When I woke up the next morning, I looked at my new ring. I smiled, and stood up to take my clothes on.

Just when I had gotten dressed, my mom called to say that breakfast was ready. I jumped down the chairs, as I was hungry as hell. Of some reason, I always was in the morning.

“Dear god, Xiao Jie [Miss/Young Lady]! You have to be careful of yourself!” a maid shouted, when I jumped down from the marble staircase right in front of her. When I was at home, or with my family at different meetings and parties, everyone called me Xiao Jie. The most people did it to show me respect, but my parents and other close family members called me it in connection with my real name, Wu Ying Jie. I was often in confusion whether people called me “Miss” or “Little Jie”.

I quickly ate (a lot of) breakfast, while my mom looked disapproving at me.

“Xiao Jie, it isn’t appropriate for a lady to eat that much,” she commented. I looked up from my plate.

“If I don’t eat, then how am I able to stay alive?”

“A lot of people survive without eating that much food.” She sent my breakfast a killer gaze, as if it was its fault that her daughter had a good appetite.

“Mom, relax. A lot of people also eat a lot more than I do. And no matter what, my ballet training keeps me skinny.”

Before I left the table, I quickly kissed her forehead. I went up to get my bag.

“Hey, Genie!” I shouted. Genie was waiting for me at our usual meeting place.

We didn’t have class until nine o’clock, so we had time to go get an ice cream. Something my mother would also have disapproved on.

“Hey Gui Gui,” Genie smiled back when I reached her. Genie was by no doubt my best friend. We could talk about everything.

So I told her about my conversation with Alien the day before. She listened carefully.

“Why is it a bad thing he likes you? I mean, I know you like Aaron, but… Alien isn’t that bad. And your parents would be happy,” she said when I had finished. I looked down.

“I… I know, but… Yeah, you’re probably right. My parents want me to marry someone like him anyways. And as you said, he isn’t that bad…”

I talked mostly to myself, trying to convince myself about what was best for me. But was it the best for me? It didn’t feel like it.

“And being his girlfriend doesn’t mean you have to marry him,” Genie pointed out. That was true too.

We reached the ice cream shop. It was our favourite.

I bought one with chocolate and Genie one with melon.

When we slowly walked towards the school, I told Genie about the ring. She thought it was pretty funny.

“And it matches perfectly, see!” I showed her my finger. She laughed.

“I wonder how someone could’ve lost it behind the radiator…”

We then continued to talk about our next ballet turnout, when Aaron’s father suddenly walked by.

We wondered what he was doing in this part of town. And he looked all scowling and… dark. I knew Aaron lived with his family in a big, fort-like house in the other end of the city, but no one I knew ever talked about it.

Aaron’s father glanced shortly at me, but then looked away with a disgusted attitude.

Suddenly, the silver ring started getting hot.

“Genie, wait!” I had to stop, and tried to get the ring off. It was impossible.

“What is it?” Genie asked and walked back to me. I still fought with the ring.

“I can’t get it off! And it’s getting near red-hot…”

“What? Try with some soap, it uses to work…”

“No, I was able to get it off easily yesterday! And…” When my finger started bleeding, I had to bit my lower lip to restrain myself from crying.

“Oh my… It looks like it has grown into your skin.”

I froze. She was right. Awfully right.

We both stared at my bleeding finger for a while, before Genie took the word again.

“Should we… should we go to the hospital?”

“No,” I said, to my own surprise. “How can a ring just grow into a finger like this?” I was still trying to keep myself from crying, and took out a handkerchief to hold around it.

Genie helped me knot it.

“I mean, if you’d had it on for ten years of something like that, it might have been possible… but… two days?” Genie also wondered.

“It shouldn’t be possible,” I desperately mumbled, and held around my finger. It still hurt, but at least the ring didn’t feel like it was burning anymore.

Genie looked worried at me for another few seconds before she said:

“Let’s go to school.”

Still hurting, I followed her. But strangely enough, my skin had healed around the ring when we reached the school.

It really had grown into my skin.

I wasn’t able to concentrate for the rest of the day. Genie was with me all the time and we kept discussing what to do.

“Why don’t you go to the hospital?” Genie asked for the seventh time. I shook my head and looked at my finger.

“It’s just too… weird. Didn’t you see how fast it healed?” I asked. Genie nodded.

“But what will you do then?”

Before I could answer, Alien came over with his friend. I immediately recognized him.

“Go away,” I said, clearly remembering the last time I met him.

“I’m sorry about the water,” Show smiled. I had never seen whiter teeth.

“I… oh well, it’s okay,” I sighed. I couldn’t really bear to get mad at people, unless it was really bad. And this was an old case.

“Nice ring,” he said. I looked down at my finger. In the sun, the silver ring shined as brightly as Show’s teeth.

“Where did you get it?” he asked.

“I… I found it,” I stammered. Show smirked.

“No, really. Yesterday, it fell down from behind my radiator,” I ensured him. Even though he still didn’t seem to believe me.

