It had been a few weeks of intense studying. Not necessarily on her part, but it had been intense, and Jessica was glad it was over now. She stretched out in her seat, all her tests with full scores were in front of her. She wasn’t surprised with the result, she had studied a lot.

“Gosh Jessi, you’re amazing.” She heard her classmate next to her say. She didn’t reply, she just gathered her tests and put them in a pile on the desk in front of her.

She suddenly remembered the person who had been her company when she had been studying for the past week. Her eyes left the pile of sheets in front of her, trying to locate the girl who had been sitting in front of her.

No one was sitting in front of her.

She blinked confused. She hadn’t seen the girl leave. Her head turned, she scanned the classroom, no sight of the girl, or the girl’s duo that usually hung after her.

Her eyebrows furrowed. How had the girl managed to leave without getting noticed? She continued to scan the classroom, until her eyes noticed that someone was looking at her, she almost jumped in surprise when she noticed the girl next to her was staring at her.

“What?” Jessica asked as she tried to collect herself. She felt slightly uncomfortable. For how long had the girl been staring at her? Had she noticed that she had been searching for someone in the room? She hoped not.

“Will you come with us to get ice cream after school?” The girl asked hopefully.

Jessica refrained from glancing at the vacant seat in front of her. She moved the pile of sheet papers on her desk. She wondered how Taeyeon had done on the tests.

She smiled. “Sure.” She answered. The girl’s face lit up, and soon Jessica was listening to a list of different ice cream flavors and which flavors tasted best with what. Nothing of that really interested her.

Her head turned, the other girl’s voice felt distant. Jessica was wondering if someone in the room had Taeyeon’s phone number. She needed it. She wanted to know if the girl’s studying had paid off.

---

Jessica knew that she isn’t the most social person. She would rather stay at home on a Friday night reading a book instead of going out with friends. So that she was feeling bored going out to eat ice cream with three girls didn’t surprise her. She was more surprised that she had put herself in this position from the start.

A low sigh escaped her lips and she the vanilla ice cream off of her spoon. Her eyes were focusing on the people walking in and out of the ice cream parlor. The other three girls were talking about what parts had been hard on the tests. Jessica could join them in the conversation, but she didn’t feel like talking.

And she was still wondering how Taeyeon had managed to leave without notice.

She on the spoon, furrowing her eyebrows. She tried analyzing why Taeyeon had left without notice. Was it because she had gotten good results, and wanted to hide it to not show everyone that she studies? Or had it been so bad she had gotten angry that her effort had been for nothing?

Jessica wanted to know what it was. So badly.

“Jessi. Hey Jessica.” She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard herself being called. She noticed she had the three girl’s attention, which made her feel embarrassed, and but she didn’t show it, and looked questioning at them.

“We were thinking of going to the mall, do you wanna come with us?”

“No thanks. I have to get home.” Jessica said. “I have to help my mom make dinner.” She came up with an excuse. A very bad one. Her mother would never let her into the kitchen to help her cook. Her mother would tell her to go back to her books or help her little sister with homework if she tried helping the woman out. But these girls didn’t know that.

“Oh, you’re a really good daughter.” One of the girls stated.

“Maybe.” Jessica shrugged and looked down at her ice cream con. She had finished the vanilla ice cream, only a few droplets were left. She poked the remaining melted ice cream with her plastic spoon. She really wanted to get home.

“Well, we are going to get going before it gets too late. See you another day Jessica.” Jessica bid the girls goodbye before she began walking back home. She tried to figure out what could be done when she got home. There was certainly a book she hadn’t read yet somewhere, and there was probably an episode of a TV show she could watch waiting for her on her laptop. She realized her options were endless.

She walked by the park near the apartment complex she lived in, familiar voices and laughter caught her attention as she walked by, and she had to stop in her tracks to turn and see who it was. Her eyes landed on a trio she had confronted too many times in school than she wanted to. Her shoulders slump when she watched the two taller ones were standing around something she couldn’t see, while the shortest girl was standing by the side, watching whatever they were doing.

Jessica sighed and she took a step forward to see what the girls were up to now, but stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell on the short girl. She didn’t seem to be part in whatever the taller girls were doing, and from the look on her face, and the fake smile Jessica could see she had to cover up her real feelings, Jessica knew the girl didn’t want to be there.

Just walk away then. Your friends aren’t that great anyway. Jessica thought.

Jessica figured the girl would never walk away. And that bothered her, as she knew the girl could do better, could have better. It was a better path for the girl, and she felt slightly frustrated that the girl wouldn’t choose that path.

She huff another sigh as she entered the park. Her feet took her towards the trio, the first one to notice her was the short girl, whose eyes go bigger as they landed on her form, but Jessica didn’t mind, and walked up to the other two girls, to see whatever they were doing.

That when she caught the sound of low meowing. Her eyes widened and she ran up to the two girls, pushed the tallest one away to be able to see what they were doing.

On the ground was a small kitten. It’s fur were wet, and it had gotten dirty by the ground it was lying on. Jessica felt anger boil inside of her as she turned towards the two girls who had been standing around the kitten. Her eyes immediately landing on the water bottle in one of the girls hands.

“What the are you doing?” Jessica snapped and hit the hand that was holding the water bottle. The bottle fell to the ground, the rest of its content falling out.

“None of your business, Jung.” The tallest of the girls said and pushed her.

The push only made the rage inside Jessica get worse, and she turned to the girl who had pushed her, glared at her, before she gave the girl a push back.

“Would you like it if someone who is bigger than you poured water all over you?” Jessica asked.

