Strawberry and Matcha. Seulgi walked back to their table and gave the matcha ice cream to Wendy, who said thanks and waited for Seulgi to sit. When Seulgi did, they sat in silence as they let the ambiance of the ice cream shop engulf them.

Pastels. The prep school’s own ice cream shop, which sat behind the playground and had a view of the wonderful meadow that stretched far and wide. There were only a few students sitting in the booths, the rest came in and went out with cones or even tubs of ice cream which Wendy told her was for stress eating. 

The shop found its name from the pastel colors of the walls, light blue and pink and yellow and all sorts of colors that made the shop feel so happy. Music that was light on the ears filled the speakers and Seulgi felt an enormous amount of peace well up inside her. 

“Payment received,” Wendy joked before taking a of her ice cream. “How’s the campus treating you?” 

“The room is big. Bed is soft. People are nice. Too nice, it scares me.”

Wendy laughed. “Two-faced and dangerous. The unofficial motto of our school.”

“What’s the official motto?”

“Together we stand. Which is, in truth, a big fat lie. Because the only thing we’re doing together is cheating. The rest, we’re pitted against each other like two gladiators in the Colosseum. It’s horrible.”

Seulgi nodded in understanding. “It seems you don’t enjoy it.”

“Oh, I enjoy it very much. Competition is, well, in my blood. Mother was an Olympic athlete. Father was a Chess Grandmaster. Me? Just a student council president so far and I plan to make that two years in a row.”

“Against Irene? I saw the posters. She’s-”

“Beautiful? Charming? Was that what you’re going to say?”

Seulgi shook her head. “No, scary. I felt on edge when I talked to her. Like you said, two-faced and dangerous.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to see her?”

“Well I didn’t seek her out, but it seems she found me, like you did.”

Wendy gave her a brow before she smiled slightly. She her ice cream before she said, “Me and Irene. We have history.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Even before the academy and we were in our sister school, we were in constant war with each other. Test grades, class president, line leader, the whole sort. You get it. Then for some god forsaken reason, we dated for two whole years. All lovey dovey and we had to control our competitive tendencies. In the end, she was the one who broke the truce.”

Seulgi leaned in closer, paying closer attention to the story. Her eyes were full of wonder and amazement of the depth of their history.

“What did she do?”

“I was sick one day so I couldn’t take notes. Teacher gives her the material to give to me at home. But she gives me the wrong material deliberately. She conjured a full set of notes that was absolutely false and I got a thirty-eight on the unit exam. When she confessed to the act, that’s when we broke up.”

Seulgi’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s…terrible. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Wendy snorted. “It’s not like you gave me the wrong notes. It’s fine. I wanted to talk about it anyway. So? How ‘bout you? What’s your story before Fairchild?”

“I went to a public school in the city.”

“Ooh city girl, huh?”

Seulgi laughed. “It was rough. Fights broke out every day. More like every class period in fact. Teachers really didn’t give a but I did the best I could in a bad situation. When my parents passed, I got shipped off to my aunt. Very, very rich aunt. She saw my education and decided she’d have none of it. So, here I am.”

“So you know how to fend for yourself?”

“If backstreet brawls are anything to go by, then yes, yes I know how to fight.”

“Interesting,” was all Wendy said before she took more interest in eating her ice cream. There was something in Wendy’s eyes, Seulgi observed, that gave her the impression that Wendy knew more than she let on, or just like Sooyoung said, she had all sorts of calculations in her head. 

“I heard there’s this whole cheating shtick in the school. Is that true?” Seulgi asked.

Wendy laughed. “Cheating, huh? Yeah, it’s true, and it’s never going to stop. Nothing like Irene wants it to.” Wendy shook her head. “No, cheaters will never go away. So as student council president, I have to breach both sides and appease both.”

“You’re giving cheaters a free pass?”

“Call it ‘looking the other way’. That’s why the students voted for me and that’s why Irene lost fabulously. You should’ve seen the look on her face. Pure shock. She had never lost something this big before.” 

“And you’re looking to see that face again, aren’t you?”

Wendy shook her head. “No, I’m sure it’ll be different. I’m sure she’ll be angry this time. She’s put so much time and effort in this campaign of hers, but she still holds true with this ‘No Cheating’ policy of hers. I’ve told her that if she bans it, people would just find better ways to cheat. But she’s stubborn, just like when we dated.”

