A whistling sounded as the kettle came to a boil and Momo waved away the steam that rose, lifting away its cover. She poured the water into two china cups and brought them over to her desk. She glanced around the room and nodded to herself, pleased that everything was in order. There was a knock on the door and Momo looked down at her skirt and blouse before calling out, “Come in.” There was a rustlings of paper bags as Sana entered the room, her face red from being out of breath. “Sorry,” she said, as she set down the bags. “There was a really long queue at the store.” Momo nodded and greeted her with a hug before helping move the bags into the apartment.

‘Don’t let yourself get comfortable. I’m not just going to let you copy my work this time. But I’ll help you if you have trouble with anything.’

Sana uttered a curse and groaned softly. “But it’s so hard. I don’t understand how to do the questions in the book,” she complained. Momo turned from her tea press and frowned at her friend. “That kind of thinking is what holds you back. You need to try harder,” she replied, putting the used glassware into the sink. She sat down at the table and Sana scooted next to her sipping from one of the china cups. She rested her head on Momo’s shoulder and sighed contently.

‘This is so good. You make the best tea.’

Momo pushed the brunette away and mock glared at her.

‘Flattering me isn’t going to make me let you copy.’

Sana’s face broke into a smile and she shrugged philosophically. “It was worth a try,” she said then got out her exercise book and took a deep breath, preparing herself for their study session.

~

Sana leaned backwards and groaned loudly, throwing her pacer onto the desk. “I am officially done,” she declared, closing her eyes and yawning. She rolled over and leaned her head on Momo’s legs, snuggling into her warmth and whispered, “Let me just rest here forever.” Momo looked down at her friend and tutted, Sana’s hair. “You’re not going to make any progress if you can’t do this much,” she chided then closed her own book, satisfied with the work that Sana had done.

‘By the way, are you coming to this week’s party? Heechul invited me again but I know it’s going to be him talking with some old guy about some new business venture.’

Sana opened her eyes and looked at Momo before widening her eyes and asked, “There’s a party? I knew it! My mum was acting weird when I agreed to go visit my grandpa this weekend.’ She pouted her lips and sat up, wrapping her arms around Momo.

‘Sorry I can’t go, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find something to do at the party. Maybe try and talk to one of the other people there for once.’

Sana had been a close friend of Momo’s for a while now and knew of her dislike for ‘rich people’. Momo had been treated like trash the moment that the other students at the academy had found out that her parent’s didn’t earn more than a hundred million won a year or that she didn’t own at least two cars. In fact, it was because of the bullying that Momo had been by herself when Sana had struck up the courage to talk with her. At first Momo had treated the efforts to befriend her with suspicion but she had slowly warmed to the warmth and kindness in Sana.

Although sometimes there was some tension due to their different stations in life, Sana treated Momo as an equal and was Momo’s first friend since attending Avonia Academy. Being a member of a wealthy family, Sana was able to attend the social functions for those of high status and kept Momo company and was a buffer for the boredom that crept in on those nights when Heechul was busy talking business. A phone rang and they broke apart, Sana crawling over to her bag to pick up the call. She chatted quickly to someone before hanging up and saying, “That was my mum. She said it’s a school night so I have to go to bed earlier.” Momo nodded and Sana began to pack her things away, giving Momo a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Momo closed the door behind Sana and turned around, leaning on the door before sliding down the wooden surface. She looked up at the plain ceiling and plainer walls, at the emptiness of the room. Sometimes the one room apartment was the cosiest place in the world but now the walls seemed to be closing in and loneliness settled. Momo sighed and walked to her desk to pack away her school things. She readied for bed and fell asleep quickly, wishing that the weekend would hurry up and arrive.

~

Mina hugged a pillow as she lay down on Tzuyu’s bed, looking at her phone. She glanced over to where Tzuyu was sitting at her desk studying and felt slightly guilty that she wasn’t doing the same. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. If she concentrated, she could see the faint outlines of the glow in the dark dinosaur stickers. She wondered why Tzuyu had never gotten rid of them, the stickers standing out in a teenage girl’s room. She rolled back onto her stomach and swung her feet before calling out to her friend.

‘So are you going to the charity event tomorrow?’

Tzuyu looked up from her textbook and considered Mina for a second. “No, I can’t go. My mum says I’m too young to need to worry about going to these events and besides, I have a test to study for,” she said, with a significant look at Mina.

‘Your loss.’

Mina got up and clapped her hands on Tzuyu’s shoulders before leaving the room. She walked down the stairs out to the foyer where her chauffeur had been waiting. He drove her back home and she was happy to see her father’s car in the driveway and jumped out to rush into the house. However, her excitement at his early arrival home was quickly dispelled when she entered her father’s study to see him packing things into a suitcase.

H