Eyes were focused on the girl that was sitting on the floor in her bedroom. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her tongue was captured between her teeth as she concentrated on the book in front of her. Jessica wanted to take a picture of the sight and show the whole school it.

No one would believe her if she told them the schools number one bully was sitting on her bedroom floor doing homework.

She shook her head at the thought and looked down on the books on her bed instead. No one would probably believe her if she said she was actually somewhat friend with this bully.

A small smile appeared one Jessica’s lips and she looked at the girl on the floor that was concentrating on her homework. Taeyeon’s eyebrows were tightly knitted together in concentration, and she looked so intensely at the book in front of her that Jessica thought the girl was trying to put it on fire with her gaze.

“You know, Taeyeon, if you stopped interrupting class every now and then and actually paid attention you wouldn’t have so much difficulties with that.” Jessica pointed out and let her eyes wander back to her own books.

“Classes are boring.” Taeyeon replied.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t understand them.”

“If you paid attention from the start you’d understand them.”

“I do but I still don’t understand.”

“You don’t give the teacher time to explain to a point where everyone understands. You can’t expect yourself to understand everything right of the bat.”

Silence was her response and it made Jessica look up from her text books at the girl on the floor. It looked like Taeyeon was ready to throw her book outside the window and it made Jessica discharge her books immediately to focus on the girl on the floor.

“Taeyeon,” She called the girl in hope of getting her attention.

“What?” She half succeeded as Taeyeon responded but didn’t tear her eyes away from the book.

“You can’t expect yourself to understand things you’ve never heard about.”

Jessica watched the book in Taeyeon’s hand fly across the room. Her eyes went back to the girl that had brought her knees up and hugged them close as she was glaring at the book. A sigh left Jessica’s lips and she got off the bed and made her way to the girl on the floor.  

“Taeyeon, you’re putting unbelievable high expectations on yourself.” Jessica said and tried to make the girl face her, but the girl swatted her hands away. She slump her shoulders and held back a sigh.

Jessica sat down beside the girl and continued to look at her as she stared into a wall. Another sigh escaped Jessica’s lips and she glanced at the notebook Taeyeon hadn’t thrown away. She picked it up and started flipping through it.

“You seem to understand the shape of forms at least.” Jessica said and studied the drawings in the girl’s notebook. She glanced at the girl and noticed Taeyeon was looking at her.

“There are some things we seem to be born to understand, and some things that takes us effort to understand.” Jessica said and placed the notebook on the floor in front of the girl. “Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t understand it on the first try.” Jessica said and got up from her seat.

She turned to leave to her bed but stopped in her tracks and glanced to the book Taeyeon had thrown away.

“And stop putting your anger out on your text books. Those things cost money.” Jessica said and took a seat on her bed.

“Okay.” She watched Taeyeon slowly getting up from her seat on the floor and went over to her book. When she had seen the girl had resumed studying she smiled triumphantly and went back to do her own homework, only glancing occasionally on the girl on the floor to make sure Taeyeon was actually studying.

Taeyeon stopped throwing her books around in Jessica’s room, which the latter was pleased with. She didn’t need for things to get broken in her room as she didn’t feel like spending money to get new things.

Her eyes left her books to check one more time on the girl sitting on her bedroom floor. Taeyeon was focused on her homework, and Jessica felt she preferred a focused Taeyeon than the Taeyeon that lets out her anger on things and destroy them.

---

The loud laughter coming from a few tables ahead made Jessica look up from her books. Her eyes landed on the girl whose laugh she probably could identify in a room of laughing people. Mostly because she knew that the laughter coming out of the girl’s mouth was most likely fake.

A frown appeared on her lips as she watched the girl tilt her head back, wide open as the loud laugh resonated through the classroom.

Jessica’s eyes shifted from the girl to the teacher. She could already see on the teacher’s expression that he had given up on trying quieting the girl and her friends down. It made Jessica sigh in annoyance and she turned to the group of people she was sitting beside. She could tell from the looks on their faces that they were also annoyed by the sound.

Jessica sighed once again and brought her left hand up to her head to rub her temple. She thought back to the quiet girl who had been seated on the floor in her bedroom a few days ago. Thinking about that girl she had it hard to believe it was the same girl that was making the ruckus in the classroom today.

But then Jessica wasn’t that surprised, she was used to the bipolar way the girl was acting.

“Kim, Kwon, Choi, please quiet down.” Jessica heard the teacher tell the girls who was making the noise. To the teacher’s response the three girls began to laugh even louder.

“Gosh, so disrespectful.” Jessica heard the black haired girl next to her mumble. Jessica couldn’t more than agree with the girl. The three girls were awfully disrespectful to the teacher today. More than usual.

She looked away from the black haired girl and turned to the trio’s table. The shortest girl by the table turned her way as well, and when they met gazes Jessica took the chance to look at the girl with a look that questioned her actions.

The girl immediately stopped laughing, the smile instantly vanished from her lips, and she quickly turned away from Jessica’s gaze. The latter continued to observe the girl, who now had started whispering with her two companions instead. The two other girls by the table continued to laugh out loud and disturb the class, but Jessica didn’t care, the short girl was quiet, and that had been her goal.

Satisfied that she no longer could hear the girl’s laughter she went back to her assignments and continued focusing on them. The laughter from the table continued, but she didn’t hear the short girl’s laugh, and that was enough for her.

