wood and paint, and I was loving it. The front of the store was bright and filled with sunshine, and it consisted of mainly wood colours and warm hues, while the back seemed to be slightly darker but more colourful. With peeking interest, I went through the craft supplies at the front, slowly making my way to the back.

And then I held my breath, impressed.

It was moments like this when I wished I could slap two heart shapes on my eyes, because damn. Against the walls at the back of the store were shelves, filled and lined with all kinds of paints in all kinds of colours. Some of them were in tubs, others in tubes, in pans, in palettes, in spraying cans. Right by the paints were other art supplies- brushes, pencils, charcoal, pastels, markers... I couldn't even name all of them.

"You like painting?"

I almost jumped at the sudden interruption. Turning to my right, I saw a boy in an apron, putting a basket of paint tubes on a nearby shelf.

Feeling self-concious, like I was a deer caught in the headlights, my cheeks warmed. "I do paint, yeah."

He grinned at me. "I paint too. I'm an oil paints type of guy. You?"

"I'm more into acrylic and watercolours," I told him, slowly warming up to him. I could usually do small talks fairly easily, but I seemed to have trouble keeping the conversation flowing at the moment. I wasn't used to sharing about my more artistic hobbies. It was something I didn't exactly try to keep to myself but ended up doing so anyways, and I decided that I liked it that way.

He didn't seem to notice my current lack of communication skills, however, probably too busy putting things in place to pay any mind to me. Still, the conversation went on. "Really? Cool. I don't think I've seen you around before. Do you live here?"

"I'm staying around this area for a while," I said, shifting my weight from one leg to another, trying my best not to look awkward. "As an exchange student."

Hearing that, he looked up at me, his eyes now glinting with interest and curiosity. "Really? Where are you from?"

"Hong Kong."

He blinked, looking surprised. "Wow," he finally said, getting back to working, glancing at me only briefly every now and then. "That's pretty far from here."

"It is," I agreed, then switched the topic so we didn't have to talk about me. "What about you? Are you born and raised here?"

He grimaced, and I decided that a smile or a grin would suit him much better. "Yeah. I don't think I'm ever getting out of here, either. There's only so far a high school drop out can go."

I tilted my head to the side, observing him closer now. He did look pretty young. "The system's not cut for you, huh?"

He shrugged. "The system's not cut for a lot of people. I'm only one out of many."

"I'm sure you can still go a long way though," I encouraged him, disagreeing with what he said earlier. "Have a little faith in yourself. Success doesn't look the same to everyone. It works in more ways than one."

He paused his actions. His eyesbrows shot up in surprise, and I wondered for a moment if I went too far. But then a more genuine grin cracked on his face, and he looked at me with a different glint in his hazel eyes. "You sure are optimistic, aren't you?"

I chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. I'm a pessimist that likes to dream big and try things I'm not sure I can do."

His grin widened even more, and I noticed he had stopped working altogether now. "How's that working for you so far?"

"I'd like to think that if I keep it up, I wouldn't regret anything when I die," I said honestly, shrugging. "But oh well, I wouldn't know just yet."

He laughed. "I think you're right. What's your name?"

I cringed internally. "Zelda."

"Good name. Wouldn't be surprised if you did end up being a legend someday," he said, amused. "I'm Henry. Pleasure meeting you."

"Same goes to you," I returned, picking up several large tubes of acrylic paint, as well as a pad of watercolour paper. "I should probably go now, though. I'll see you around?"

He almost looked disappointed, but he perked up again shortly. "I do hope so. Actually, to make sure you come back, I'm gonna give you a discount."

My eyes widened. "No, no, that's not necessary-"

"Cady!" he shouted, ignoring me completely. "Give Zelda here a discount when she pays, okay? I have a feeling she's gonna be a regular."

"Sure!" Cady, after a second, shouted back.

He batted his eyelashes at me and smiled way too inoocently. "See you around, Zelda."