V: Friends

Fear and trepidation are the perfect adjectives to describe my feelings right now. I stood frozen to the ground outside the school gates. It was about fifteen minutes before the bell and I was hesitating whether I should make my entrance. After yesterday’s traumatizing events, I wanted to run away. But then, I thought about the friends I made and I wanted to show them that I could be strong and not feeble.

The first warning bell rang and every student outside in the courtyard rushed to class. With shaking legs, I made my first steps into school, holding my breath every step I took. There was a small voice in my head, cheering me on and shipping me small bursts of encouragement. However, my heart beat erratically and small beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. The small voice was no help.

Still, however, I continued my slow macabre walk towards the front doors of the school. Finally, after taking ten and slow painstaking steps, I reached the main doors of the school and sighed deeply. I closed my eyes and inhaled one more time. This could be my hell or my heaven. I wanted to know whether they would recognize me. And the only way to find out was through these chocolate French doors.

Okay, Kang Yu Na, you can do this. Just enter and if you don’t see them, just run to class and the end. Simple, right?

If only it was.

I composed the huge mess of myself and pushed through the doors confidently. My eyes immediately traveled from student to student, trying to identify either Jun Hong or Se Hun. My hopes were crushed though when none of them were around.

My face fell and I trudged my way forward.

I didn’t take one step.

Not one single step.

Before, I was pelted with a harsh rubbery object that exploded with water in my shell-shocked face. I blinked rapidly as water dripped from my hair to the floor. My face was wet with water and a piece of the water balloon clung on to my left cheek.

Laughter roared all around me and I was surrounded by students holding multicolored water balloons in their hands. Some tossed it around like a ball; others held theirs carefully like a baby. But all in all, they shared one target: me.

“Eat this, freak!” Another one was tossed and I flinched as the water bomb exploded on my uniform, soaking me to the bone.

“I can’t believe you. How dare you show up at our school, you ?!” Another one was thrown and pieces of the balloon got stuck in my hair.

“Worse still, it’s been only her second day and she’s got our beloved Se Hun wrapped around her finger.” The same blue-haired girl from yesterday sneered in disgust and tossed a hard one. The water slapped me across my face.

“Don’t worry; we’ll expose her for the she is. Starting now!” With that yell, I was assaulted by various water balloons. I was drenched to the bone and an instinctive action would be to run away. However, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I was deaf to the world. Partially, the water blocked my ears but mainly I was drowning in my sorrow not water. I couldn’t hear anything. Everything sounded like a slurred murmur. I didn’t defend myself nor did I show any form of retaliation. My heart was breaking from all the pain and anguish and I did nothing to stop it from happening.

I didn’t expect anything. I thought the whole world hated me. For unknown reasons, the world just hated me. Though there were people who cared for me and loved me, they disappeared from me at that moment. And, yes, I didn’t expect Prince Charming to come riding in on a magical white horse and save me from my misery.

I didn’t expect my Prince Charming to come in the form of a lithe girl, who yelled at the top of her lungs. I couldn’t hear her. I could barely make out her form from the entire onslaught. However, her voice was feminine though slurred. It was like my ears were blocked with ten gallons of water.

I heard silence but the feeling of astonishment tagged along as well. I felt myself being dragged away with a tight grip on my wrist that wasn’t strong enough to hurt but strong enough to keep me from running away. I wondered where I was going and what was going on. My mind was hectic and full of thoughts.

I heard a loud slam of doors being pushed open and all of a sudden, my ears cleared slightly for me to hear her words.

“Hey, hey, you, alright? You had it hard out there. You should have defended yourself.” She cooed in sympathy yet I kept my head down, afraid of her and her next unpredictable actions.

“…I know you. You’re that new student, right?” I nodded obediently. I didn’t want to anger anyone anymore.

“Your name is Kang Yu Na, right?” Another nod.

“Hey, you must be freezing. Go change into this. It’s my extra uniform. You’re around my size so you’ll probably fit.” She passed me a dry uniform into my hands and I got up with a shivering frame and shuffled my way to the changing room.

Who is she? Why is she helping me?

The bell rang just as I had finished changing. I pushed aside the door and stepped out only to step back in shock as I stared at the young unfamiliar brunette, sitting on the bench outside my door. She noticed me and hopped up from her seat, grabbing my wet clothes and stuffing them into a bag.

