Hello there random stranger~

This is my first shot at writing something up, I usually go for poetry and writing songs but I wanted to try something new...

Keeping Up With The Other Kids

*CLICK

“Woah.” Her eyes widened in the sight of new hd photos of the group she’s been fond of since last April.

*Scroll down. *CLICK

“Omo! What??? Pink? PINK?” She shifts into another position since her right is starting to ache. She continues to scroll down into the never-ending array of pictures of her bias who now seems to have a cotton candy pink kind of hair color.

“These people cannot be serious.”

*CLICK

“Ugh. Oh my gosh, my baby’s hair. What’ve they done.” *sniffs

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It’s now one o’clock in the afternoon. She’s been in front of her laptop for seven hours - no breakfast, no lunch, just a couple or maybe three bathroom breaks - scrolling up and down pages, staring at pictures (maybe even grabbing two or three), reading updates of the fanfics she somehow manages to read simultaneously, checking her facebook from time to time, searching new videos of her ‘babies’ as she calls them, and all in all just casually “fangirling” on the internet.

Ahhh, the life of a fan girl~    She thinks to herself. Suddenly she spotted a nice picture of Lu Han with text written all over it.

“What the hell is this? Great picture, what the flip words. Imagine?”

She looked closely then forcefully reads the message written:

~Imagine Luhan cuddling up to you and twirling the ends of your hair just to convince you to go out and drink bubble tea with him.

She was about to daze out with the thought of having the said guy to cuddle with her when suddenly…

“Elena Denisse Fernandez. CAN YOU NOT HEAR ME?” Her mother called out as if her daughter was deaf or something. She knows her mom was definitely mad. *When called in full, she’s a raging bull* A self-composed motto she made when she was seven when her mother was giving a life lesson about ‘never play with fire’ because it not only sets off her precious curtains into nothing but it also sets her off into life threatening anger.  It’s still the worst childhood memory she has. Well, besides that time she accidentally touched her playmate/crush’s crotch- we’ll talk about that later on.

”I’ve been calling you multiple times now and it seems like you hear nothing. WHY.DO.YOU.HEAR.NOTHING?” This made her snap back to reality. The reality that’s coming nearer and looks like it’s gonna slap her in the fa-

*SLAP

“OWWWWWuh.Mom! What the-“

“What are you doing that’s more important than what I am saying?”

“I was imagining, okay? That really hurt.” her cheeks wasn’t really helping her out, it felt like a hot flat iron just high-fived her face.

“Now’s not the time for that. Do you know what date today is?”

“Yeah. It’s May elev-“

“May eleven!”  Ahh her mom’s high-pitched voice, makes everything else additionally annoying.

“So?”  Lena doesn’t even have the slightest clue where her mom was headed with this.

“So…

Remember when we asked you what you want for your sixteenth birthday?”

“Yeah. I said I wanted to go to Seoul.   Alone.”

“Yes. And then your birthday passed and we never gave you your wish…”

“Yeah mom, I clearly remember how you made me so excited about that then breaking my heart into really sad pieces. I was so sad mom. Like, really sad. I was broken. Thanks to you.” Her mom lost her smile in an instant as she reminisced her daughter locking herself up in her bedroom and not even talking to anyone in the house for a week.

“You know I wasn’t being a spoiled brat or anything but that really hurt, mom. You made me pack my things. Making me believe that I’ll be flying off to Korea in two days’ time. It was ecstatic.” Lena paused a little bit, feeling the sadness all over again.

“Okay, that’s enough. So about the surprise we’ve got you-“

“No mom, let me finish this.” Her mom was shocked but eventually let Lena finish her melodramatic rant whilst pulling off the ‘Are you kidding me?’ face.

“But then you have to have to show up in my bedroom door smiling and laughing and telling me it was a joke and handing me this sloppy notebook that brings back so many painful memories that I can’t even dare to throw it out.” Out of nowhere Lena manages to pull out a blue notebook that’s covered with sloppy makeshift designs that her mother somehow produced as a ‘gift’ for her sixteenth birthday which made the joke even more painfully ridiculous.

“It was painful, mom, really. I was actually in the middle of planning everything that I will do as soon as I step out of the airport. I should’ve noticed the lack of my plane ticket in the first place.” After the last word, she proceeded scrolling down the page she was on as if she wasn’t talking to anyone just then.

Then her mom continued. “Now are you done? Sheesh. I was just going to tell you that your father and I have decided that you can do great alone now that you’re seventeen.”

“Wow, so much for the surprise. Thanks, mom, I am touched.” Lena said faking like a hormonal teen who’s just seen Justin Bieber and fanning herself down.

