"Hey," Victoria, Amber's older roommate said, startling Amber as she trundled in from dance practice. 

Years of TaeKwonDo and track had kept Amber physically fit and flexible, but dance practice made her use muscles she never even knew existed. All she wanted to do most days was head back to the dorm and collapse into her bed. She could never do that though because each day she had Korean vocabulary to memorize and just a few more completion courses for high school. She was nearly done. Sixteen and nearly finished with high school. She couldn't believe it. 

"Hi," Amber groaned, throwing herself face down on the sofa. 

"Irene is moving out today," Victoria said gravely. 

Amber peeled herself from the pastel cushions in shock. "What?! Why?" 

Victoria shrugged. She liked the girl but having studied Chinese traditional dance since she was a child at one of the most difficult schools, she was used to people coming and going. "She doesn't know and none of us are getting more details than that." 

Amber darted into Irene's room to find the small, pale girl neatly packing her belongings into a suitcase. Tears streamed from her eyes, marring her beautiful face. 

"You're not going home, are you?" Amber asked worriedly. If a pretty girl like Irene, who also had a good voice, skills in dance, and a budding skill in acting, couldn't make it, then what chance did a girl like Amber have?

"No," Irene murmured. "I'm just moving to a new dorm. They didn't tell me anything about my new roommates or anything. Or why I'm moving." She sniffled. "I don't know what it means. Have I gotten worse? Does it mean I'll be cut soon?" 

Amber hurried across the room and pulled the older girl into a hug. 

"Of course you're not going to be cut! You're one of the best they have. They'd be idiots to send you home." 

Irene buried her face in Amber's neck, drying her tears on the taller girl's hoodie. "Thanks," she murmured. "Ew...you're sweaty," she pouted, pulling away.

Amber laughed and pulled her back in tighter. "I'm going to miss you, Shorty." 

And she really would. Most of the friends she had were guys and they couldn't visit the girls' dorm often and she couldn't visit their's often either. Irene and Victoria were kind of her safe spaces here. Now she was losing one. Well, she would just be in another dorm, but still, it was nice to go home after the weird looks from the other girls and lay some of her burdens on Irene or to just play a few puzzle games to relieve the stress. Victoria had a few modeling gigs and mv's already, so Amber couldn't always be sure she would be there. So she would probably end up alone most evenings. And she hated being alone.

"That's so weird," Krystal said, dangling her feet off the concrete platform. "One of our roommates moved out too." She squeezed another dollop of frozen melon-flavored ice cream into , savoring the cool feeling that washed over her.

It was the beginning of summer, and she and Amber were hanging out of the roof of the SM Entertainment building. They'd been friends for a few weeks now and loved being able to sneak off to spend some time in each other's company, both finding the other a welcome relief from some of the other girls they trained with. Plus, the constant tensions building among the trainees wondering if or when they would debut was exhausting. A getaway was always welcome. Especially one involving ice cream Amber had gotten her friend Henry to buy them from a convenience store around the corner. 

"I really hope I never have to move," Amber said, faking a shiver. "Have you seen how most of the people look at me here? Staff, trainees..."

Krystal patted her on the back. She'd thought she had it bad with everyone treating her like a spoiled brat, but at least people didn't openly scowl at her and move away from her in the halls like she had some kind of disease. Walking around with Amber was quite a unique experience. People treated her like some kind of pariah just because she had short hair and was a tad androgynous. Not to mention one scary incident when she and Amber had gone to the bathroom together. She'd never known people could be so cruel. 

They didn't even bother to get to know Amber, so they never got to see how sweet, funny, and sensitive she was. Krystal leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Amber's neck. She was a really good friend

"You can move in with me if you ever have to move," Krystal said. "I'd love to have you as my roommate." 

"I bet," Amber laughed, not really believing her. Amber knew that there were rumors about her, and anyone she roomed with had to put up with being part of the gossip too. 

"We could braid each other's hair," Krystal joked, running her fingers through Amber's short strands, "have a mani-pedi night. Pillow fight. It'd be awesome." 

Amber hid behind her hand, giggling madly. "We could bust out our makeup kits and give each other makeovers." 

They both tossed their heads back, cackling.