Krystal’s bedroom is a mess of high school flyers, admission paperwork, and printouts of school uniforms strewn across the floor. Krystal sits on her desk, face in her hands. Before her are the three options she narrowed down from a list of schools where she had been accepted. On her bed, a yawning Amber tosses a mini basketball to the ceiling and catches it.

“Tell me again why you want to go to Hanseong?”

“They have a good music program, but the downside is it’s a two-hour commute. Every day.”

“Yikes. And their basketball team is crap, don’t go there.” Amber rolls to lie on her stomach and props her chin up on her fist, eyeing the papers on Krystal’s desk. “Option two?”

Krystal reddens. “The uniform is cute.”

Amber bursts out laughing and chucks a pillow at Krystal. “You’re not serious, I hope. Anyway, option three?”

“They have a good arts program, a good athletics program, and it’s only a thirty-minute drive from my house.”

Grinning, Amber sits up, beaming like an angel. “You’re forgetting the best part! I go there.”

Krystal rolls her eyes and faces Amber. “You’re not seriously saying I should go to [3] because you go there, loser.” She tosses back the pillow, hitting Amber’s face.

“But it’s such a good deal! We have courses you like, we have a pretty good track team that you can totally join, and I’m there to show you around and keep you from being bullied and stuff.” Amber tugs on Krystal’s hand. “If you pick Chungdam, I will buy you bubble tea every day for the first month of school.”

Gasping playfully, Krystal dives in bed beside Amber, tackling her down. “You’re bribing me? What makes you think I’m bribe-able? You insult me.”

“Is that a no, then?”

“No, stupid. It’s not a no.” Krystal says, ever nonchalant. “I already accepted their admission offer.”

“What?!” Amber smiles even brighter than ever, if that was possible. She curls her arms around Krystal’s waist and gives it a squeeze. “Now I can’t wait for school this year.”

Krystal smiles, her fingers running along the short hairs on the back of Amber’s black hair. “You still have to buy me bubble tea for the first month, stupid.”

“That is a sacrifice I’m willing to make, princess.” Amber says with a solemnity that melts Krystal’s heart. She rolls her eyes, ducks her head, and buries her face in Amber’s shirt, eliciting a small laugh from the older girl, who Krystal’s back until she falls asleep. After all, it’s almost three in the morning.

“Today’s the big day!” Mama Jung declares, smoothing out the stray hairs from the back of Krystal’s head. “My baby girl’s first day of high school! Are you nervous?”

With a piece of toast in , Krystal downs it with juice and shakes her head. “Not really.”

Papa Jung looks at his daughter from the top of the newspaper he’s reading. “When is Amber getting here?”

To answer his question, the front door opens and in steps Amber. Her white uniform shirt is crumpled and untucked, her tie loose and wrapped around her neck. She greets Krystal’s parents with a familiar hug and smile before situating herself on the seat across from Krystal. So that’s why there’s an empty plate there, Krystal muses.

“What time does class start again?” Mama Jung asks, taking the pan full of freshly-cooked eggs and dumping them on Amber’s plate. “It would be horrible if you’re both late for your first day.”

“It’s not until 8:30, but we’re going there a teensy bit early so me and Krystal can pick up our schedules and find where her homeroom is,” explains Amber mid-bite. “That way I can also show you where the classrooms are and stuff.”

After Amber eats her breakfast, they grab their bags. Krystal’s parents stand in the foyer while the two students put on their shoes. Krystal looks fresh and new in her crisp, ironed uniform. A stark difference to Amber’s rumpled look.

“I do wish you’d let me iron your shirt, Amber.” Mama Jung says.

“Don’t worry about it! This is how you tell the difference between a freshman and a junior.” Amber grins and slings her bag on her back.

Krystal kisses her parents goodbye and walks out with Amber and into her car. They drive in a comfortable silence that Amber fills with soft music, which Krystal is grateful for. She’s not really in the mood to hear some encouraging speech. She fears the possibility that she won’t make any friends. Especially since she’s shy, and her resting face is deemed unfriendly.

“You’re nervous,” Amber observes, glancing at Krystal as she makes the turn into the student parking lot. “Want to tell me about it?”

Krystal makes an exasperated sound. “What if I don’t make any friends?”

“Krys, it’s only the first day. You’re going to have plenty of time to do make friends in your classes. But my tip, of course, is to be yourself. What’s the point in acting differently to make friends? Those won’t be real friends because they don’t get to know the real you. I’m not saying you should over share,” she says when Krystal makes a face. “But just go with the flow.”

“But what if I’m not good at going with the flow?”

“You are, you just have to relax and let it happen.” Amber unlocks the doors and they both step out. They walk the short distance from the parking lot to the school building where a few freshmen are milling about with their friends from their previous schools. Older students are there as well, some playing basketball at the court, others sitting on park benches along the perimeter of the building.

Amber and Krystal enter and already there is a line formed where the school administrators are handing out class schedules. While they wait in line, students pass by Amber who recognize her, greeting her with smiles and high fives.

“S’up, Amber.”

“Hi, Am!”

Amber returns their smiles with ease. To those who stop to talk to her, she introduces Krystal. The younger girl murmurs her hellos, already overwhelmed by the amount of people Amber knows.

“I didn’t know you were this popular,” Krystal says when they are left alone for a whole minute. “I remember when you were the shy one and you let me drag you around the park to play with other kids.”

“I still let you drag me around,” Amber comments. “But that’s what basically happens when you act like yourself. At some point, someone is going to like you.” She bumps Krystal’s shoulder with hers and grins.

They make it to the front of the line and Amber says her last name in exchange for a sheet of paper that outlines her courses. Krystal does the same.

