chapter eleven            

it was the morning of the first weekend. the girls climbed out of bed later than usual. they were supposed to use the weekend to prepare for the multiple assessments thaey were going to have the next week. students will similar capabilities in each subject were to be grouped together. "english, korean, mathematics, history and sciences.. how am I expected to finish revising all these in two days!" kymin groaned, glaring at her stack of untouched textbooks. the rest turned to look at her. "don't worry, they are testing us on what we already know and what we have learnt in the past week, so it should be manageable." eunji offered, highlighting her notes. ji-ae seconded her thought with a nod as she noticed chaebyul doodling in her textbook. defeated, kymin resigned herself to reading her lecture notes.

hyusu had gone to the library after having breakfast with the rest of the girls sans minah. she did a double-take as she saw a familiar figure at one of the study cubicles. minah was there with another girl she hadn't seen before and minah actually looks - happy? hyusu actually couldn't tell because of minah's usual poker-face, but the girl did indeed seem more at ease and relaxed. hyusu settled down in her usual spot in the corner just beside the glass window. it was permanently latched shut though. she pulled out her reference materials and proceeded to make notes. out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a boy silently reading. he had been there nine out of the the ten times hyusu had been to the library. it was probably how he always seemed so engrossed in the books, but hyusu had felt some sort of attraction for him; she had always loved a learned man. she found herself getting distracted again as she stared dreamily at him. brainy is definitely the new y (i'm so sorry). knock it out, hyusu! the boy caught her eye and gave a a smile. hyusu instantly looked down in embarrassment. oh blerg..

a few shelves away, minah and her best friend were studiously mapping out important points for the upcoming assessments. "min, what are the stages of mitosis?" the girl asked as minah continued scribbling in her notebook. "prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase and cytokenesis. ssul, you know that!" minah finally looked up from her mindmaps, shooting the other girl a disapproving frown. sulli gave a chuckle and punched minah playfully in the arm. "I was just testing you!" she leaned back and gazed at minah. "I've been away for a whole week and you didn't miss me at all?" she prodded as minah detached herself from the work in front of her. "you know I did." she murmured. conversation wasn't one of her strong points and sulli knew that, but she did enjoy trying to make minah open up. sulli leaned her head against the other's shoulder and stared up at her with puppy-eyes. minah shrugged and tried to peel sulli off. "okay.. I missed you. happy now?" minah hid her face from sulli as the latter beamed. "yup!" unseen, minah's lips pressed into a small smile. 

the weekend was spent with the girls preparing tirelessly for their assessments. hyusu spent both days in the library, still getting distracted by the mysterious boy. minah and sulli camped in the library as well, exchanging study notes. ji-ae, eunji, chaebyul and kymin stayed at the dormitory. eunji had suggested going to the library but chaebyul had declined, still haunted by the memory of the library spirit. ji-ae had preferred staying in the dormitory because all her notes were easily accessible. kymin was downright lazy. the girls would look up from their studying at one point or another and find kymin fast asleep with her head buried in the index page of her textbook. two days passed and she had barely gone past twenty pages. tiffany and younju stayed in the dormitory as well, occasionally looking over their shoulders. baro dropped by once or twice, silently looking on as ji-ae studied. chaebyul had stiffened at the sight of the spirit, but his goofy smile had convinced her that he wasn't here to harm her. when the rest weren't looking, he had pointed at the sleeping kymin and shook his head cheekily in distaste. that had elicited a giggle from chaebyul, and she hurriedly turned it into a cough as eunji shot her a questioning look. all in all, the girls had a pretty harmonious weekend studying together.

assessment week loomed ahead. ji-ae had prepared bentos for the girls, passing each of them a note together with the lunchboxes. the girls were delighted, minah included. suho dropped by in the morning, passing ji-ae a bento himself and wishing the others good luck. ji-ae had also prepared one for him. kymin snickered as the rest of the girls coo-ed at them. ji-ae swatted them away and hurried them to their respective examination venues. suho and ji-ae headed to their exam venues together. "good luck!" he mouthed as they separated to locate their designated seats. ji-ae smiled back gratefully.

 the first paper began in no time. minah, chaebyul and eunji scribbled furiously on their english papers. chaebyul struggled for a bit, but managed to keep her momentum. ji-ae, hyusu and kymin were in the hall, working on their korean paper. ji-ae breezed through hers; hyusu went about it systematically, while kymin felt the immense urge to rip the paper to shreds. soon, the two hours were up and the girls broke up for lunch. opening their slips of paper, each of them read ji-ae's message before tucking into their bentos.

eunji, you're the first one I've met in this school. even though you're one of the youngest and took a while to open up, I'm glad that you've managed so well on your own so far. good work with chaebyul too; you've helped her so much. I think she does look up to you; continue to be a good unnie to her okay? good luck for your papers and remember, I'll always be here for you! love, ji-ae. eunji nudged younju as she finished reading. "look, you see, I'm managing well on my own." younju nodded uncertainly. "thank you ji-ae unnie." eunji whispered as she dug in.

chaebyul, you're the youngest in our dormitory; I hope that you feel loved and protected! I'm glad you and eunji are looking out for each other. all the best for your upcoming papers! come to us if you need help okay? love, ji-ae. chaebyul beamed at the message, momentarily pushing the scary encounter with the library ghost to the back of her mind as her classmates slipped into their seats beside her. 

hyusu, you've really come out of your shell. stay happy and bright! do well for your assessments; I've seen the notes you made at the library - who's the boy you've been sketching on your note paper? I hope you don't mind me looking! anyway, hwaiting! I'll be cheering you on. love, ji-ae. hyusu blushed as she thought of ji-ae finding out about her drawings. zitao bounded over to join her for lunch, and hyusu hurriedly kept the slip of paper. 

kymin, do your best for your papers! you've been a source of joy to be around and less trouble than I thought you'd be. just kidding! but do get tuition after the assessments; your assignments were disastrously funny! love you still, ji-ae. kymin chuckled to herself. aish this noona. jongsuk peered over her shoulder and read the note, playfully punching her in the arm. "always a troublemaker." he chastised.

minah, you're a really motivated and high-achieving individual; but do take care of yourself and don't tire yourself. come join us and hang out soon. I know you'll do well for your papers. love, ji-ae. minah tucked the slip of paper into her pocket as she gave a sigh. she couldn't identify what she was feeling. the trust that ji-ae had in her somehow made minah surprisingly happy. sulli noticed her shift in emotion as they prepared to dig in, wondering what could have made minah so contented.

seated between baro and tiffany, ji-ae opened her own bento. suho had made omurice for her. in the shape of a heart. smiling blissfully, ji-ae dug in as suho made faces at her across the lunchroom.

co-author's note:     heyyy so this is chapter eleven! (: one more chapter till half the girls meet the guys >.< thankyou for staying by!