Age 13

"My mouth hurts."

"Your complaining makes my head hurt."

"Be quiet."

"You be quiet first."

"Your head looks like a peanut."

"I just happen to love peanuts."

"Hey, hey, kids," Mother says, trying to keep her eyes on the road.  "No fighting on sunny days."

"We aren't fighting," Young In pouts, glaring at Jongin.

"We're bickering," he adds.  He unbuckles his seatbelt and scoots to over to the seat closest to the window, leaving Young In on the other side of the backseat.  "We never fight."

Young In turns her head away and looks outside, trying to ignore the pain plaguing her jaws.  If she had known she would be so uncomfortable, she would rather live the rest of her life with teeth that were uneven.  

"I hate braces," she sighs.

"You've only had them for a day," Mother says, switching on the turn signal.  "Get to know them before you say you hate them."

"I'll hate them anyway."

She wishes that she could sit in the front seat, instead of in the back where she was stuck with Jongin.  If she could sit in the front, she could pull the seat forward and backward to get comfortable.  It was sad to sit in the backseat and only lean back one way before getting stuck.  Young In felt suffocated.

Jongin is about to jump into the conversation when Mother parks the car, turns off the engine, and quickly says,  "We're here!"

Jongin swallows nervously, his voice suddenly quiet.  "Already?"  He leans out the window and scans the parking lot.  It's so small that only about fifteen cars can fit but his stomach churns when he sees the hoards of parents and boys his age gathered by the entrance of a tall building.  He wonders if arguing will bring bad luck.  

"There's a lot of people," he says to himself.

"It's now or never," Young In's mother declares.  "Let's go!"  

Young In sticks her tongue out at Jongin before opening the door and getting out of the car.  

As soon as they step out, Jongin finds that Young In's mother is right--today is a perfectly beautiful day.  The sun is out and there isn't a cloud to be seen.  Jongin hopes the calming breeze is a good sign.

"Are you ready?" Young In's mother asks, patting him on the shoulders.  "Don't look so worried.  You're going to do fine!"

He swallows again and clears his throat.

__

Jongin fidgets with the zipper to his jacket.  He twiddles his thumbs.  He taps his feet.  He fixes the Number 14 tag attached to his left sleeve by a woman a few minutes ago.  He thinks about the thirteen people that are ahead of him--if they'll do well, better than him, worse than him.  If passing this audition means good things will come.  If not passing this audition means he can go home and forget all of this altogether.  He sighs.

Young In is sitting next to him, eyes glued to the cell phone in her hands.  Her thumbs move at lighting speed.  Texting again, he thinks to himself.  He wonders how much money Young In's mother puts out every month for that phone.   His father isn't letting him get a phone until he starts high school, which seems like forever away.

He wishes Young In would say something.  That would make him feel better.

"I bet you're going to mess up when you go in there," she mutters, as if reading his mind.  "I bet you."

Jongin rolls his eyes and sinks lower in his chair.

__

"Kim Jongin, Number 14.  You're next."

Jongin nearly jumps right out of his seat.  Everything hits him at once when he sees the lady with the clipboard and the glasses that are sliding right off her nose.  It's his turn.  He looks at Young In's mother, who has taken her nose out of her magazine to give him an encouraging smile.  His heart is pounding in his chest.

"That's me," he says with a parched tongue.  He wipes his damp palms on his pant leg.  "I'm Kim Jongin."

"Right this way, please," the lady says, motioning him down a hallway.

Jongin looks back at Young In and her mother again.

"Dancing machine Jongin, fighting!" Mother says with a beaming grin.  "You can do it!"

Young In waves her hand with a wink.  "Good luck, Peanut."

Jongin coughs uneasily and follows the lady away.

12: 25 pm