“Here you go, now you don’t have to walk around carrying a soggy uniform.” She handed me the bag with a toothy grin. I hesitantly took the bag from her and tried to move aside but she blocked my way. She my soaked hair and tutted.

“No way, you can catch a cold with this wet hair. Come here; let me dry it for you.” My eyes widened as she dragged me to a bench and sat me down. She dashed off for a moment before returning with a dry white towel in her hands. There wasn’t a chance for me to decline her help as she quickly set to work, drying my hair manually.

It was awkward for me. We were already really late and by the time she was done the first period was already halfway through. I felt her hold on my hair release and I stood immediately, bowing towards her in respect.

“It’s no problem really. I’m actually in the same level as you so we’re technically friends.” She beamed positively with a bright grin. I smiled gratefully and made a move to leave but she grabbed my arm and linked her other arm with mine. She dragged me out of the women’s locker room and down the deserted hallway.

“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Jung Eun Ji.” She chirped and I blinked back at her in surprise.

“And I know you are the famous Kang Yu Na.” She nudged me lightly and I managed a small smile as I waddled by her side, trying to keep up with her pace. Soon enough, we arrived in front of class and Eun Ji wasted no time in barging in.

“I’m sorry; Mrs. Jang, but the new kid couldn’t find her way. She was still wandering around outside until I found her.” Eun Ji made up an excuse that seemed plausible enough and walked to her seat with me in tow like nothing ever happened.

“Hold on a minute, Jung Eun Ji, Yu Na-ssi has a valid reason to be late but as for you, why were you outside when you found her? If you were on time, you could have led her to class without even being late.” Mrs. Jang eyed Eun Ji apprehensively and Eun Ji’s face darkened a little.

“I had some family business to deal with.” She muttered solemnly and Mrs. Jang’s face changed. She nodded expressionlessly and continued on with the lesson wordlessly. Once again I was pulled forward by Eun Ji and she led me to my seat. Turns out, Eun Ji was the missing seat mate yesterday.

I smiled inwardly knowing I have a person I could talk to now. I jerked out of my thoughts though when I found myself being maneuvered to the seat next to my original one. In confusion, I sat down just as Eun Ji sat down on my chair instead.

And then I heard it. The long and loud sound of the whoopee cushion, not under me but under Eun Ji, rang out clearly and distinctly throughout the class. My eyes widened as I stared at Eun Ji in shock. She however looked unaffected by it and covered meekly as she looked around apologetically.

“Oops, excuse me.” She squeaked in fake embarrassment. Laughter should have erupted by now. However, as they were in bewilderment, not one person made a sound.

That prank was meant for me but…this girl, Jung Eun Ji, whom I just met not too long ago, took the embarrassment for me. We didn’t even know each other that well yet she acted like we’ve been together ever since birth.

“It’s alright, Eun Ji-ssi. Let’s continue, class.” Mrs. Jang shook her head and resumed lecturing us about the time periods in history.

Ever since the incident in first period, Eun Ji had taken the blow for me in every single class. As we were in the same class, we shared the same schedules. I felt bad and burdened. She took every prank that was made for me and saved me from humiliation. I wondered why she did it and for what cause. We hadn’t known each other for less than a day yet she acted like my guardian angel.

In Chemistry, she had saved me from setting my hair on fire due to a silly prank by a senior boy in class.

In English, she had swapped textbooks with me to make it seem like she drew on her textbook, which was illegal since it was school property.

In Calculus, she sat on the “accidentally” drenched chair before I could.

And now it was lunchtime and she made sure I stuck close to her and she stuck close to me. We were inseparable whether I liked it or not and slowly but surely I was getting used to her presence and began to feel more comfortable around her.

Jung Eun Ji was an amiable, kind, and opinionated girl. I could tell by the way she supported her points in History when we had a discussion. She was an interesting girl yet she was hard-headed and stubborn. From what I observed she also had a competitive streak with this other boy in class (the smartest in the whole school actually), who was called Seo In Guk, I think. Anyway, she was pretty mysterious as well as she was always very cheerful and she didn’t mind being ashamed. Other than that, she was also quite pretty and had a strange way of accentuating her words. I could tell that it wasn’t comfortable for her yet it seems that others didn’t notice that and thought she was born in Seoul. She wasn’t. I could tell.

“You know, you can use sign language around me, right?” Eun Ji sang with a smile as she shut her locker with a soft slam. My eyes widened as I followed her to the cafeteria. I hesitated before I li