Irene shuffled into her 8am calculus class, clutching a large coffee as she blinked against the harsh fluorescent lights. She had stayed up too late the night before binge watching shows on Netflix, and was now struggling to wake up enough to follow the complex equations the professor was scrawling across the board.

Sliding into an empty seat in the back row, Irene sipped her coffee and tried to focus on the lecture. A few minutes later, another student hurried into class, looking flustered. She had long wavy brown hair and wore a flowy floral blouse tucked into a red leather skirt paired with tall brown boots. The only open seat was next to Irene.

"Is anyone sitting here?" the girl asked. Irene shook her head and moved her backpack from the chair so the girl could sit down.

"Hi, I'm Wendy," she whispered to Irene as she pulled out her textbook.

"Irene," Irene replied with a small smile. Wendy grinned back, her green eyes shining.

She seemed friendly but Irene was too tired to feel much of anything except the desire for more coffee as she turned back to listen to the professor. Over the next hour, Irene tried to pay attention to the  derivatives on the board, while Wendy diligently took notes beside her.

When the professor announced they would have 20 minutes to work in pairs on a quick quiz, Irene hesitated, not knowing who to team up with.

"Wanna work together?" Wendy asked with a friendly smile.

"Sure," Irene said, moving her chair closer to Wendy's.

As Wendy carefully went through the work for the first problem, Irene was impressed by how she broke down the question and derived the solution. When they got to the third problem, Irene recognized the type of function and quickly showed Wendy the steps to find the derivative.

They fell into an easy rhythm - explaining concepts back and forth, checking each other's work, and making sure they were both grasping the methods. By the time the professor called for them to stop, Irene and Wendy had answered all five questions correctly.

As they turned in their quiz papers, Irene turned to Wendy. "We made a good team."

"Yeah we did!" Wendy agreed, smiling over at Irene. "I was struggling with some of those last derivatives until you showed me that shortcut."

"I'm glad I could help," Irene replied. "Your explanations for the first couple of problems helped me understand those concepts better too."

They stopped to chat for a few minutes as the rest of the students filed out of the lecture hall. Irene shouldered her backpack and was about to head out, when she suddenly stopped and turned back. "A few of us were going to get lunch after this. Want to join?" she asked casually.

Wendy's face lit up with a smile. "Sure, I'd love to! I don't really know too many people here yet. I just moved here so I don't know anyone yet."

Irene nodded, feeling a little awkward. She wasn't usually one to spontaneously invite people along, but there was something warm and genuine about Wendy that made her want to be more open.

As they walked to the campus cafe, Wendy chatted happily, asking Irene questions about her major and classes. Irene found herself opening up more than usual but still reserved.

"So, you said you just moved here?"

"Yup! I'm from New York city," Wendy said. "Definitely a change of pace moving here! I love the energy so far, but it's been an adjustment not knowing anyone. Especially trying to figure out where everything is by yourself."

Irene's eyes widened slightly as they crosses the quad. "Wow New York City to here, that must be a huge change. Definitely much more quieter here. What made you choose Stanford?"

"They have an amazing medical program here," Wendy said shyly. " I want to be a oncologist some day, so I moved to one of the best schools to learn."

As they walked, Wendy chattered happily, waving her hands as she talked about her plans. "When I was younger, my sister got leukemia. I'll never forget how caring the doctors and nurses were with her - and with me too. There were some scary moments, but they saved my sister's life. I knew then that I wanted to help people the way they helped my family."

Irene nodded slowly as she walked quietly beside Wendy. Wendy seemed like a bright person on the surface that Irene could hardly guess what she had been through based on her warm, bubbly personality. "That must have been really hard to go through," she finally said.

Wendy's smile faltered for a moment. "It was really tough," she admitted quietly. She paused, looking down at the ground as they walked. Then she seemed to give herself a little shake.

Lifting her head, Wendy had the bright smile back on her face. "But my family and I got through it together. We're just happy that my sister pushed through and is now cancer-free."

Irene smiled slightly in response. She could imagine that after going through such an ordeal together, Wendy and her family were closer than ever.

When they neared the cafe, Irene noticed a long line of students waiting outside.

"That's the cafe up ahead," Irene said, nodding toward the crowd. "Looks pretty busy today, but my friends should already have grabbed a table inside."

Wendy craned her neck to peek through the windows. "Awesome, I'm starving after that quiz! All that math seriously worked up my appetite."

Irene chuckled a little at Wendy's eargeness. "Okay, let's head in and see if we can find them," Irene said, walking to the cafe.

As they approached the cafe entrance, Wendy quickly reached forward to grab the door handle, holding it open.

"After you!" she said cheerily. Irene chuckled and murmured "Thanks" as she passed through into the busy cafe. Her eyes scanned the crowded room as she waited for Wendy to enter behind her.

Finally Irene spotted her friends Seulgi, Joy and Yeri already seated at a corner table. She caught their eyes and waved, then turned back to Wendy emerging beside her, letting the heavy door swing shut.

"My friends are over there," Irene told Wendy, pointing across the room. Wendy nodded, trying to find where Irene was pointing to. Irene could sense a hint of shyness from the usual bubbly girl, though Wendy still smiled warmly.

"Shall we?" Irene gave an encouraging half-smile and started leading the way

When they finally reached the table, Irene's friends looked up with surprised expressions to see Irene had brought someone new.

"Hey guys," Irene said, a slight blush rising to her cheeks as she realized her friends weren't expecting her to have a guest. "This is my new friend Wendy from calculus. Wendy, that's Seulgi, Joy, and Yeri."

Wendy gave a shy little wave to the group. "Hi everyone, nice to meet you."

An awkward silence fell over the table as all eyes turned to Irene. Her friends were clearly surprised she had brought someone new to their typical lunch crew.

Irene felt heat rising to her cheeks, suddenly self-conscious under their questioning looks.

Then Yeri turned to wendy and broke into a warm smile, picking up on Wendy's friendly demeanor. "Hi Wendy! We're always excited to meet new people."

Seulgi and Joy quickly followed suit, smiling and welcoming Wendy to the table. "Hi Wendy! Don't mind us," Joy said with a little chuckle. "We're just not used to Irene bringing anyone new into our group."

"Yah! I do make other friends outside you guys," Irene protested with a small pout.

Yeri waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, of course you do. Anyway Wendy, Irene said you're in her calculus class?"

Irene felt the tension in her shoulders start to release as her friends welcomed Wendy. She pulled out chairs herself and Wendy, smiling at how easily Wendy was already integrating into the group. Despite being in an unfamiliar social situation, Wendy seemed just as cheerful as ever, already becoming fast friends with Seulgi, Joy and Yeri.

"Omg! We're the same age!" Seulgi suddenly shouted. "Finally, I'll have someone to back me up when these two maknaes gang up on me." She playfully glared at Joy and Yeri, the self-proclaimed "evil" younger duo.

Joy and Yeri both gasped in mock offense before dissolving into giggles. The mischievous pair loved poking fun at their unnies.

"As if we'd ever gang up on our Seulgi-unnie," Yeri ma