"So you guys have been hanging out with random people? Without me?"

Jennie steals a piece of carrot out of her friend's packed lunch. 

"What's with this interrogation?" Jisoo looks up from her planner and narrows her eyes at Jennie as the brunette picks another piece out, swatting her hand away. "Stop grilling me about her, and stop stealing my food."

"I just met her last Friday night," Jennie says. "You know, while you were busy ditching me."

Jisoo rolls her eyes. "Lisa isn't random people."

Jennie sticks her tongue out at her friend. "I didn't know her, so."

"She's in the same year as us."

"Oh, right."

"I guess you wouldn't know. Your attendance last year was barely 70%," Jisoo states matter-of-factly. "I mean, you get away with a lot of things but I don't know how you got away with that."

Jisoo's bluntness is a bit harsh sometimes, but Jennie appreciates that she has an honest friend to set her straight.

"I had to make up for it, remember?" she sighs, cringing at the memory of spending her holidays doing schoolwork for credit, and worse, being in hot water with her mother. She supposes she always is, but she thinks it would've been nice to catch a break. 

"So now you've learned your lesson, you better not do that this year too."

"Your hair's fading," Jennie says after a moment of silence, gazing at her friend's red velvet hair glinting in the sunlight. 

"Mm-hmm."

Jisoo sits unbothered as Rose plonks down next to her, jostling the bench. Rose places a plastic cup of matcha ice cream down in front of herself. 

"I'm back! So, why are we talking about Lisa?" the light-haired girl asks, digging into her treat.

"That doesn't look like lunch," Jennie says. Her statement is promptly ignored.

"Jennie has never met her, apparently," Jisoo's eyes are on the ice cream as she speaks, her planner forgotten. "Give me s—"

"Really?" Rose's eyes widen. "That's weird. She was in some of my classes last year. She's also in the dance troupe. And hey, we perform a lot! Haven't I mentioned her a few times?"

Jennie shrugs. "Can't remember."

"Jen isn't one for uni politics, remember?" Jisoo says. "Or just uni in general."

It earns her a flick to the forehead from Jennie.

"Mmm, this is really good," Rose hums in delight and offers the sweet treat to her friends. "Try it!"

Jennie shakes her head. Jisoo happily accepts a spoonful. 

"I can't believe you went and got something just for yourself. Where'd you get this, anyway?" Jisoo asks.

"I found out there's an ice cream truck when I was looking for the new bubble tea stand." Rose holds out another big spoonful for the redhead. 

"Thanks, Piggy," Jisoo says through a mouthful of ice cream. 

Rose mocks offense and threatens to stop sharing. 

"Oi, I was joking!" Jisoo is quick to defend herself. "I meant to say supermodel."

"You always tease me – this is the last straw!" 

Jennie looks on at the two bickering, unamused. 

"Hey, Park Chaeyoung!"

The three turn their heads at the sound of the familiar voice. A tall blonde is walking towards their bench, and she reaches them quickly with her long-legged strides. 

"Lisa!" Rose greets her as she comes to stand beside the table. 

Jisoo leans over to the side for a one-armed hug. Jennie watches as Lisa instinctively reciprocates, an arm resting on Jisoo's shoulders. 

"You missed practice this morning," Lisa says, shooting Rose a stern look.

Rose scratches her head. "Practice? It's Orientation Day! I thought today was all about fun and free stuff."

"Didn't you get the reminder?"

"Reminder?"

Lisa shakes her head defeatedly. Her eyes then land on Jennie and she smiles brightly. "Hey, Jennie."

The brunette nods and scoots over to make room. Lisa sits next to her, as Rose scrambles to check her phone.

Rose looks up from the screen, wailing, "I never saw this email! Who checks their emails regularly anyway? Really. You'll help me catch up though, won't you, Lisa?"

"Any normal person checks their emails regularly," Jisoo retorts. 

Rose pouts at her. 

"Don't worry, you didn't miss anything big," Lisa says reassuringly. 

"Oh, he also sent another email," Rose gasps. "We have rehearsals again after classes."

Her face falls flat as she looks at Lisa. "But you already knew that."

"Duh," Jisoo says. "That's normal for any big event."

Lisa smiles kindly, patting Rose's arm. "Thanks for reminding me anyway."

Jennie raises an eyebrow at Jisoo. "What's the deal?"