“Your homeroom is in English, so it’s upstairs.” Amber stands behind Krystal and rests her chin on her shoulder to get a good look at her schedule. “That usually means it’s your first class of the day so you don’t have to worry about moving.”

Amber shows her around, introducing her to more people in the process. They’re all older though, so none are in Krystal’s grade which defeats the purpose, she thinks. But still, she lets Amber have her fun. In the process, she forgets the anxiety that is burning inside her.

“And that’s it, basically.” They’re at the front of the school again, and it’s more crowded than before. “You okay, princess?” Amber throws her arm around Krystal’s shoulders and rubs the length of her arm. “You know the drill, right? Text me and I come running, ever your loyal servant.”

Krystal smiles and squeezes Amber’s hand. “Yeah, I know. Thanks, Am.”

The first week of school passes in a flurry of introductions and tentative friendships. Much to Krystal’s surprise, she makes one or two friends in most of her classes and that’s enough for her. She now has a small group of people to eat lunch with, and it’s a weight off her back. She has something to tell her parents during dinner that’s not about Amber, but of course she comes up in conversation once in a while.

Amber often appears out of nowhere when Krystal is walking out of a classroom, swipes her books from her hands and escorts her to her next class. At first, there were whispers around Krystal when Amber drops her off in front of a classroom, but it was mostly because Amber was third year paying special attention to a freshman.

“You’re going to bleed me dry, princess.” Amber groans as she buys Krystal yet another cup of bubble tea.

“You’re the one who bribed me.”

“Without knowing that it was useless and unneeded!”

Krystal laughs and shakes her head, offering the cup to Amber. She smiles and takes a lengthy sip from the drink. “You don’t have to keep buying me bubble tea. I’m getting sick of it too, and it can’t be too good for me. Too much sugar.”

Amber sighs in playful relief. It’s lunch time and she is dropping Krystal off to her friends. Amber meets her while heading out of Math class claiming her need to spend at least ten minutes with the princess. She waves to Krystal’s friends and parts from Krystal with a hand on her shoulder and a promise to see each other later.

“What’s your relationship with Amber?” One of her friends Eunyoung, asks. “You two seem really close.”

“We’ve been friends since forever. Like when I was six and she was eight.”

“Lucky,” Subin sighs dreamily. “She’s so attractive and super friendly. I know someone from my art class has the biggest crush on her. How do you not?”

“Amber?” Krystal laughs and shakes her head. “No way, she’s like family to me. No way.” She says again, incredulous.

“So is she single then?”

Krystal narrows her eyes. “As far as I know. Why?”

A few lunch tables away, there is murmuring coupled with discreet looks at Krystal who does not notice.

They sit in Amber’s apartment, JackJack and Gongju both snoozing on Krystal’s lap while the coffee table is covered with textbooks and course handouts. The older lives alone, as her parents and sister left to live in Los Angeles while Amber elected to stay in South Korea under the care of Krystal’s parents. She is in the middle of explaining how to do the quadratic formula to Krystal when she recalls the conversation earlier that day.

“Did you know my friends have a total crush on you?” She asks with a laugh, still unable to believe it.

“Hey, what’s wrong with that?” Amber throws a piece of potato chip on Krystal’s head, eliciting a scream from the younger girl. She brushes off the crumbs off her hair. Amber does a hair flip and bats her eyelashes. “I don’t blame them though; I’m amazing.”

Rolling her eyes, Krystal keeps looking at Amber. “They asked me if you were dating anyone like they’re really serious about dating you.” She scoffs. “As if.”

“I’m not dating anyone, no.” Amber says absently while she shows Krystal how to solve f(x) problems. “Having a girlfriend or a boyfriend would just get in the way right now. Plus you know me. When I fall in love, I want it to be the first and the last time.”

“Such a hopeless romantic,” Krystal says with a dreamy smile on her face that Amber laughs at, her ears reddening. “Be careful, Am. What if I fall in love with you?”

Amber shakes her head at that, locks of black hair shielding her eyes from Krystal’s amused eyes. “Don’t get my hopes up, princess.” She jokes.

During a moment before class starts, Krystal steps out of the classroom to go to her locker and pick up a book she would need for her next class. Rifling through the stacks of textbooks and beauty accessories, she doesn’t hear the approach of footsteps.

“Are you Krystal Jung?”

She looks up and is suddenly face to face with Eun Seo. She’s a senior, Krystal knows. Amber mentions her from time to time, often with a weird look on her face, as if she was uncomfortable even mentioning this person’s name. “I am,” she replies, uncertain. “Why?”

“Are you and Amber dating or something?” Eun Seo asks—but more like demands, Krystal thinks. “I always see you two together.”

Krystal raises her brow and stares down at the girl. She may be older, but Krystal has an ice queen for a sister who taught her everything she knows. “She’s not here with me right now.”

Eun Seo rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I’m just saying you two look like you’re dating.”

“Who Amber is to me is none of your business.”

“Because if you are dating Amber, then that’s disgusting.” Eun Seo makes a face, a look of repulsion that irritates Krystal more than anything. “If I were you, I’d keep my distance from Amber. You wouldn’t want to lose your friends now, would you? What if the entire school finds out you’re a gross lesbian?”

A chill courses through Krystal’s body, a tension stiffening her spine. The older girl flashes her a smug smirk and saunters away, leaving Krystal with nothing to say, and a fear crafting a tense spring inside her.

Is that what people saw when she and Amber are together? Krystal closes her locker door and returns to class, shaken. Suddenly, people are staring at her. Those who are whispering in unintelligible voices are talking about her and Amber. Those who are laughing are laughing at her.

Her legs start to shake and her breathing comes in shallow, ragged gasps. Krystal shoots up from her seat and excuses herself to the bathroom in an attempt to calm down and forget the confrontation ever happened.