Premier Allo is french for, first hello  

Luda squirmed, clamped shut as Eunseo attempted to touch her with a stick. On the tip of the stick wriggled a cockroach it’s amber body desperately attempting to rid itself of its impalement. Eunseo brought the stick up to Luda’s face before dropping it to the ground and crushing the bug under her Mary Janes.

“Told you not to rat me out,” Eunseo shook her shoe, a bent roach leg flew off hitting the back of a boy’s shirt.

Luda sat on the stone bench terrified, remained cemented. It was actually funny of Eunseo to suspect her of telling. Luda was mute, she didn’t even speak to her parents but spoke through a variety of nods and hand gestures.

Eunseo didn’t know that though, just thought the girl was one of those quiet teacher’s pets. She’d had enough of those at her old primary school.

“I didn’t,” the voice that came from Luda’s mouth surprised the both of them. Eunseo’s eyes widened as Luda’s hands sprang to cover up the noise.

“Got sand in your throat?”

Luda shook her head, hands still pressed against . Eunseo peeled Luda’s hands from her face and held them.

Her stare intense, “Come on I know where they have ice-cold water.”

The thought of water made Luda salivate, hurt from the over exertion. Following Eunseo was fun, she never knew their school was so big and almost maze-like.

She didn’t know the particular water fountain Eunseo described would be in the Teacher’s lounge. It was off-limits, a place they’d definitely get in trouble in.

They were almost 4th graders, getting caught meant they’d be held back at least that’s what Luda figured, she’d never been in trouble this was probably a huge offense.

She couldn’t, not follow the taller girl. However, Eunseo’s sticky hand had latched tightly to Luda’s like they shared a bond upon touch. When they reached the huge dark wood door by the sixth graders that read Lounge Luda’s heart sped up.

Eunseo turned and grinned, holding up their still together hands. Luda’s eyes were huge her entire body buzzed with anticipation.

“Don’t worry, we’re together.”

They’d gotten in trouble shortly after pushing the door open, a scary teacher from one of the higher grades towered over the two pulling Luda by her arm, the girls refusing to let their hands drop.

The punishment wasn’t harsh though, the teacher unable to find what grade the girls were in and still hungry after having his lunch interrupted opted to punish them by making them stand and face the wall until lunch was over.

It was the first time Luda got in trouble, but it wasn’t the last. Not with Eunseo around.

Eunseo and Luda became friends quickly, and for a while, their friendship consisted of discovering hidden secrets in the school, like where the extra door in the bathroom went, where the lunch ladies hid the strawberry milk cartons, and where Cheng Xiao hid a quarter each recess.

Luda started to talk more, it helped out a lot when the two got into trouble. She was known around the school through their grades as being mute so when she started speaking even if her voice was quiet teachers let the two off with a warning.

It was easy till high school. High school , not for Eunseo though, because everyone liked her. Really everyone, even the girl Luda kinda wanted to befriend a new kid named Dawon, who was just as shy as her.

Girls like Dawon disappeared in high school, she didn’t want to disappear. But Eunseo was so far ahead of her, so outgoing and if she wanted she could leave Luda to blend into the background.

9th grade was the first time Eunseo and Luda didn’t share a class together. Eunseo became fast friends with another girl they’d both grown up with, Cheng Xiao. Luda just sat in class quietly, did her work without speaking, when the teacher called on her she pretended not to hear till the teacher frustratingly called someone else.

At lunch, she wandered until she found a bench with no one around. Things would be as they used to, pre-Eunseo when nothing was fun.

“Hey Ludie, can I have your orange juice,” a familiar voice whispered into her ear.

Eunseo stood behind grinning, her backpack slung over one shoulder she still looked like she did the day they first met except now her hair was brown and looked golden when the sun hit just right.

“Sure,” Luda shrugged handing the carton to her best friend. She hated orange juice but didn’t have the heart to tell her mom to stop getting it not when her mom’s newest obsession was oranges.

“It kinda without you,” Eunseo spoke in between slurps of juice. Her left hand finding Luda’s.

“I don’t have any friends,” Luda looked down at her crumpled paper bag. Her heart hurt at the confession but it was true.

Eunseo shook her head, “Nah you got me, aren’t I important?”

The spark in Eunseo’s eyes was too much to ignore, Luda smiled to herself squeezing their connected hands. Everything was always better with Eunseo.

Luda was 14 when she first developed a crush on her best friend. It wasn't one of those crushes where you swooned at their every action, but more like Luda fell deeper and deeper into infatuation as time moved forward.