Wendy leaned in closer. Her eyes glanced at the cashier, who was giving them a wary look. “You see that girl over there? The cashier?”

As Seulgi turned her head, Wendy whispered frantically, “Don’t look. Just listen to me. She’s been listening to us this whole time. One of Irene’s girls. Name is Jennie. Here’s a tip if you ever want to cheat: you don’t tell anybody. You never know if that person is looking for a better spot in the dorms or if they’ll report to Irene. Trust me. If they report to Irene, you could be expelled. I don’t know how Irene does it, but she has connections. Strong connections.” 

Seulgi turned pale at the fact that this conversation or any conversation she may ever have could be eavesdropped on. It certainly put her on edge, and she would have to catch her words if they were ever incriminating. 

“Scared you, didn’t I?” Wendy observed. 

“That’s an understatement. Both of you guys are scary in your ways, I guess.” 

“I’m very upfront with what I want. Irene is a snake. In the election, I hope you vote for me.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” 

“Good. At least, you’re considering it. I’m not going to lie to you, but I’m struggling to secure votes. Irene’s been making strides and I’ve just hobbled for the past few months. She’s making promises, big promises, and it’s getting hard to make counter-arguments for each of them. She makes some points people like, frustratingly enough.”

“Like what?”

“Removing the integrity-based dorm assignments, for one. No more fourth-floor scum. Everyone is on equal footing. I disagree. It forces people to be resourceful and that’s a better skill than memorizing three textbook’s worth of materials. She’s such a goody-two shoes, it frustrates me.”

“To be honest with you Wendy, I don’t want to ever sleep on the fourth floor by the sound of it.”

“Then I trust that you won’t be complacent by either studying or finding the resources to pass the test.”

“You meaning cheating?”

“Using resources,” Wendy corrected. She glanced at her watch. “It’s getting late and I have to wake up tomorrow. Thanks for the ice cream, Seulgi, but I’ve got to dip. Early class. I suggest you do the same. Make a good impression. Who’s your first period teacher?”

Seulgi fished her schedule from her pocket and read the name out loud.

“Mr. Choi Hyobin.”

“Definitely go early and sit in the front. He never and I mean never asks questions to the front row. Just make yourself look busy if you’re not paying attention.”

Seulgi nodded. “Got it, thanks for the tip.”

“Oh and your roommate is Sooyoung, right? Don’t believe anything that girl says. She can’t stop herself from lying. Even when she doesn’t want to. Last semester she lied to the professor that some kids were cheating. Turns out they were but she actually had no clue. She just lied cause she can’t help it.”

Seulgi nodded once more. 

“Alright, I really got to go now. I’ll catch you later,” was the last thing Wendy said before she hurriedly left with her ice cream still in her hand.

Seulgi looked on and when she couldn’t see Wendy anymore, finally saw the cashier girl still staring at her. She raised a brow and that caused the girl to recoil back. 

Good, Seulgi thought. The cashier must’ve heard how she knew how to fight.

The Charles Darwin Greenhouse. A strange name to put on a greenhouse, especially since every other building was named after a type of wine. For the school itself, though, it made sense. Social Darwinism seemed to be somewhat omnipresent in the school’s system. 

As she pondered with the name, Seulgi did not notice the body that crept up on her. They creeped closer and closer and then the person yelled, “Boo!”, beside Seulgi’s ear. Almost instantly, Seulgi reactively fished her pocket knife from the inside of her skirt and set the blade against the intruder’s unsuspecting neck, pressing into the skin and scaring the poor person to death.

“Whoa! Seulgi, it was a joke. Chill!” When Seulgi got her bearings, she recognized the person behind the blade. It was who she was waiting for: Irene, sweating buckets now that she was on death’s door. 

“Sorry, I just—you startled me is all. Just old habits, I guess.” Seulgi pulled back and tucked the knife back inside her waist. 

“Your old school let you carry those things?” Irene asked with a disbelief in her voice. 

“Some kids had guns. I’d say a measly pocket knife isn’t so much to write home about. Just don’t...sneak up on me like that.”

“God, okay yeah sure I won’t. Jesus, I could’ve died!”

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