Jessica opened the door to her new accommodation. She had just crossed the threshold when she heard footsteps running down the stairs from the second floor. A woman’s voice called out, “AhSa! Give me back my hawthorn rolls!” The cause of mischief merely chuckled as she scurried down the steps and almost ran into Jessica and her luggage.

Both girls were startled at each other’s sudden appearance, Jessica more so, when she was almost run over by a beautiful lady coming down a flight of stairs.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry.” The girl called AhSa apologized in Chinese, holding both of Jessica’s arms to keep her steady. Then, realizing that she’s a new face, AhSa shifted to fluent English, “Ah, you must be the new transfer. Welcome to the academy! I’m Cai Zhuoyan, but everyone here calls me AhSa. And you are?”

“N-Nice to meet you. I-I’m Jessica Jung. My Chinese name is Zheng Xiuyan.” Jessica managed to stutter out, still shy about meeting her new dormmate. The proximity between them did not help either as AhSa doesn’t seem to be bothered with being so close to her. Jessica finally felt herself breathe when AhSa released her arms and took hold of her luggage, “I guess you’re going to be my new roommate so come with me.”

Jessica was about to follow her when someone else ran down the stairs and halted between Jessica and AhSa.

“Cai Zhuoyan! Give me back my guo dan pi!” The girl from upstairs demanded, holding AhSa in place by the arms. Jessica merely watched as the other girl tried patting AhSa down, in hopes of finding something.

“I already ate it, Jinyan. It’s not with me. See? I only have my phone on me.” AhSa took out her phone from her pocket, waving it for everyone to see. Jinyan furrowed her brows, unconvinced by AhSa’s confession. She then turned to the newcomer, her expression softening when she saw Jessica’s confused look.

“You.” Jinyan approached the new transfer and in her best knowledge of English, tried to ask the foreigner, “Did you see her with food?”

Jessica only shook her head in response, much to Jinyan’s frustration. Then, Jinyan’s face lit up and without warning, she began patting Jessica down too, much to the Korean American’s shock. Jessica merely stiffened when Jinyan ran her hands down her sides, before pulling out something from one of Jessica’s pants pockets. “Aha! My guo dan pi!” Jinyan raised the small bag of hawthorn rolls for everyone to see.

She opened the bag and handed one of the treats to the newbie, to which Jessica hesitantly accepted. “It’s good!” Jinyan assured as she demonstrated how to eat the tasty treat. Her eyes lit up when Jessica followed her actions, chewing the delicious confection before nodding to Jinyan in approval with her eyes lit up.

“Hmm. This is so good! Thank you.” Jessica shyly said.

They then shifted their gaze towards a guilty-looking AhSa who still kept her charming smile. “I just wanted to share the treat with her…” AhSa tried reasoning, not convincing both Jinyan and Jessica. “Anyway, shouldn’t we help Xiuyan get settled, Jinyan?”

“Oh, your name is Xiuyan? That sounds very Chinese.” Jinyan said.

“Uh, my parents translated it for me from Korean. I’m not Chinese. My real name is Jessica Jung, but you can call me, Zheng Xiuyan.”  

“Nice to meet you, Xiuyan. I’m Wu Jinyan.” They shook hands and Jinyan offered to hold Jessica’s other carry-on luggage for her while AhSa rolled the large trolley into the shared bedroom on the ground floor. The trio did not expect another person already in the room when they entered. Jessica felt both Jinyan and AhSa pause in their tracks as the room’s occupant looked up from her book.

Jessica stared at the person lounging on the bed closest to the door. She was quite tall and slender in stature, her long black wavy hair draping over her shoulders, and she was wearing a matching black shirt and joggers. Given the occupant’s laidback disposition when Jessica and the two other girls entered, Jessica deducted that this person was very much everyone’s senior in this situation.

“Xiaolei jie!” Jinyan and AhSa chorused as they engulfed the apparently older lady in a warm hug to which the senior student returned with a charming smile. 

“We didn’t know you were back so soon!” AhSa remarked, in heavily Cantonese-accented Mandarin, as she straightened herself.

“Yeah! We thought you would be staying back home for a while.” Jinyan added.

“Nah, I wanted to come back and practice early. I heard this year’s competition will be tougher and besides, I’m going to graduate soon, too.” Xiaolei replied before shifting her attention to the lone newcomer who stayed by the door. “Oh, we have a new student? Is she going to be my roommate?”

Jessica remained mum but kept her polite smile as Xiaolei sat up straight and cast her a welcoming grin. The new student watched as AhSa and Jinyan explained some things to Xiaolei in Chinese. Jessica could only make out the words ‘English’ and ‘foreigner’ in their language. She managed to understand that the two were prompting the senior to address her in English since she was not from their country.

“Ah, okay. Hello, my name is Xiaolei, and I am going to be with you. We’re going to be roommates!” Xiaolei enthusiastically greeted in her accented English, giving Jessica a handshake as the latter finally stepped closer to properly greet her actual roommate.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jessica Zheng Xiuyan.” Jessica replied as she shook the senior’s hand before turning to both Jinyan and AhSa with a confused look. “I thought AhSa was going to be my roommate.”

The new student watched as Jinyan playfully hit AhSa at the back of her head. “Ei! You silly prankster! You’re giving us all a bad impression for that!”

Jessica tried stifling a chuckle upon catching on to what Jinyan’s actions had implied for her. AhSa merely whined before answering in English, “I was just being playful. You’re being mean, Jinyan…”

‘Cute!’ Jessica thought as she watched AhSa pout at Jinyan.

Xiaolei merely laughed at the two younger girls’ antics, “Now, now. Let’s not give Xiuyan a bad first impression, girls. Remember, we’re going to be living with her for months, especially you and me, Jinyan.”

Then, turning to Jessica, Xiaolei grinned and explained in English, “We’re not as bad as you think we are if you’re already thinking about that. AhSa here is just very playful and she loves messing around with everyone especially Jinyan. So, please, forgive their behavior.”

“It’s okay, Xiaolei jie. They have been very helpful when I entered the dorm. AhSa helped me with my trolley and Jinyan was kind enough to hand me a treat and helped me with my bag.” Jessica replied, also noting that Jinyan had already placed her bag on the study table at the end of the room and that AhSa had wheeled her large trolley luggage into the room when she was preoccupied with her interactions with Xiaolei jie. “Oh, thank you so much for your help, jiejies.” Jessica bowed and thanked the two kind girls.

AhSa merely patted her head with a gentle smile while Jinyan grinned and said it was fine. They both excused themselves before scurrying out of the bedroom, leaving Jessica alone with Xiaolei.

“Your bed’s right here unless you prefer the one closer to the bathroom and the door?” Xiaolei asked.

“No, I’m fine with the bed close to the window.” Jessica replied as she sat down on the bed, testing how it felt under her weight. She began to feel more comfortable and surprised at the same time, given that her senior roommate just gave her a chance to change beds even if Xiaolei must have lived there for quite some time.

“Get settled, Xiuyan. I’m going to give you a tour of our dorms when you’re ready. Dinner’s going to be around 7 and we’re having hotpot!” Xiaolei said before she stood up, her book in hand, “I’m going to give you some time to unpack. I’ll be right in the foyer if ever you need help, dear.”  

Jessica turned to her luggage and bag.

This is it. There’s no turning back now.

Her dormmates seemed nice to her though.

‘I think this is a great start.’

+++

A/N: New update! We are getting closer to Jessica meeting some of AOTU soon! :3