It started with Eunseo's fashion sense, the way she wore her socks a certain way, one-half scrunched down and one pulled up. Then as the two became closer and shared music with each other Luda tried not to read into every love song Eunseo exchanged.

It was slow going, Luda didn't fall completely head over heels at first but after 6 years she knew she was probably in some way in love. At least a little. Sorta.

Love was an alien concept, something that only ever worked out in movies. Was it even something plausible in the real world?

Luda ran her fingers through her hair, trying to quickly fix it and rid the look of bed head. She’d misplaced her hair brush and was too lazy to go searching for it now knowing that Eunseo would be over any second.

“You look like a loser.”

Meiqi tried not to laugh at the back of Luda’s head which was forgotten about in the rush to look presentable.

Luda finger combed the left side of her hair letting her fingers catch stray knots, "Do I look okay at least?”

“I’m sure the birds would love the nest you’re advertising.”

Luda groaned touching the massive knots, she didn’t want to rip them out but she wouldn’t mind being bald or having a small bald spot for that matter if it meant saving time.

Meiqi laughed grabbing her brush off the kitchen counter, “It’s okay she won’t be here that soon will she? It’s only like 9 am.”

“She’s Eunseo, unpredictable but never late.”

Luda tried her best to not shed a tear while Meiqi went to work trying to detangle the massive knotted nest at the back of her scalp.

“Did you even attempt to brush your hair yesterday this is impossible,” Meiqi huffed.

“Yes, it just get’s like this when I can’t sleep.”

“You’re so lame.”

Luda checked her phone, it was exactly 9:00 am Eunseo would be knocking on their apartment door any second now.

“Are you ever going to tell her that you love her?”

Meiqi had finished brushing out the knots, surprising herself at the lack of hair on the brush after, she thought Luda would come away with bald spots for sure.

“No, I’m not stupid.”

Meiqi smirked, “I knew you loved her, about time you admitted it.”

“Wait,” Luda hesitated, “I was kidding I-.”

“Too late loser, and it’s past 9 by the way."

Luda clicked her phone on to check, sure enough, Meiqi was right. She’d be lying if her heart didn’t drop a little.

It was stupid, people were late. It's just that Eunseo was never late in her entire life.

Meiqi nudged Luda bringing her back from zoning out. “So what now?”

“We wait.”

Meiqi slung herself down on the couch in the living room, “Teach me how to wait, master of 6 years.”

Luda groaned again lifting up Meiqi’s legs so she could sit “shut up please.”

"No offense but why does Eunseo always spring random hangouts on you early in the morning or super late at night?"

Luda shrugged, she'd asked herself the same question many times before, "I guess she likes being spontaneous?"

Meiqi frowned a bit, seeing her roommate who she regarded as somewhat of a best friend to her, bend to Eunseo's every whim was sad.

"You should set up rules about this kind of stuff, like teach her how to make a plan."

"Wouldn't work, she hates planning."

"But what if you're busy?"

Meiqi crossed her arms over her chest visibly annoyed.

"Luda you can't drop everything for her all the time, life isn't a video game, you have adult stuff to do like uh, I don't know, adult obligations."

Luda tickled Meiqi's knees, "I know and it's not like that I promise."

Meiqi groaned, “well do something about it I hate being woken up because of you two, I’m losing precious sleep.”

“We both know it’s because of Eunwoo and not Eunseo,” Luda countered.

A small knock on the door alerted the two girls that their visitor had arrived. While the overjoyed Luda was re-checking her hair, Meiqi remained on the couch too lazy to get up and too tired to acknowledge anyone.

After checking her teeth in the microwave glass Luda undid the chain latch on the door and opened it wide. A girl no taller than Meiqi herself stood mid-knock gawking at Luda in an otter onesie.

"Uh hi, can you help me with something?"

Luda smiled at the girl's attire, she dressed cutely even her shoes were cute with tiny hearts decorating the toes of her white Adidas.

"Sure what's up?"

The girl in front of her had a slightly flushed look to her, she looked like an adorable harmless lost puppy which is why Luda felt at ease. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have taken a second look at the stranger outside her apartment door before closing it and making Meiqi take care of whoever it was.

But her spirits were on a high because Eunseo would be by soon she felt outside of herself like a different Luda was taking over.

"I kinda locked myself out of my apartment," the girl laughed biting her thumbnail.

Meiqi sat up from where she had sunken down on the couch to check Luda and make sure she was still breathing now that Eunseo had come by.

