Jisoo awoke the next morning to the sound of thunder.

"Well, looks like we won't be going for our picnic today," she said to Jennie as they were getting dressed.

"That's okay," Jennie said. "We'll still get to go as soon as the weather is nice."

Jisoo pouted. "I know," she said, "but I was just hoping we could go today."

Jennie leaned over and kissed her. 

"Today would have been a great day to go - we'd get to miss geography and math class!"

"That's true,' Jisoo said. "I'd rather go on a day when we could miss combat." She stopped for a second, apparently deep in thought. "Do you ever stop to think how weird all of this is?"

Jennie looked up from buttoning her boots. "How weird what is?"

Jisoo gestured around her. "All of this. Combat class. Secret societies. Missions. I know we talked about this once before, but I keep waiting for things to start making sense and they're just not."

Jennie reached over and started started buttoning Jisoo's boots. "Still worried if we're the bad guys?"

Jisoo nodded.

Jennie stopped and looked up at Jisoo. "I don't think we're the bad guys. I don't feel like a bad guy."

"Even after your mission?" Jisoo asked, her brows knitted in perplexity.

"Even after my mission," Jennie said as she went back to buttoning Jisoo's boots. "We just have to trust Madame Park and the people above her to make the right choices. But I really do think we're a force for good in the world." She fastened the last button and stood up.

"I hope you're right," Jisoo said. She leaned forward, wrapped her arms and Jennie, and rested her head on Jennie's shoulder.

"I think I'm right," Jennie said as she Jisoo's hair. She looked over Jisoo's shoulder at her reflection in the mirror. "I hope I'm right."

Just then the first bell rang for breakfast.

"Right or not, we've got to go line up for breakfast," Jisoo said with a weak attempt at a smile.

After breakfast it was raining too hard for them to walk for exercise, so they contented themselves with walking laps around the ballroom. To break the monotony, they alternated who they were walking with every few minutes, which is how Jisoo found herself walking arm in arm with Solar.

"How's Jennie doing with her piano lessons?" Jisoo asked.

Solar looked at her sidewise. "Really? You're asking that?"

Jisoo nodded.

Solar rolled her eyes. "She's doing fine." After a pause, Solar looked over at Jisoo. "We're not friends, you know."

"Even so," Jisoo said with a small smile, "we've had some good times. Maybe we will again."

Solar looked at Jisoo incredulously. "Really? You think I'd let you touch me again?"

Jisoo nodded slowly. "As soon as you think you've got something to gain from it. I don't know if I'll say yes, though - I'm sure next time you'll do a better job of thinking things through."

Solar was just about to respond to this when Jennie called for everyone to switch partners again. This time Jisoo found herself walking with Moonbyul.

"How've you been?" JIsoo asked. "I haven't really had a chance to talk to you since you got back from your mission."

Moonbyul thought for a moment. "I've been doing well. Madame Park has been pretty much ignoring me since my mission, which I count as a win."

"I noticed she's left you at sixth rank," Jisoo said. "That's good. I was afraid she'd drop you back to eighth as soon as Hwasa and Whee-in finished their first missions."

"I don't know what's going on there," Moonbyul said. "I still don't think I'll ever be one of her favorites, but things are a little different."

'Maybe she's finally coming to see how good you actually are at everything," Jisoo said.

Moonbyul chuckled at this. "That would require her being fair, so I wouldn't hold my breath."

"Stranger things have happened," Jisoo said. By this time their walk