Jessica was the type of girl who was sweet, kind, smart, and beautiful, inside and out. One of those girls who could have anything she wanted-- that is, if only she wasn't so shy. If someone started a conversation with her, she would look down the whole time and give one-word answers. If she was, by the off-chance, invited to a party, she would politely decline. And every beginning of the school year, when her new teacher would ask why she was so quiet, she would just shrug. Nobody knew why she was so shy, not even herself.

It was that first day of school again, and Jessica was once more put into a classroom full of unfamiliar faces, except for a few that she vaguely remembered passing in the halls. Suddenly, a happy, springy girl bounded up to Jessica excitedly.

"Sica! It's you!"

"U-um..." was all she could say, for she had no recollection of this girl.

"Sica, you're soo big now! And you got really pretty too! Not that you ever were ugly, you were just really cute back then, and now you got all grown up! I can tell you haven't changed on the inside though, you're still just as shy as ever, huh?"

"Um, excuse me, I..."

"Huh? Why are you speaking so formally?"

"Well, I don't..."

"You don't what?"

"I don't... know you..."

"Oh! Omo!" the girl exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Sica, I forgot! It has been a lot of years since I last saw you, huh? So I shouldn't expect you to remember..."

"Wait a second..." This happy little girl was so familiar, so unique and nostalgic in Jessica's mind. There was only one person this girl could be, the only one who ever called her by the nickname Sica. "Sunny? Is that you?"

"Ah! You do remember!" Sunny squeeled, clasping her hands together.

Sunny was Jessica's neighbor all throughout kindergarden, first grade, and second grade. Sunny was always a bright, cheery child, outgoing and easy to get along with, quite unlike Jessica, who was extremely shy even back then and had a hard time talking to people. Sunny was the only person that she could warm up to, the only one who made her feel comfortable. Unfortunately, the summer before third grade, Sunny's dad got a new job, moving their family to a new town; Jessica hadn't seen her since.

"Please, Sica, tell me you've made a bunch of friends since back then! I'd hate to think that you've been lonely all this time!"

Jessica looked down at her desk. "Well, no, I haven't made any friends... But it's okay, because I'm not lonely. I enjoy being by myself. It gives me time to study."

Sunny gave a child-like sigh, rolling her eyes. "Oh, Sica, I can't believe you..." Jessica felt two small (yet comforting) arms wrap themselves around her shoulders. "I know you don't really feel that way."

"H-how?"

Sunny carefully let go of her friend, giving her a warm smile. "A Sunny-Bunny always knows! Well, now you don't have to be lonely anymore, 'cause you've got three friends right here. Seohyun! Yuri! Come here!"

The two girls that Sunny was with earlier came up to Jessica and introduced themselves. Jessica was afraid that she would get their names wrong, but she gave it her best.

"Girls, this is Jessica; we were best friends when we were little."

"Oh, I see, that's why you left us and ran to her in the middle of our conversation!" Seohyun joked.

"Yeah, I though you two were dating," Yuri laughed.

"Yah, Yuri-ah, don't be like that!"

Jessica smiled awkwardly. She was happy to meet the two girls but wasn't quite sure what to say.

Sunny seemed to notice how uncomfortable her friend was. "Hey, Sica, we're gonna go to our favorite cafe after school. Wanna come?"

"Oh, I don't know, Sunny, I have to get a head start on studying and--"

"Aw, come on, please?" begged Yuri.

"It would be fun with you around," Seohyun added.

"Uh... well... okay, I'll go."

"Great! Just follow us after class, and we'll show you the way. The five girls that work there are really amazing, too! You'll love them, Sica!"

When the final bell rang, Jessica gathered her things and prepared to go to the cafe with Sunny, Yuri, and Seohyun. She was nervous of course, but also very excited to hang out with her new friends and meet the five employees that Sunny mentioned. Somehow, she felt it would be a good year for her.

"Sicaaa~ You ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready!"

"Okay, let's go!"

As they walked, the girls chattered away, and even Jessica had a good amount of input. When they finally arrived at their destination and opened the doors, they found the whole shop completely deserted, not a single person in sight. Still, Sunny walked in like it was nobody's buisness, Yuri and Seohyun following. Jessica reluctantly stepped inside.

For a while, she though that they had gotten the times wrong and the cafe was closed. Shortly after, though, light humming sounded sounded from the kitchen, and a girl emerged with a rag. She began wiping the counter, but when she realized the four girls were standing there, she gave a delighted shriek.

"Unnie! Unnie, they're here! Our special guets that we closed the shop for!" She darted back into the kitchen, soon comeing back with two curious girls following her. When they saw Jessica, they gave cries of "omo!" and "look, look!"

"Taeyeon-Unnie," the tallest one of them called, "come and see the new girl!"

Another person walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. She walked up to Jessica and shook her hand. "So, you must be the Jessica that Sunny told me so much about. I'm Taeyeon, the manager of this cafe. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Jessica couldn't describe it, but this woman -Taeyeon- made her very comfortable, in a different way than Sunny did. Sunny made her happy, while Taeyeon made her... calm.

"I'm Yoona, by the way!" stated the excited girl who had first appeared.

"And I'm Hyoyeon," said another girl with a lovely, unique face and sweet voice.

