The class took a shuttle bus from the airport to a place called Metro Hotel, where they would be staying in for the next two weeks in Korea. It was already ten in the night and they were so tired and jetlagged from the long and weary plane flight. The Four Seasons decided to go to sleep immediately. But not without choosing which bed they would be sleeping in.

Their apartment had four single beds, a bathroom, a kitchen and a television. There was even a balcony to feel the cool breeze.

“I choose the closest bed to the bathroom,” Paige announced once they stepped into their room and had gotten a better look at it.

“I choose the second one,” Lia said.

Shervonne and Rylee exchanged glances and shrugged. They were going to call dibs on the beds nearest to the window anyway.

They dumped their stuff on the floor, got out their pajamas from their bags and horded to the bathroom. They headed back outside once they were done changing. Deciding to sleep closer to one another, Lia, Paige, Shervonne and Rylee pushed the beds until they were all joined. They were about to turn off the lights when there was a light knock on the door.

“Girls?” Ms. Payton said through the door. “Don’t stay up so late. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“Yes, Ms. Payton!” they chorused and heard the sound of footsteps fading away until they could hear no more.

“Well, let’s get to sleep, guys,” Paige said tiredly, jumping into bed. She pulled the covers over her head. “Someone hit the lights.”

Lia, Rylee and Shervonne looked at each other, grinned, grabbed their pillows and jumped into Paige’s bed, whacking her. She shrieked, sitting up. “Shush, before Ms. Payton hears and decides to sleep with us!” she said.

That shut them up. Ms. Payton was cool, but it was so not cool if their teacher to sleep in the same room with them. Lia turned off the lights as the others got into bed. Soon, they were dozing off again.

* * *

The next morning, the Four Seasons woke up to the sun shining down on their faces through the creamed colored curtains. But they covered their faces and continued sleeping.

One of Kat-Tun’s songs, Yorokobi no Uta, began playing.

It was Lia’s alarm.

“Turn it off,” Shervonne muttered from her bed, covering her head with her pillow.

“Make it stop,” Rylee pleaded. “Make it stop, please!!”

Lia sat up and found Paige awake as well, rubbing her eyes. She turned her alarm off. She got up from the bed, grabbed her towel and headed straight for the bathroom. When she came out, Paige was sitting in her neatly made bed, reading. Shervonne and Rylee were still snoozing in their beds.

Paige looked up and shrugged. “My turn,” she said and went in to bathe. Lia blow-dried her hair and still neither Shervonne nor Rylee stirred. When Paige emerged from the bathroom and dressed herself, they were still fast asleep.

The two wide-awake girls looked at each other and nodded. They grabbed their own pillows and on a count of three; they whacked the sleeping girls on the head and stomach for good measure.

“We’re up, we’re up,” they murmured into their pillows, stirring a bit.

Lia and Paige pulled their blankets away. The air-conditioner was on so the room was quite cold. Shervonne and Rylee finally sat up, but not without a lot of complaints.

“Go bathe,” Paige told them, ignoring their protests. “Ms. Payton will be coming in here to wake us up at eight.”

“Then why can’t you let her wake us up at eight?!” Rylee grumbled. “What time is it now, anyway?”

“Six forty-five.”

“Whaaaat?”

“You’ll thank us later for this. Trust me,” Lia said as Rylee darted murderous looks at them for waking her up so early.

“Fine, I’m going to bathe,” Shervonne said, jumping off from her bed. She grabbed her towel and rummaged through her luggage for her facial products. While she was busy doing that, Rylee just grabbed her towel and made a beeline for the bathroom.

By the time Shervonne had gathered her stuff, they could hear the water running in the bathroom. “Hey!” she protested.

“Ha, you er! Who told you to be so slow?” Rylee called from inside the bathroom.

Shervonne slumped against the wall. And saw the switch for the bathroom. Grinning, she turned the switch off, leaving Rylee in total pitch black.

“Hey!”

She laughed, turning it back on. “Who’s laughing now?” She walked back to the room and saw that Lia and Paige were tidying up the room. She rolled her eyes. She knew why they were cleaning up: they wanted to win the ‘Most Clean Room’ award. That was just so typical of them. “You’re not planning to spend your entire time cleaning up, are you?” she asked them warily.

Lia looked up. “No way,” she replied. “Not when there is plenty of stuff to look at!”

“Sher, it’s your turn!” Rylee called in a sing-song voice, coming out from the bathroom. “Don’t worry; I won’t turn the lights off.”

Once Shervonne was done with bathing, it was already seven-fifteen. Since the girls were still in their pajamas, they (except for Rylee) decided to paint their nails.

“Rye, can you do my toes?” Lia asked.

Rylee made a face. “No.”

“Oh, come on; I know how good you are,” she teased.

