I roll over in bed and groan as I slam my head against the wood. I bring a hand up to rub it cautiously, certain that an enormous bump will have swollen up there before long. I push my hair out of my face and flop back onto my pillow, staring up at the ceiling. It’s just another school day, and I feel as grey as the weather outside. 

A buzzing from my bedside table catches my attention, and I pick up my phone. It’s a text from my boyfriend Wonwoo. 

Good morning babe! :) 

It’s not. It’s wet and cold and dark and I can’t be screwed replying right now. I put my phone back and sigh. It’s not that I don’t care about Wonwoo, it’s just that we’ve lost that joking and fun aspect of our relationship. I’m not really a friend of his anymore, I’m just his girlfriend. It’s hard to explain, but there’s a difference. 

I’m still staring at the ceiling when, five minutes later, my phone buzzes again. 

Are you free to go get a coffee after school? And btw, you should be out of bed now :P

These are the kind of texts that make me smile. The ones when he’s gently teasing, like he’s one of my best friends, the ones when he knows enough about me to guess that I’m still in bed, those are the times when I’m glad we’re still in a relationship. 

I prop myself up on an elbow, about to text him back, but suddenly, for some reason, I don’t feel like it. I lay my phone back down, and then force myself to swing my legs out of bed. I’ll give Wonwoo one thing: He’s right. I should be out of bed and getting ready for school by now. 

I rummage through my wardrobe, and throw on a maroon and white top, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans that have been rolled up at the bottom, a pair of maroon canvas shoes, and a baggy knitted navy blue cardi with big wooden buttons. I shuffle into the bathroom to wash my face, still half asleep. Breathing into the steam, the hot water wakes me up a little, enough for me to make a decent job of my makeup ﴾just some mascara, tinted moisturiser and lip balm﴿ but I can’t be bothered doing anything special with my hair. Like I said, it’s just another school day. 

After a long bus ride, I get to school and go to get my books. I slam my locker door shut – I got the crappy one, the one that doesn’t shut unless you put all your weight into it. Cradling my books in my arms, I weave my way through the crowd, searching for a familiar face. The sound of the school bell makes me realize I’m too late to catch up with anyone I know before class, and I’ll have to go to biology alone like always. There’s no one I know in my bio class and I get kind of lonely in it. I pick up my pace, not really looking where I’m going, and nearly run down another girl. 

"Oh, God, I’m so..." I begin to say, then realize that she’s talking to some friends and probably didn’t notice me. I’m about to continue walking on, when she suddenly turns and bangs heavily into me. 

"Oh, God, I’m sorry," she says. Against my will, my mouth quirks up. She said nearly the same thing I did. Although that means she obviously didn’t notice me when I nearly ran into her and I was just talking to the air before. 

"It’s ok," I say, rubbing my shoulder. "my fault."

She laughs. "Of course it wasn’t. Hey, you look familiar." She stares at me for a second, then snaps her fingers. "Of course. We’re in the same bio class together."

I recognized her then. Her name was Mina. She sits a few rows behind me in class, with a big group of friends. Despite spending the whole lesson talking to them, she almost always has her hand up to answer every question.

"Yeah," I say. "You’re Mina, aren’t you?'

She grins. "Yeah. And I’m sorry, I’ve just forgotten your name," she says apologetically and slightly awkwardly. 

I force a smile. I sit alone and bio, and I get average grades, so it’s not like I’m exactly memorable. "I’m Momo."

Recognition flickers over her face. "Oh, I knew that. Like I said, just forgot. This is going to sound so weird, but I remember you because you have such a great fashion sense." 

I laugh, looking down at my outfit. "You call this a great fashion sense?"

"Okay, maybe that outfit isn’t fantastic," she acknowledges, "but it’s not bad or anything."

I notice that her friends are trying to get her attention. One of them says something to her and she nods. "We should probably be getting to class. Want to come sit at our table? We have a spare seat."

I’m about to decline, but I suddenly realize I’d be stupid to do so. Mina seems so friendly, she’s so genuine, she’ll say whatever she’s thinking – and I’ve been sitting alone in bio this entire year anyway. 

"That’d actually be great," I say. 

She gives me a beautiful smile. "C’mon then. We have like 30 seconds to get there before we’re late."

The corridors have emptied, and she suddenly sprints ahead, then turns around and laughs. "Come on! What, too shy to run through the school? I’ll race you!"

I hesitate for a second, then shove my books into my bag, and take off after her. Weeks later, I would fall in love with her free spirit, but for now I just chase after her, thinking nothing more of her than as an awesome person. 

Bio is about to get a hundred times better.