"Sooyoung," the tallest girl said. She was long and thin with a pretty face, obviously supermodel material.

"Um, wait... Sunny, you said there were five girls, and this is only four..."

"Oh right," Sooyoung said casually. "TIFFANY, GET OUT HERE!" Jessica was startled by her sudden change in volume.

"Coming!" came the reply. There was a clanking of pots and pans from the other room, until finally, a girl with ruffled hair burst in, panting.

Taeyeon gave her a sigh. "Fany-ah, you're so clumsy. How do you expect to run this place when I'm gone, huh?"

Tiffany giggled. "Sorry..."

"'Gone'?" Jessica questioned.

"Next summer, Taeyeon-Unnie is going to a pastry school in France for three years. Fany-ah is going to be put in charge. That is, if she can get her act together!" Hyoyeon teased lightly, poking Tiffany in the forehead.

"Yah, stop it! It'll be fine!" Something about the way Tiffany smiled made Jessica smile with her.

"It'll be lonely without Unnie," Sunny pouted.

"That's right, it only feels right when all eight of us are together," Yuri agreed. "Hey, wait, now there's nine of us!"

"Oh, you're right! Sica is a part of our group now!"

"R-really?" Jessica asked. She had never been part of a group before.

"Of course," Hyoyeon told her with a sweet smile on that pretty, one-of-a-kind face.

"Yah! What are you doing? You're supposed to be serving us!" Seohyun joked with the employees.

"You heard her, ladies; get to work!" Taeyeon instructed, clearly born to be a leader.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Hyoyeon took the orders.

"I'll have a caramel cappuchino."

"Hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, as always!"

"Sweet coffee for me."

You got it! Jessica, what would you like?"

"Um..." Truthfully, Jessica didn't know what to pick. Suddenly, a thin finger appeared and pointed to an item on the menue. Jessica looked to the side and saw Tiffany kneeling beside her, smiling.

"You should pick this one," the girl instructed in a whisper that, for somereason, made Jessica's heart race.

"O-okay, uh, yeah, I'll have this one, I guess..."

Hyoyeon peaked over the menue to see where her finger was pointing. She smiled upon seeing it. "Good choice! Okay, coming right up!" She walked away and handed the slip of paper to Sooyoung. "I'll take care of the first two orders. Yoona, can you do the last two?"

"I'm on it!" The pair set about their jobs, Taeyeon assisting them as needed. Jessica found herself scanning the area for Tiffany, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Looking for Fany-ah?"

"Whu- How did you you know?"

"I told you, a Sunny-Bunny always knows!"

"And what exactly do you know?" Yuri inquired. "Does our little Sica have a crush on Fany-ah?"

Jessica's eyes opened wide and dangled open.

"Yah, I told you to stop shipping real-life people," Sunny said with a bored expression. "Save it for dramas and idols."

"But I think there might be some truth to it, based on Sica's reaction!" Seohyun laughed.

Yoona, head peaking out of the kitchen entryway, was listening intently to the conversation, giggling.

"YOONA, GET BACK TO WORK!"

"O-oh, yes, Sooyoung-ah!"

Soon, Hyoyeon came out with their orders. "Okay, a caramel cappuchino for Yuri, hot chocolate with extra whipped cream for Sunny, the sweet coffee for Seohyun, and a Strawberry Feild bubble tea for Tiffany. Enjoy!"

Three of the girl happily sipped their drinks, but Jessica just stared at hers with a puzzled look.

"Have you never had bubble tea before?" Jessica turned around to find none other than Tiffany standing behind her.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, let me tell you about it: the tea is really, really sweet, so it tastes more like a fruit drink than tea. Those dark things are the jellies-- I don't really like them, thay have a weird texture. And the pink bubbles are what make it bubble tea! You bite them, and there's strawberry syrup inside. It's really fun to pop the bubbles!"

"Oh, I see..."

"Yeah, isn't it cool? I love bubble tea, especially the strawberry kind! You seem like the type of girl who likes strawberry-flavored things, so that's why I suggested it. Go on, try!" And with that, Tiffany left just as quickly as she came.

Taeyeon watched her rush into the kitchen with a smile. She placed a hand on Jessica's shoulder. She instantly felt relaxed by this motion. "You see, that's why I'm leaving her in charge. She may be clumsy and disorganized, and she may have a habit of dissappearing to Shisus-knows-where... but she has a passion for the Cafe and everyone who walks through its doors. I feel at peace knowing she'll take care of everything."

That night, Jessica hugged her pillow tightly, thinking of her new friends.

Sunny, the cutsey girl who hasn't changed a bit since kindergarden.

Yuri, the kind-hearted one who ships real-life people and lives in her own little fantasies.

Seohyun, the blunt but caring sweetie.

Yoona, the easily excited, happy-go-lucky girl.

Sooyoung, a supermodel-like girl whose sudden temper and random yelling was evened out by her cool attitude and big heart.

Hyoyeon, who had a beautiful and unique face and a pure soul full of love.

Taeyeon, the natural-born leader that could make you feel calm and serene with a single touch and a kind word or two.

And, the girl who stood out most in Jessica's mind, Tiffany-- a sweet, klutzy, people-loving, beautiful individual. There was something special about her that Jessica couldn't figure out.

All she knew was that she couldn't wait until the next time she visited the Cafe.