Lalisa M.

 

“i would be lying if i said i didn’t see this coming.” i whispered earning a glare from jennie kim who i prefer to call miss kim outside of my subconscious. detention in Quinley Academy is far different from other schools; it is a lot more serious. my mother, the matriarch of this institution is a firm believer of discipline when it comes to education. in short, her threshold for bull when it comes to tardiness is nonexistant.

 

“you’re too noisy” miss kim says, for the first time in 15 minutes. 

 

“what do you mean, i barely said a statement. which you didn’t answer, by the way.” i smiled. amused by the reactions i have been gaining from the ice princess.

 

jennie kim rolls her eyes. facing me, she says “what do you want me to say? that you were right? and that i’m sorry i dragged you in this mess? i think the not.”

 

i frowned. if there would be a tally of how many cuss she could speak for the rest of the day? my guess is at 300. i mean, at this hour it might have already been 26 or so. jennie kim have always been known to be obnoxious; main reason why i never tried getting close to her all these years. as far as i can remember, she doesn’t have friends. we’ve had classes together since junior high, in which i’m not sure she’s noticed, and never have i seen her interact with anyone. it wasn’t till last year when she got close with irene bae: the transfer student from states. rumors say that they got close because they had a casual relationship, others say they’re cousins, and then nonsensical rumors follows. 

 

“here we are” the student assistant whose also my good friend kang seulgi says after unlocking the room, interupting my train of thought. jennie kim and i followed suit, entering the detention room. i looked at her, expecting a rude comment on seulgi like ‘i know we’re already in the detention room. i’ve known this room like the back of my hand. with the delinquent that i am? this isn’t the first time i’ve been here.’ 

 

but nothing came. because the moment she went inside, flew open. it was as if she’s never been here. that’s when i realised it was her first time. jennie kim’s first detention. i followed her cat eyes as it scans the large room. exquisite, isn’t it jennie kim? i thought to myself. the room was painted white with a  high ceiling. ceiling-to-floor windows hugged by golden curtains, a gold chandelier along with rustic pendant lights were hung elegantly, and an italian couch set baring the white and gold academy colors to top the contemporary interior of the room.

 

“i’ll leave you guys. as stated by the school disciplinary rules, detention is conducted for the whole day. missed attendance, quizes, and activities for the day would immediately equate to zero. if there are questions please refer to the student handbook by the desk.” seulgi says perfectly. it was funny hearing her all serious and i couldn’t help but snicker. jennie kim was completely zoned out ignoring seulgi’s words. 

 

“yah, kang, come here!” i whispered lowly, gesturing for seulgi to come close. “is this her first time here?”

 

“jennie? yeah, i was quite surprised when i was directed by mr. yang to both of you in the detention room. i mean, you, i wasn’t surprised—“

 

this . “ha ha ha.” 

 

seulgi chuckles at my mockery. “hey let’s face it! this is where you bring your girls when you don’t want to be interrupted, yeah?”

 

“yah! shush, she might hear you!” i’m not gonna get judged by jennie kim! i don’t want her to think i’m promiscuous, otherwise she’ll have another reason to hate me or something.

 

“omo, you don’t want her to hear about the cassanova that you are?” seulgi snorts. “here’s what i know. jennie kim is a scholar student who has never failed a class and have never been sent to detention. she may look like trouble, but the woman’s got nothing but straight A’s ever since she got here.”

 

well that explains her astonished face. i glanced at her direction, she was no longer examining the room. jennie kim smiles, walking towards seulgi “thank you, seulgi-ssi.” seulgi flashes a quick smile at miss kim, and a smirk at me. what was that supposed to mean? but before i could sneak in a question, seulgi has left the room already.

 

i turned my attention to miss kim whose smile faded into a frown. “are you genuinely nice to other people except me?”

 

“what kind of question is that?” miss kim answers with an irritating tone.

 

“well you smiled at seulgi?”

 

miss kim scoffs, “and what about it?” 

 

if anyone googles the word ‘rude’ i’m pretty sure jennie kim’s face would be the ultimate reference. the epitome of insolence.

 

“i need to talk to you about something, lili.” jennie kim spoke. it felt weird hearing her address me.

 

“what do you want to talk about?” i answered, disregarding the awkward atmosphere. how come she calls me by my nickname? how does she even knew about it?

 

jennie kim exhales deeply, preparing me for whatever it is that she wanted to tell me. i couldn’t quite figure out what it’s about, but seeing her hands balled into fists— i knew it was something serious.

 

“lisa... the world is ending in 24 hours. and i need your help to stop it.”