“Anyways, Gui Gui,” Alien broke in, “I don’t know if your parents told you yet, but Show’s and my families will hold a dinner party on Saturday. Your parents are going, so I hope you’ll come along. Of course Miss Cho is also invited.” He smiling bowed towards Genie, who smiled back.

When the two boys had left, Genie turned towards me again.

“You see? Boys from our society aren’t bad either!” she eagerly said. “Such gentlemen can’t be found everywhere…”

We forgot everything about my ring and started talking about what we should wear on Saturday.

A few days later, I sat in the cafeteria with Genie and three of my other friends – Angela, Albee and Amber – when my biggest nightmare happened again. But this time, it seemed to become worse.

Aaron was laughing loudly with his friends by the table next to ours. Just as I sat and wished to know what they were laughing at, one of the guys got up from his chair and walked over.

“What do you want?” Angela disgusted asked the boy. She was obviously allergic to leather vests.

The guy looked at me.

“Aaron wants to talk to you,” he smirked, like he hadn’t heard Angela.

I couldn’t believe my own ears. But my legs automatically made me stand up – shaking – and begin to walk over. Genie grabbed my arm.

“Gui Gui – are you sure…?”

“Yeah, Gui Gui, you shouldn’t bother with them. They shouldn’t even be talking to you,” Amber said, totally ignoring that the guy still stood by the table, and talking loud enough for the rest of the boys to hear it too.

I thought it over for a few seconds, before I silently nodded to Genie, who let go of me and let me follow the guy to Aaron’s table.

It seemed like they had all been watching me making my decision, and were obviously surprised by it. I was too. Right at the moment, I felt like my soul had left my body and was watching from the sideline, while I was about to faint of nervousness.

The guy invited me to sit down at the table, which I did. They were all silent, but some were serious and some seemed to be amused. They all, however, seemed to be pretty astonished.

“Thanks, Jiro,” Aaron said. I got a minor shock.

The guy who had brought me smiled as an answer. Obviously, he was Jiro.

Genie suddenly felt too far away. It was like the whole world had been turned off when I sat down at the table.

I speculated as crazy about, what he could have to say to me.

“I was actually surprised you came over,” Aaron said. I was still mute.

“On the other hand, you’re probably the only one of… your friend group who I’d expect to be behaved enough to.”

Speaking of behaviour, it suddenly hit me how nicely he talked. Even my parents wouldn’t be able to judge him from his manners.

He held a pause, but as I still kept quiet – my voice seemed to have left me – he continued.

“Where did you get the ring?”

The direct question baffled me a bit, but took a deep breath and pulled myself together.

“I… I found it.” Of some reason, it didn’t seem to be necessary to ask which ring it was.

The ring, however, had become a bigger trouble-point day by day. It sometimes got burning hot, but it was impossible to get it off.

“Really?” Like Show, Aaron didn’t seem to believe me.

“Yes. In my room.” I bit my lip in nervousness.

He watched me in a painful long time before accepting the answer.

“Sorry we’re talking to you. You shouldn’t bother with us,” Jiro broke in. One of the other guys snorted, and one even laughed shortly.

I looked nervously at them. Did they think I was proud?

“No, you definitely don’t need to waste your air on us,” one other said. Now two others broke into laughter.

They really had misunderstood.

“No, I…” I helplessly begun, but couldn’t continue. The wry smirk on Aaron’s mouth was what hurt the most.

But I couldn’t leave either, it would just make them think I really did feel the way they thought.

So I tried to hold in my tears and sit still until they were done laughing.

I sank a lump.

“So why don’t you leave?” a guy said. I just shook my head and looked down.

“You want payment from us? Because we wasted your time?” he continued. I shook my head again, and looked deeper down on the table.

I couldn’t control it. A tear dropped down from my eye.

“Uuuuhh, we’re some nasty guys, huh? Making the little princess cry,” he laughed.

But Aaron sent him a gaze that made him stop. The other guys kept silent as well.

“You can taunt Amber later if you want, Calvin. You didn’t get the blame for what Jiro did either. Shut up,” Aaron smoothly said. “I called her over, and she agreed. She answered my question truthfully. I don’t see why you’re punishing her.”

“Hm, obviously because she secretly thinks that we’re all some creepy bastards who give her spotless image a bad effect?” the guy named Calvin talked back. I secretly shook my head again, and kept looking down. I didn’t know what else I should do.

“Gui Gui!” a familiar voice called behind me. I quickly turned to see Alien.

“What are you doing… here?” Alien demanded to know when he had run over.

“What… you’re crying?” he wiped a tear of my cheek. I shook him off.

“No,” I said, and stood up.

“Do you want to ask me more?” I asked Aaron, with a sudden boost of courage.

“No, thank you,” he looked like he faked a smile. Some of the guys – including Calvin – looked like they were about to burst into laughter again.

Before I could say goodbye, Alien dragged me away.

***

- Blitz