The next morning Minhee woke up yet still felt so tired. Last night was a mix of emotions that she still couldn’t believe happened. For whatever reason, her and Mark’s parents, whom she later remember their names being Raymond and Dorine, thought it was a wonderful idea for the two of them to get married. No matter how much she asked the adults or side-eyed the boy, no real reason was given. With her mother’s bribe of letting her go to college for art, the idea didn’t seem awful in Minhee’s mind. From how her parents had always talked so highly of him, he didn’t seem like a such a bad guy. The girl still thought the idea was ridiculous but was willing to humor everyone for the time being by acting like she was okay with the plan.

     When she arrived at school she talked to her friends and carried on with her classwork as if everything was normal. Subconsciously with the new hope that she would be going to school for art now that her parents, under these odd circumstances, seemed okay with the idea, made the girl a bit more attentive in class. Once school was finished the girl went downstairs to head for the art room but was stopped by a classmate on her way there.

     “Hey, some guy is down in the lobby is looking for you,” the girl said as she balanced with one foot on a step, blocking Minhee’s path downstairs. The girl tilted her head as if to ask why she would care.

    “He’s really cute. If you don’t talk to him, is it okay if I do?” the girl said. Something in Minhee’s head clicked yet still didn’t seem real.

     “Does he have red hair?” she asked, hoping the answer would be no.

    The girl simply nodded and this caused Minhee to sigh before walking past her.

     “See you later,” the girl called after her, a bit taken aback that the usually friendly Minhee was acting rather sassy now.

    Minhee walked down the hall still full of students until she reached the main entrance. Sure enough Mark was standing by a wall, looking into the crowd until his eyes met hers and he straighten himself up.

    “Hi,” Minhee said, feeling uncomfortable yet curious.

    “Your mom said that I should pick you up so we can study together,” Mark said looking down at her since he was a good half of a foot taller. Minhee just nodded and let out an okay before following him out of the school and towards the bus stop. She could hear the questions and speculations already. Come Monday people would be curious as to who the guy she left school with was, but Minhee didn’t mind and would be willing to answer and diffuse any rumors. She wasn’t sure if this would be a regular thing and couldn’t figure out if she minded it or not. If they really were to study together, it would help her future test scores, which would only be a good thing. Plus this time she would spend in art club then rush to the library to hopes to cram a few facts in, so maybe this would work better.

     Minhee sat in the seat next to the boy who had been silent since he picked her up and she thought of something to say. Everything they talked about when they were younger seemed irrelevant and any friends they used to have in common had become faded memories. She did her best not to sigh but the mild distress caused her to have a small frown. Minhee looked towards the window and saw the boy was staring straight ahead, which made her feel awkward so she did the same. It was unusual for her to not be able to talk to someone, even if she had just met them. But she hadn’t just met Mark, they used to be best friends. Now they were strangers who were put into a weird situation and neither of them wanted to bring it up.

    “Your school is so close,” Mark said as not even ten minutes later the bus stopped in front of their complex. This made Minhee think of how her parents always said Mark’s school was an hour away. So how did he show up right as school ended?

     “Did you leave early?” Minhee asked as they were both off of the bus and Mark was half a step ahead of her.

     “My mom practically forced me to,” He said. This made Min