Him Fire, Her Ice

This story is loosely based on Zac Efron's Netflix documentary, "Down to Earth".

If I didn’t know better, I’d say the man was pulling out a small treasure chest from the frozen ground of Iceland, but I did know better. He was pulling out a finished loaf of rye bread from the black sands or hot springs. Regardless, the pretty blonde that he was with seemed to be more than impressed as if the guy with his millennial beard, was a miracle worker. Yeah, a real genius with his gray beanie propped on top of his head so the top half laid slack and the thin red flannel shirt that was keeping him so warm, he just had to keep his arms stuck to his sides with his hands in his pockets.

“Oh my God, Zac! How did you do that?” she squealed.

He just laughed, arrogantly and looked at his older buddy with a shit-eating grin. I’m sure he thought he was the best thing to this girl, since sliced bread. Pun intended.

           I rolled my eyes and wandered back over towards my tour group. We met an island native down by our hot spring. Brian showed us how we could boil eggs in a small pot of water in the hot springs.

           “13-15 minutes and they’re done.”

           A chorus of “Ooohs” and “aaaahs” rang out in unison. I was impressed, sure, we surely couldn’t do any of that back in Baltimore, but my attention seemed to keep drawing back to whoever Zac was back where my tour first came in. Designer jeans with holes in them and light brown suede boots probably weren’t the best choice of attire to go traipsing down into the boiling pits of Iceland. I pursed my lips at the thought of his ignorance and tried to focus on my guide again. Kim was chatting him up, as if she’d known him and was able to relate to everything he talked about. I loved her even though she was engaged to my sister, and I was jealous that she was stealing all of my sister’s attention lately.

           I walked a little closer to Brian, Kim, and some others and knelt to try and get a closer look at the gritty hot sands. My feet were hot standing on the wooden path but an annoying laugh pierced my thoughts and I turned to find the Three Stooges had for some reason joined our group.

           “Woah Miss. You might not want to be so close to the boiling springs,” Zac’s buddy said.

           I stood up, pulling my jeans up and pulling my shirt down over top. I felt way more exposed suddenly. Zac, his friend, and the blonde all looked at me with disdain.

           “He was just joshing you. Don’t worry about him,” Zac offered. Blondie crossed her arms in annoyance.

           Oh, I’m sorry Miss Priss that your boyfriend was talking to me for a half-second.

           “Thanks, I’m good,” I said snarkily.

           “Oh, I’ve no doubt,” he countered.

           “Excuse me?”

           Lauren and Kim scrambled over to my side.

           “Hey,” Kim interjected quickly. “Zac Efron, right?”

           “Yeah,” he said, looking at me but reaching his hand out to Kim for shaking. “Nice to meet you.”

           “It’s a pleasure. This is my fiancé Lauren, and her sister Joy.”

           Zac coughed while trying to cover a laugh. I was not amused. He wasn’t the first moron to laugh at my name and how my personality didn’t match it, but he didn’t know me and I didn’t care what he thought.

           Lauren smiled and reached out her hand to shake. Blondie seemed offended and introduced herself.

           “I’m Sharon. That’s Adam over there. We’re on tour with Zac for his documentary.”

Lauren and Kim both seemed thrilled to have met these people but I was bored and annoyed and ready to head out.

           “Great,” I said, squeezing my lips together and wiping my hands on my thighs. “You guys ready to head back?” I said to my sister.

           They could tell I was bothered and looked from me to one another. Everyone offered goodbyes and just as we started back, a voice spoke up to make us hesitate.

           “Hey, wait. I feel bad that messed up your tour, why don’t you guys let us treat you to dinner?” Zac offered.

           Before I could reject the offer, Kim snatched it up, with Lauren following suit.

           “We’d love to!”

I raised my eyebrows in surrender, and we all trekked back to the trucks.

           “Great, follow us.”

~

           We arrived at Dill just in time before my being hangry, got the better of me. We got what seemed to be the biggest table.