---

Jessica didn’t encounter Taeyeon after that till after lunch. They bumped into each other when the shorter girl was on her way out of the restroom, looking all confident, until Jessica appeared in front of her and her tough façade completely dropped.

“Where are Yuri and Sooyoung?” Jessica asked and nodded towards the empty spots beside Taeyeon’s sides.

“Outside.” Taeyeon mumbled and looked down to not meet Jessica’s gaze

The girl nodded her head, she looked around the hallway to make sure there wasn’t any other students there, before she turned back to the other girl.

“I told you that if you paid attention in class you wouldn’t have so much trouble with your homework.” Jessica said.

Taeyeon didn’t reply and only turned her head away from her, making sure that her gaze wouldn’t meet Jessica’s.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.” Jessica grabbed Taeyeon’s chin and turned the girl’s head till she was facing her. “Do you hear me? I said that if you paid attention in class you’d have it easier with your homework.” Jessica repeated

“I heard you.” Taeyeon mumbled.

“Good. Then do something about your behavior in class.”

Jessica released the girl’s chin and stepped away from Taeyeon’s form. She eyed the girl up and down, a bit amazed at how the girl’s complete posture had changed just because of her.

She heard other students coming her way, she momentarily looked away from Taeyeon’s form to the group of three girls coming their way, before she turned back to Taeyeon again, who now had changed back to her tough façade again.

“Whatever.” Jessica heard Taeyeon mumble before the girl her heels and walked down the hallway, away from the group of three girls and Jessica. The latter was left, not completely surprised at the change of tone that Taeyeon spoke with. Jessica only shook her head, and turned to leave the other way.

I only tell you because I don’t want you to be frustrated. Jessica thought. She glanced over her shoulder towards the way Taeyeon had gone, but the girl was no longer in sight. Jessica sighed and turned forward, trying to remember what her next class was.

---

“I’m tired!” The girl in the seat next to Jessica’s exclaimed when their last class ended for the day. Jessica didn’t say anything and focused on packing down the books she needed for her homework in her bag instead.

“Hey, Jessi, do you wanna go get a coffee or something after school?” The girl asked and turned to Jessica. The question made Jessica stop in her actions to think, before she resumed it and glanced around the classroom in search of another girl.

Not finding the girl she was looking for she turned to the girl next to her. She was about to answer the girl with a yes, but when she lifted her bag with books she felt it’s weight and she got reminded of all the homework that was needed to be done. An apologetic smile appeared on her lips and she let her bag drop back to her desk with a thud.

“I’m sorry, Tiff. I need to finish my homework.” Jessica said.

“Oh.” The girl looked disappointed, but when her eyes landed on Jessica’s overfull bag of books and understanding expression appeared on her face and she nodded.

“It’s okay. Maybe next time?” The girl said with a smile.

“Yeah, next time.” Jessica said and nodded.

The two girls rose from their seats and exited the classroom, bidding a few of their fellow classmates goodbye before they headed for the gate of the school campus where they said goodbye to each other. Jessica turned to walk her way home while her classmate went to get the bus at the bus stop outside of the school.

A sigh escaped Jessica’s lips as she walked the usual path home. The bag of books was weighing down her shoulder, and she shifted the strap to for it to not hurt.

She had been walking for about five minutes when she heard footsteps following her. She could make out who it was by the way the person was walking, but Jessica didn’t stop or say anything, not even when she felt the person closing up on her.

“Your bag looks heavy…” She heard a girl walking right behind her said.

“Yeah, I’m going to finish my homework.” Jessica replied.

“Oh…” She heard the girl say.

“Let me guess, you didn’t bring your books?” Jessica said without looking at the girl.

“I didn’t…” The girl mumbled.

“It’s gonna be hard finishing your homework then.” Jessica pointed out.

“Yeah…” The girl agreed.

They were walking in silence for a while. None of them saying anything. Jessica felt the girl that walked behind her had managed to catch up to her now and was walking by her side, but Jessica showed no sign of acknowledging that the girl was there. She continued to walk with her eyes set in front of her.

“Do you want help to carry it?” Jessica heard Taeyeon meekly ask after a while.

Jessica’s left eyebrow raised and she turned towards the girl beside her. Taeyeon’s left hand was outstretched, and when she looked at the girl’s face she saw nothing of the tough façade the girl usually put up with in school. Only an expression that told her the girl wanted to be of help.

Jessica reminded herself that this was something that would never be shown in school. Taeyeon would never reach out a helping hand towards anyone else, Taeyeon would never offer to carry anyone else’s heavy bag. Taeyeon would never show that she had a weakness unless she was alone with Jessica.

It still baffled Jessica. She didn’t understand why the girl could show all these sides to her, but not to anyone else.

The girl didn’t think more about it. She handed over her bag to Taeyeon that took it without complaining. Jessica imagined someone else trying to get Taeyeon to help carry something, and she could already imagine the person’s face having one of Taeyeon’s fists in the middle of it.

Jessica let out a sigh. She was one of the few people that knew Taeyeon had a nice side. And she knew that if the girl showed it to more people, Taeyeon would probably benefit from it. But Jessica felt she was in no position to make the girl show that side to other people.

She turned towards the girl beside her, just in time of catching Taeyeon staring at her. She noticed Taeyeon got flustered and averted her gaze to the ground. The action made Jessica’s eyebrow once again rise in confusion. She shook her head and settled for that she would most probably never understand the girl and her bipolar way of acting.