*SLAP

“Okay, seriously, stop interrupting me while I tell you the surprise you’ve been asking for since last year.”

“Ouch. Okay, I’m gonna shut up now.”

“I swear to god. You took on your sass from your father’s side.

So, about the news…” Her mom starts off with a little suspense feel. “Guess what?”

“What.” Lena wasn’t even asking. Or even giving a damn what the answer was.

“YOU’RE FINALLY GOING TO SOUL! Great, right? RIGHT?” Her mom was nearly spazzing out when she cut her off.

“No, no, no, no, NO. Really, mom? I’m not gonna fall for that ever again! And it’s SEOUL, soh url, not soul. Soul is something completely different, it’s something you don’t have.” She then bursts into lulz.

“Ahahaha! Omygosh, I’m so funny I make me laugh.”

“Elena, this is not made up. I’m serious this time. And actually, you shouldn’t be going in this freakishly expensive trip your dad worked hard for. Not after that incident when you got lost and you have to stay in that huge hotel that only famous people get to stay at and you go frolicking around the city because you had your dad’s credit card all to yourself. Honestly, that’s enough to be considered a trip. After that amount of money you spent. Dennis never should’ve given you his password.”

“Okay, mom, first of all that wasn’t my fault. YOU and DAD left me in the lobby, YOU were the one who took my bag with my phone in it and made me carry dad’s man purse, and in fact, YOU told me to check into that hotel while I wait for you guys. On the bright side, if it wasn’t for that side trip of mine last January I never would’ve met Amber in the first place.”

“Yeah, yeah it was my fault. So, go pack up your things right now because Monday you’re going away. Oh, and don’t forget, you’re just there for four days so just put clothes enough for that.” Her mom began to walk away. “And Elena, don’t forget your and bras, bring some extras! You don’t know what’s gonna happen so-“

“Mom, I told you, I’m not gonna be fooled by that again.” Lena’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. . OhMyGosh why the did I say that out loud!

Lena’s mom turned to her slowly, making sure it’s dramatic and stuff.

“What did I say about swearing in the house?” She asked Lena calmly which confused the girl. Lena expected for her mom to be furious since swearing is a big no-no inside their home.

“Umm. Never ever say bad words, words hurt deeper than double-edged swords.” Hey, don’t judge Lena’s family. They live on mottos and stuff like that. Lena grew up in a family who loves poetry and music, her dad taught her how to play that old guitar that is still hung up on her bedroom wall. She’s pretty good in rhyming and making words connect in ways many people can’t, that’s why she’s a really great song maker – well at least her friends say so.

“NEVER.SWEAR.IN.MY.HOUSE. I hear that again and I swear on my future grave not only will you be banned to go to Korea, you WILL be banned from going anywhere except school. Do you understand Elena?” Believe it or not, her mom actually sounds close to a raging bull when she’s mad.

“Yes, mom. I promise not to say that again.”

“That’s my good girl. Now go pack your things upstairs and I’ll be there in a jiffy. I’ll go fetch your passport and IDs and whatnot.” Lena watched her mom walk away happily, then she turned around to face her only to find Lena sitting.

“What are you still doing on that couch? Didn’t you hear what I just said? Seriously, if you don’t move as in now, no dinner for you.” She was dead serious about dinner. And she knows how Lena loves food. Nothing gets between Lena and food. Nothing.

“What?” Lena protested. ”Not my dinner mom, really. No.  Is this for real or you just want April Fool's to be celebrated twice in our house?”

Just then when Lena stood up, leaving her -mark on the couch, her mom pulled up a plane ticket and smacked it on her face.

“Yes, Elena, this is for real. You know, I hear most your friends were travelling this time of year and you don’t tell me so. You’re a great daughter to us, Elena. And we know how much you love those Korean people that sing and live inside that laptop of yours. This is real.” Her mom handed her passport and ticket. “Amber’s asking for you like crazy. She told me about how the fans almost run her over last week and how sorry she is for not having the time to talk lately since they’re busy about something called a comeback-I don’t know what that even means. I asked her if she could take care of you if ever we send you off there for a few days and she didn’t even hesitate to say yes. She said going to Seoul, I said that right didn’t I?” She patted her daughter’s shoulders who still looks like she can’t believe what she has in her hands.

“Yeah, mom. Seoul.”

Mrs. Fernandez continued. “She said going to Seoul this time is the right time since she’s always in the building which means more bonding time with you two and that there were many kids like you there, touring around the city. You know what I think? I think it’s time for you to keep up with the other kids.”