           “You guys have to try the reindeer,” Zac told us while telling the waiter at the time. The young waiter quickly wrote down on his little white pad, trying his best to keep up with the long, and what I was sure, was an order to not only show off for his blonde girlfriend, Oh, I’m sorry Sharon, and Adam. “But maybe Joy wants something more serious, like smoked dung carrot,” he giggled and brought his hand up to rest on his lips.

           I brought my eyes to his and squinted, hard.

           I half expected him and Adam to continue to mock me but while everyone else laughed and chattered amongst themselves, Zac didn’t break eye contact.

           I felt a flutter in my stomach that I couldn’t tell apart from hunger or something else.

           The waiter came back just in time with his famous reindeer pieces sprawled out on large stones, as opposed to plates, and the rest of the large order that Zac made followed shortly.

           “I can’t believe you didn’t know who Zac Efron was,” Adam genuinely shocked and laughed, looked from me to Kim and Lauren. At least that explained the arrogance and entitlement.

           “Does she not watch t.v.?” Sharon asked Lauren.

           “Not really, she likes to read.”

           Adam and Sharon raised their eyebrows and smirked at each other, but Zac stayed constant.

           “What genres?” he asked me with seriousness.

           Weird, that he assumed I liked more than one, but I was slightly impressed.

           “Psychological thrillers, historical fiction, fantasy, contemporary. I like them all.”

           “All of them, really? Horror? Are you a King fan?”

           “First, I don’t think King is a horror fan, but now I don’t read a lot of horror. I’ve read a few short stories by Joe Hill, but they didn’t really do anything for me. I’m more intrigued with,” I was cut off mid-sentence by Adam.

           “Erotica?” He asked laughingly. He and Sharon both laughed and while Kim smirked, to be polite, she and Lauren were both getting annoyed with Zac’s friends.

           “History and novels that make me think,” I finished, looking from Adam to Zac, who was still watching me intently. “And you?”

           “I like Alex Michaelides, Markus Zusak, C.S. Lewis, and,”

           “Nora Roberts?” Adam laughed.

           “No, I’m more of a Colleen Hoover fan,” Zac said.

           I couldn’t help or hide smiling then.

           “Who is Colleen Hoover?” Lauren asked no one in particular.

           I looked from her to Zac and felt heat rise in my cheeks.

           “She’s a contemporary author,” I said.

           “Does contemporary mean sex?” Sharon asked, more seriously now.

           I dragged my eyes away from Zac long enough to smile at her now.

           “Not always, but when it’s there, it’s there,” I spoke.

           Slightly embarrassed she nodded, and the subject was changed.

~

           When dinner was finished, Zac suggested we walk down to OmNom, a famous chocolate shop in Iceland. The trip had already been amazing, seeing the hot springs, the volcano, the various tours of factories, and such, but getting some famous chocolate would surely be the best yet to come.

           We walked in pairs from Dill to the chocolate, and I somehow ended up walking next to Zac.

           “You really didn’t know who I was?” he asked, dubiously.

           “No,” I said under my breath and laughed a little.

           “That’s a first, for a young American girl anyway. I kind of like it.”

           “I’m glad,” I said, smiling.

           “You’re really pretty when you’re not angry.”

           “Haha. He’s a movie star and a comedian, ladies, and gentlemen.”

           We both laughed.

           “But seriously, I was really surprised you knew those authors. Those were some pretty great ones, you named.”

           “Well, when you’re on planes, tour busses, and in hotels all the time, it’s either t.v., your phone, or books. I choose books. Besides, some of the best movies come from books. Look at Lord of the Rings.”

           He wasn’t wrong. Mostly.

           “True but look at Divergent. Little Women or The Mortal Instruments series. Well, I guess, you wouldn’t have read those.”

           He smiled and shook his head in agreement.

           “Though Little Women is on my list to read. All the great classics are.”

           “You’re pretty surprising Zac Efron.”

           “As are you, Joy. The name shows through when you talk about what you love.”

           I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear, and stepped up through the door, Zac held open for me.