I walked out of my house in my clean and crisp (and annoying) school uniform. I went to a private school, so the uniform was fancier than that of the middle I had attended last year. It was the first day that we were supposed to be wearing our winter uniforms. Like every year, there would be one idiot who forgot and wore the summer uniform. That idiot usually happened to be me. This year, it was the perfect "boy next door," Woo Jiho.

"Good morning," I greeted him politely. He looked over from his bicycle and bowed back.

"Hey, Ema," he laughed, "you do know that we start wearing the winter uniform tomorrow, right?"

I stopped walking and stomped my foot angrily against the pavement.

"What? Really?" I groaned.

"Yeah, really," Jiho snickered. 

I trudged back inside to check my calendar, and, sure enough, I had today marked down as the day we began wearing the winter uniform. So, either I was wrong or Jiho was lying. There was a solid chance that I was wrong based on my track record, so I quickly changed. Glancing at the clock told me I no longer had enough time to just walk to school. I grabbed my skateboard from where it was propped up against my dresser and sprinted outside. As soon as the wheels hit the pavement, I was off.

I passed by the elderly Mrs. Jung, who waved to me and smiled, and the university students who insisted on walking together every morning down the same route and bothering the same nice shopkeepers by "accidentally" knocking over merchandise. They usually claimed to be late for class, even though most of the neighborhood knew that their classes didn't start until almost noon. Despite this blatant lie, they still let them go with only a warning not to do it again.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the school's entrance. I stashed my skateboard behind the music building, where the teacher wouldn't report me and get it taken away if they found it. Bicycles were fine with the principal, but she did not feel the same way about my "dangerous mode of transportation" as she liked to phrase it. I fixed my tan, pleated skirt and pulled up the knee-high sock that had slipped down just a little bit. Then, I calmly made my way to my classroom.

"Ema!" someone called from behind me. I turned to be enveloped in a hug from my close friend Kim Chunhei.

"Yo, what's up?" I giggled and pried her arms from around my neck.

"I got your birthday present," Chunhei replied with a wink. I squealed.

"Already? You said it would come in a few days after my birthday!" I cried.

"I lied so I could surprise my best friend on her very special day," she said, "you only turn fifteen once."

"Can I see it?" I asked eagerly.

"You can have it." Chunhei pulled a small box out of her sparkly, pink handbag. She handed it to me.

"Don't lose it," she warned.

I nodded and quickly opened it. I pulled out the small card to examine it. It's funny how one piece of plastic can let you do so many more things than you could without it. With an I.D., you could get into clubs, or buy alcohol (not that I would), or just say that you are a legal adult. In my case, it was a fake I.D. made by Chunhei's evil genius cousin. The card had my picture and height and weight, and my new birthday. When I showed that card to anyone, I would automatically be three years older - I would be eighteen. 

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I chanted and twirled in a circle. She giggled.

"Happy birthday, Ema," she said. I carefully placed the card back in the box, and put the box in my bag where it wouldn't get messed up.

"Oh, why are you wearing the summer uniform? We're supposed to wear the winter one starting today. Did you forget again?" my deskmate, Juri, questioned. So the perfect Jiho had lied. I groaned.

"I guess so," I sighed and faked a smile.

The bell rang just as our geometry teacher walked in, signalling the beginning of class. Chunhei and I both sat in our seats quietly. There was a similar pattern followed of us talking between classes, then totally ignoring each other as it went on through the school day. Finally, it was time to go home.

"Now you remember the plan, right?" I asked Chunhei for the billionth time.

"Yes, just like I did five minutes ago. You tell your parents that you're doing a long study session at my house, then if they call, I'll pick up the phone and say that you're there," she repeated yet again.

"Okay, okay. I just wanted to make sure. It's my first time sneaking out." I put my hands up in surrender.

"What about that time with Barom?" she reminded me. 

"That doesn't count. We got caught before I even left my house. This time I won't get caught because there's actually a plan," I argued.

"Fine. Tell me everything tomorrow! Bye!" She waved and walked down the street to her house.

I sighed and made my way back to the music building to retrieve my skateboard. The journey home was fairly uneventful. The university students had all retreated to afternoon classes and study sessions, and most of the shopkeepers had escaped the afternoon sun by going inside. When I passed Jiho's house, he was in his yard with some friends. They seemed like thugs, really. I didn't understand why the soccer team captain was always hanging out with them. If someone saw them, he could get into trouble.

I ran up to my room to finish my homework as quickly as possible so I could say that I hadn't done it yet and "go to Chunhei's house to study." Just as I completed the assignments due the next day, my mother arrived at our house.

"Ema, what are you doing?" she asked, seeing me sitting on the couch with my bookbag in hand. Little did she know, it did not hold textbooks.

"Mom," I said softly, "could I please go to Chunhei's house today? We have a really big project due tomorrow, and we promised we would help each other."

"But, sweetie, it's your birthday. We were all going to go out to eat tonight," she sighed.

"Mom, please? We can go out tomorrow, but I really need to finish this," I pleaded. I pulled out my secret weapon - innocent puppy dog eyes.

"I guess you can. Go on, before I change my mind," she relented. I jumped up and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you! Bye bye!" I ran out the door. I was going to stop by Chunhei's house only to change into more appropriate attire for my ultimate destination.

Only an hour later, I stood in front of a full length mirror in a somewhat tight and short neon blue dress with darker blue heels. My hair was done up in a loose bun and ponytail hybrid. I had applied more make-up than I usually did. I had added blue eye shadow, mascara, lip stick, and eye liner. I clutched my small black purse that held my I.D. to my chest.

"Wow, you're sure to kill some hearts tonight!" Chunhei exclaimed. I laugh nervously.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Totally. Now go have fun!" She pushed me through the back door into the dark night. Without even saying good bye, she closed the door in my face. I let out a breath. This was it. The first time I would lie to get into a club.

I found myself at the place fifteen minutes later. There was a long line, and I was forced to wait at the end of it. I made to the front eventually.

"Are you eighteen?" the bouncer inquired.

I found myself much more nervous than I had been when I had been planning the whole thing a week before. He probably knew that the I.D. was fake, and then he would call my parents, and then I would be in so much trouble! I nervously handed over the card. He inspected it for a moment. He knew. I could tell. I was done for.

"Go on in," he said and gave me back the I.D.

He believed me?! I sighed, and I was about to walk in when he grabbed my wrist. I tensed again. I knew it couldn't be true.

"You need the stamp or else you won't be able to come back in," he chuckled. He put a mark of the number "21" on my arm in green ink. I laughed nervously and walked into the club. My eyes widened at what I saw.