“I gotta pee so bad.”
“That’s your own damn fault. You finished your boba before mine even came out.”
“Well I just had a simple passion fruit iced tea. You had some complicated shit. And you know how quickly I drink things.”
“Should’ve just peed when we were at the cafe.”
It was probably the first time hanging out with her in Orange County. She was going to school at UCLA and lived on campus so we’d hang out in West LA, Downtown LA or even my area. But… Orange County is where her family lived and it was summer.
“I didn’t have to pee at that point… Now I gotta stop by McDicks to pee before I get on the freeway.”
“Whatever. You can just pee at my house when you drop me off.”
“Aren’t your parents home?”
“Nah it’s just my sister and maybe our cousin. My dad’s still at the shop until 10 and my mom’s visiting family in Texas until tomorrow.”
“Oh…”
“You wouldn’t have to worry about my dad any way. He doesn’t care about the people I bring home unless I’m dating them… but that’s for obvious reasons.”
“Nice guy turned overprotective Asian father?”
“Catholic overprotective Vietnamese Father.”
She never really talked about her family before then. Not really a broken home from what I learned later, but I guess her time away from home just gave her an escape from that Asian family pressure. It’d just be her talking about school, current events, and life… in general.
“Yeah I’ve dealt with them before… What’s your sister’s name? So… I can introduce myself and not be totally awkward.”
“Probably won’t be necessary. She hardly leaves her room unless for school or work.”
“Oh.”
We finally pull up to her driveway. It’s a pretty nice house.
“But anyway her name is Amy with an I.”
“Eye-mee? I-M-Y?”
“What the hell? Are you retarded? A-M-I. Her Japanese name is Ah-mee, but because kids in the schools here fucked it up she just westernized it as Amy.”
“Honest mistake…”
“Guest restroom’s first door on the left when you enter.”
I go to use the restroom while she walks to the kitchen. I hear talking elsewhere in the house and giggling. I wash my hands and open the door. As I leave the restroom…
“This, Ami, is the idiot that thought your name was I Miss You.”
I turn to see her standing next to a slightly taller, slightly thinner, younger, cuter, more “blessed” version of her, hiding her giggle behind her hand and glasses. This girl is beautiful. My mouth gets dry, there’s a weird feeling in my stomach and I’m at a loss for words but I fumble around before I finally stick my hand out.
“Hi, I’m Khoi.”
She shakes my hand shyly then walks back to the kitchen.
“You’re an idiot, Khoi.”
“I thought you said she never leaves her room.”
“She’s a total nerd, you guys probably won’t get along. Summer classes so she’s studying in the kitchen. But unlike you, she’s going to use those credits to graduate high school and college early and not as an excuse to dick around for 2 semesters.”
I nervously laugh. This girl is way way way way way out of my league.
“I should leave now, thanks for letting me use the restroom.”
“I even gave you her name and you were still totally awkward. Well her silence didn’t help any way but… Okay, bye. Tell your girlfriend I said ‘Hi!'”
I snapped back to reality. I can’t believe I forgot I had a girlfriend at that point in time…
—
This was back in 2008. Life was different back then. I was more confident. I was even lazier but still had drive. I had a lot of friends that I don’t even know where they are or even if they alive today. I was boastful. I was an asshole, yet I was awkward in this situation. We wouldn’t meet again until fall came around but it was a lasting impression even though she didn’t even say a word. Even as she becomes more and more of a distant memory, I remember our first acquaintance to this day.