To her surprise, Eunseo wasn't the 9 am knocker, it was some other girl who had all of Luda's attention. She should’ve known it wasn’t Eunseo, that girl didn’t know the concept of knocking.

Clearly, introductions were going slow, "Lu, who’s the girl you’re flirting with this time?"

Luda could feel the tips of her ears heat up, “sorry, so where is your apartment?”

The girl laughed pointing down the hall were a box rested, “Just down there.”

“My name’s Bona nice to meet you,” the girl raised her voice so that Meiqi could hear as well.

Luda walked out into the hallway in her socks she didn’t know how she could help the girl get her door unlocked but she could try at least.

Bona led the way just a few doors down, “What’s your name?”

“It’s Luda and the girl back there, her name’s Meiqi.”

Bona twisted the knob but the door wouldn’t budge, she stepped back gesturing for Luda to try.

Luda rammed her small body against the door before realizing it would take more force to get the door open. She rubbed her now sore shoulder “well that didn’t work.”

Bona laughed as Luda readied herself again to bust the door down, “I’m sorry to cause so much trouble.”

Luda blew her bangs out-of-the-way, “Oh no worries I’m about to get it hold on, sometimes the doors stick.”

Bona put her hands on the other side of Luda to help push, with their joint effort the door gave way and swung wide into the apartment wall.

“,” Luda cursed under her breath seeing the small hole in the drywall.

“It’s okay at least now I’m not locked out,” Bona smiled softly.

Luda reciprocated the smile, wiping her hands on her shorts “well I’ll see you around.”

As Luda was leaving Bona’s apartment and heading back to her own, Eunseo emerged from around the corner with the goofiest smile on her face.

If Luda could’ve pinpointed the reason for Eunseo looking like an idiot she’d say it was probably because a hot guy opened the door for her. At least that’s what it was last time she got that look on her face.

Luda opened the apartment door leaving it open for Eunseo to walk in. Meiqi was asleep on the couch, typical for her early morning routine. She knocked out quick.

“I just saw the cutest guy,” Eunseo entered the apartment closing the door behind her.

Luda’s eyebrow quirked, “The same one from last week?”

Eunseo made her way to Luda in the kitchen popping open the refrigerator and scanning its contents, “I think so, not sure.”

Luda pursed her lips thinking of something to keep the conversation going, nothing came to mind so she just settled against the cabinet and waited for Eunseo to finish her search.

“You guys never have orange juice,” the taller girl whined closing the door.

“Maybe because both Luda and I hate oranges.”

Meiqi cracked her eyes open and stretched on the couch, she passed a tired look to Luda before closing her eyes again.

“Fair enough, but Ludie you should buy some soon… at least for me.”

There it was, the tone Eunseo affected to her voice that made anything she said irresistible. Luda had grown up with it and she’d never seen Eunseo not get what she wanted after using it. It was her secret weapon. Luda being a victim on many occasions.

Luda sighed knowing she’d probably pick up a few small cartons from the convenience store down the street when Eunseo left.

“Can you two leave, I have people coming over and I call dibs on the T.V.”

Meiqi shot another look at Luda, this time she looked annoyed Luda crossed her arms in slight defiance only to drop her hands when Eunseo gestured for her.

“Alright we’re busy anyway,” Eunseo squeezed Luda’s left hand leading her to her bedroom.

Luda tried to hide the smile spreading over her face because it was these exact types of gestures that she knew well but still caught her off guard.

Eunseo broke contact to throw herself on top of Luda’s bed, “I know it’s early but I missed you.”

Luda laid down, one arm behind her head, “you totally weren’t here yesterday for like 14 hours.”

“You counted?”

Luda’s ears felt warm again, “No that would be lame.”

Eunseo nuzzled her face into the crook of Luda’s neck, these were the moments Luda enjoyed the most. Sure Meiqi warned her for two years now about Eunseo’s habits but she never saw this side of Eunseo.

Eunseo pressed a soft kiss against Luda’s neck. It took everything in Luda to act normal, it was just Eunseo being Eunseo.

Eunseo laced her fingers with Luda’s, “Are you interested in anyone lately?”

Luda lifted their hands and rested them on her chest. Sure she had an interest in someone, she’d been interested for 6 years.

“Not lately, I thought I had a crush on Meiqi for a while but that was only because she offered to buy pizza last week.”

With her unoccupied hand, Eunseo hit Luda's shoulder, “You’re such a loser you know what I mean.”

“Hm, can’t say I have, w