She blushed, only because however she tries to hide, it was true. Sighing, she climbed down and sat in front of Lia. “What color do you want?”

“Black, with glittery blue,” she decided.

Rylee took the black and silver crack nail polish out. She began to apply it on Lia’s toes. “What color are you guys painting your nails?” she asked after a moment of silence.

“Dark blood,” Shervonne replied. She scanned her fingers and smiled. “I like.”

“White glitter,” Paige answered. When she received three pairs of staring eyes, she said defensively, “I’m not daring, so sue me.”

“Aqua blue to match my toes,” Lia said, smirking and Paige poked her tongue out. “What’s first on our agenda for today?”

Paige took her timetable about. “First, we’re having breakfast in town. Then we’re going to the museum —”

“Yawn,” Shervonne cut in. “What time are we going shopping today?”

“Um, never,” Lia replied, peering over to see the timetable in Paige’s hand. “Later, after the museum, is the zoo trip. Tonight is the movie in Hall Two. Ooh, that’s something to look forward to.”

Shervonne looked pale. “Museum, zoo? Are you kidding? Did Ms. Payton map out the entire trip for us, for every day of every second of what we’re going to do?!” She began to hyperventilate. She grabbed the timetable. “Tomorrow is a morning stroll in the park and in the afternoon, we’re going to the aquarium. What? Ohmaigoose, tell me this isn’t so!”

Rylee rolled her eyes. Sometimes — well, most of the times — Shervonne tend to be over-dramatic.

Lia took the paper back. “Sher, calm down. We’re free on the third day in the afternoon. We can go shopping on the third day. Just bear with it, okay?”

Paige grinned as Shervonne nodded. “Ever the reasonable and logical person that you are, Lia,” she remarked.

“Okay, it’s done,” Rylee said, leaning back, indicating that Lia’s toes were dry.

Someone knocked on the door. “Girls, it’s time to get up!” Ms. Payton called from the other side of the door.

Lia went to open the door for her and let her in. “Morning, Ms. Payton. We’ve actually been awake since six in the morning. We just haven’t gotten changed,” she said as they walked back to where the others were.

“I’m impressed. But I’m guessing Rylee and Shervonne didn’t wake up until much later, right?” Ms. Payton said with a smile.

Shervonne and Rylee sheepishly looked down. “Heh,” they said.

“I expect all four of you to be ready and done by eight-thirty, you got it? We’re going to a café in town called The Library.”

“What sort of café is called ‘The Library’?” Shervonne asked.

“The person who owned the place,” Ms. Payton replied with a straight face.

Rylee sniggered. Ms. Payton was the only teacher she actually liked. “Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll be ready.”

“All right, then. Meet everyone at the lobby, then.” Ms. Payton left the room.

The minute the door closed shut with a soft click, the Four Seasons got up to get dress out from their pajamas to the outfits they were going to wear for the day.

Paige tied her blonde hair up into a ponytail, making her blue eyes strike out in the light. She slipped on a light, pink V-neck shirt and baby blue skirt. On her wrist was the charm bracelet she never takes off. She took her white sandals out from a plastic bag and strapped it to her legs.

Shervonne was wearing a yellow tank top with black polka dots and a black, ruffled, white-polka dots skirt followed by black heels. She wore a choker around her neck as well as a long, blue beaded necklace. Big, chunky bracelets covered her wrists and she was wearing a rabbit ring. She was wearing big, green earring hoops and her curly red hair was messily tied very high on the right side of her head.

Lia got dressed in a simple black T-shirt with a grey vest, a pair of jeans and skinny belt. She slipped on her blue flats. She clasped her garnet stone necklace around her neck and slipped on a leather bracelet, a multi-colored-strings bracelet and a maroon peace bracelet on her left wrist. Her layered, short hair was let loose, supported by a black headband with a ribbon on top.

Rylee just jumped into her blue, faded jeans, grey tank top and a brown sports jacket over. She put her socks on and later her comfy sneakers.

“Baka,” Lia muttered, feeling for something in her luggage and her friends turned to her. She looked up. “I forgot my daily contact lens. I have enough to last me . . . three days.” She frowned.

“I’m sure you’ll still look gorgeous without it,” Rylee assured her, stashing her phone and wallet into her jeans pocket. She slung her earphones around her neck.

“I guess, but still.” She sighed. She put her wallet, a pen, a small notebook and earphones into her small, black handbag. She stuffed her phone into her pocket.

Shervonne was sure that other than the essential needs, her camera was inside her brown sling bag.

Paige picked up her grey satchel from the floor as they left their hotel room. She locked the door behind her and because she was left in charge of the key, she put the key in a small pocket in her satchel for safekeeping. “Let’s go,” she said, patting the key.

The Four Seasons got into the lift, chatting excitedly as they went down to the lobby. This was their first, official day at Korea! It was just too good to be true. They could hardly wait!