"There's a big welcome assembly tomorrow for the freshmen," the redhead eyes her friend incredulously. "Ah, seriously, Jen. You might be rich with money but not so much with attention."

"Ha, even I knew about it!" Rose boasts gleefully. 

"And the only reason you know is because of your dance performance, and me constantly reminding you," Jisoo shuts her down. 

"Yeah, yeah," Rose scoffs and turns her attention to Jennie. "You better be there to watch this time."

"Totally. I'll even watch you rehearse," Jennie says flatly.

"Really?" Rose squeaks excitedly. 

"I was kidding." 

"Aw, that's mean," Lisa says. Jennie scrunches her face at the girl. 

"Hey, check this out," Jisoo holds up her phone for the three to look at. "There's a popularity poll on the school website and we're all in it."

"Already?" Rose asks, surprised. "The school year hasn't even started. Also, that's such a... high school thing to do."

"More like middle school," Jennie deadpans. 

"I mean this is a school for arts, so I guess we shouldn't expect any better," Jisoo sighs.

As she pretends to gaze somewhere far away, her face lights up in recognition while a tall guy with jet-black hair approaches their table. "BamBam! Hey."

Jennie's eyebrows raise in surprise. She guesses the photo she's seen isn't recent enough. The guy in front of her at the moment looks less babyfaced and more mature. And he definitely looks taller than Lisa. 

"Hey, guys," he greets the group with a friendly wave and a smile. 

Nevermind, she thinks. Still babyfaced. 

"Jennie, right?" he turns his attention to her. "Nice to finally meet you."

She returns his smile. "Nice to meet you too."

"So, what's up, Bam?" Jisoo asks. 

His hand comes up to the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "Can I borrow Lisa for a bit?"

"Pssh. 'A bit,' my ," Jisoo snorts. 

Lisa stands up, placing a hand lightly on Jennie's shoulder and stepping out of the bench to join her friend. "See you later!"

"Bye, guys!" Jisoo and Rose call out as they walk away. 

Jennie watches the two retreating figures. 

"It's like you guys know everybody."

Jisoo laughs. "It kind of comes with being in the student committee."

"Besides, he's a dancer too," Rose says. She pouts, "You would know if you guys came to watch our practice from time to time."

Jisoo shrugs. "I don't think your teacher appreciates distractions."

"We're going, just drop the subject."

Jisoo raises an eyebrow at the brunette. "We are?"

Jennie rolls her eyes. "Yeah, if it means you guys can finally shut up."

"You're going because of Lisa, aren't you?" Jisoo asks. "What's with the sudden interest?"

"What?"

"We know you, Jennie Kim," Jisoo says, eyes narrowed at her friend. "So, what's the deal with this girl?"

"Ooh, Jennie's got a girl crush!" Rose squeals, earning a cold glare from the brunette. 

"She just invited me to her house last Friday."

"And?"

"And nothing."

"Oh," Jisoo says flatly. 

"What?"

"I was expecting something more interesting, I guess." Jisoo admits.

"If you're so interested, why not get to know her better?" Rose suggests out of the blue, her attention invested in a text. 

On her drive home, Jennie entertains Rose's ideas. 

A girl crush, huh?

How is she supposed to get to know Lisa better anyway?

"Oh ," she curses aloud, remembering that she never showed up to her friend's dance practice. 

She makes a mental note to make up for it tomorrow. For now, she needs some time to herself after an eventful day. 

"Hey, how was your first day?"

Jennie shrugs, her back to her mother as she closes the door. "Fine."

"Nothing new?"

Jennie whirls around at the sound of her step-father's voice. 

Her parents are sitting in the living room, her step-father still in his business attire. She doesn't remember a time he's been wearing anything else. 

"Sit."

"Okay, but not because you told me to," Jennie says as she takes a seat. Her mother sighs. 

"Look, Jen," he begins.

Jennie shoots him a glare. 

"Jennie, you're in your second year of college," he says. "You're lucky that we even gave you the choice to go to whichever school you want. It's bad enough that you're pursuing a career in the arts—"

"I've heard this before," Jennie stands abruptly. "Can we save it for next time?"

"It's not enough to barely pass," he continues. "What do you find so hard about it?"

Jennie stays silent, turning on her heels and walking towards the staircase.

"You better shape up if you want a bright future," her step-father calls after her. 

Jennie scoffs, her back already turned as she makes her way up the stairs. 

Like she needed another reminder that she's not good enough.