The girl got an amused expression on her face, she turned to the other girl beside her before they began laughing together. Jessica gritted her teeth by their reaction. She felt like punching both of them.

“Don’t you get it? There’s barely any people out there that’s bigger than me!” The girl said, and to demonstrate how big she was she took a step closer to Jessica, towering over the shorter girl. But Jessica wasn’t intimidate, she only crossed her arms over her chest, and held the taller girl’s gaze.

“You must have a very small mind if you think this is the only place in the world.” Jessica said.

She saw the anger flickering in the taller girl’s eyes. The other girl stepped closer as well, but Jessica didn’t step down. She wasn’t going to be afraid of these girls. They didn’t scare her.

Just when she thought the girl in front of her would try to hit her, she felt herself being pulled back, and pushed to the side. The action surprised her, and when she turned around to see who had gotten between her and the taller girls, she realized she had been saved.

“Let’s go.” She saw Taeyeon turning the two taller girls around and making them walk away from her and the kitten on the ground.

Taeyeon glanced over her shoulder at her, she saw an apologetic expression on the girl’s face, before she turned around to follow the two taller girls out the park. Jessica was left in the park, watching as the short girl she had been thinking about since she disappeared from school walked away from her.

She wondered why Taeyeon couldn’t have made the two girls leave the kitten alone from the start. Why the girl hadn’t stepped up sooner?

Did Taeyeon need her to be reminded she had a good heart?

Jessica didn’t understand.

The girl sighed and walked up to the kitten that had been left on the ground. The kitten looked up surprised at her, its small body trembling. The sight made Jessica’s heart ache. She crouched down to the kitten’s level, reached her hand out towards it, slowly, slowly, to not scare it more than it had already been traumatized.

“You poor little thing. What did the girls do to you?” Jessica said as she let her hand be close to the kitten. The kitten went closer to her hand, its body still trembling. Jessica felt sorry for it. She wished she could take it with her. But she knew she couldn’t.

The kitten suddenly pressed its body closer to the ground while its head snapped to the other way. Jessica followed the kitten’s gaze and saw Taeyeon had come back. She frowned when she saw the girl was jogging towards her and the kitten.

“Don’t scare the kitten more than you have already done!” She told the girl.

Taeyeon immediately halted in her tracks. Jessica saw a defeated look on the girl’s face, but she didn’t care, she turned away from the girl towards the kitten on the ground, who seemed to have recovered from its second scare now.

“How cruel can you be? This is animal abuse you know. You should have stopped them.” Jessica said.

Jessica didn’t hear a response from the girl. It annoyed her. She looked up at the girl who was keeping her distance to the kitten, or to her, she didn’t know which, and she didn’t care. She frowned.

“I’m talking to you!” Jessica barked.

“I know…” Taeyeon mumbled.

“Good, then use your mouth to say something.” Jessica said irritated. She turned back to the kitten, the small animal seemed to have grown used to her, and it made Jessica able to pat it, her fingers lightly through its damp fur.

“You could have stopped this you know.” Jessica said. She looked up at the girl who was watching her and the kitten. She sighed and shook her head as she took in the apologetic look on Taeyeon’s face. “I don’t get why you couldn’t stop it sooner.”

“I…” Taeyeon began but stopped. The girl got a troubled look on her face, her jaw tightened and she turned away from Jessica. It didn’t help Jessica to understand at all. She didn’t understand the girl. Not at all. She didn’t understand why the girl couldn’t choose to be completely bad, or completely good. Why hiding one side?

“You know what?” Jessica stood up from the ground, brushed off her jeans before she turned to Taeyeon who had turned back towards her. “If you can watch people being cruel towards living beings that can’t defend themselves, then I don’t want you to act good towards me. Treat me like how you treat everyone else. Make it easier for you.” Jessica said.

She saw panic on Taeyeon’s face. The girl opened like she was going to say something, but she didn’t, it was like something was blocking the words Taeyeon wanted to say. She didn’t understand that either. Why couldn’t the girl just be straight with her thoughts and wants? She would never understand the girl like this.

Jessica bent down to the kitten on the ground. “Take care little guy. Or girl. I would like to take you with me, but I can’t. So be careful. Grow strong, and watch out for mean girls. It’s better just avoiding people over all, really.” Jessica told the kitten.

She looked up from the kitten at the girl in front of her. Taeyeon looked pale and panicky. Jessica thought the girl looked like she was about to throw up. It slightly worried her a bit, but then she reminded herself that caring about her might not be the best.

She straightened up in her pose, looked Taeyeon straight in the eye. There was something the girl wanted to be said, but why couldn’t the girl say it to her? There was no one but them there. And the kitten. But Jessica was sure the kitten would be able to keep a secret.

“Bye, Taeyeon.” Jessica said when she had enough of Taeyeon’s silence. She spun around on her heels, ready to walk away.

“Wait!” Jessica stopped in her tracks. She turned around, felt a small hope rise in her. Would Taeyeon speak now?

“I…” Taeyeon began again. Jessica’s eyebrows furrowed. Would it stop at that again? She frowned when nothing followed. A sigh escaped her lips, and she shook her head.

“I don’t have time for this.” Jessica said and turned around again.

She thought Taeyeon would stop her from walking away again. But the girl didn’t. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed because of that, or if it was better. But she still wanted to know what the girl wanted to say, she wanted to know what was inside the girl’s head. She wanted to know what was hidden inside the girl’s head and heart.

All she wanted was to understand the girl. And today, Jessica felt like she didn’t understand anything about the girl.