I Need You

Call Me Chan

I kept my head down as I walked down the hall, ignoring everyone around me as they called their usual insults.

"Shouldn't a principal's daughter be smarter?"

"Hey Miss Perfect, you're uniform's a little wrinkled."

"I used to ask myself why she didn't have a boyfriend. Then I looked at her face."

"On top of that, she's so flat. It's really no wonder."

If only Solar were here. She'd make them stop.

"Oh no!" I heard someone fake worry as they dropped a heavy textbook on my toe.

"OW!" I yelled. I looked up to see Delilah standing right in front of me. "What the hell?"

"Aw, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. Maybe if you weren't two-dimensional..."

"You're insult is invalid because I'm standing in front of you, not beside you."

"Whatever," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Where's your little girlfriend? Oh, right, she graduated last year. How sad."

"Funny of you to call her little, considering how many times she put you in your place last year."

"Well, she's not here to protect you anymore."

"Who ever said I need protecting? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to get to. And so do you." I kicked her textbook away and walked toward my classroom. I immediately found a seat in the back, doodling in my notebook until the bell rang and the teacher came in.

"Alright, class, settle down!" Everyone sat down in their seats while she began the usual first day of school introductions before the phone rang, interrupting her. "Chae-sul, you're wanted in the office." I rolled my eyes, heading toward the office. Jin-young probably just wanted to yell at me for something stupid again.

When I entered the secretary's office, I was stopped before I could make my way to the principal's office like usual.

"Mrs. Park, you're needed in here." I turned to face the secretary to see someone sitting in front of her desk. "This is Christopher. He's a new student this year. Your father wants you to show him around."

"Why couldn't he tell me that himself?"

"Mr. Park is out for the day."

"Did he say when he would be back?"

"No, but he wanted me to tell you not to wait up."

"That's nice. Anyway, my name's Chae-sul." He stood to greet me, bowing as he introduced himself.

"I'm Christopher." He had an accent, tough I wasn't really sure what it was.

"Follow me." We walked down the hall toward the cafeteria. "So, Chris. Can I call you Chris?"

"Actually, I prefer Bang Chan."

"Two names. Where are you from?"

"Australia."

"Cool. We don't get a lot of new students here, let alone from other countries. Pretty much everyone here has been here since they started school. The other girls will all over you."

"That's nice to know. I guess."

"What did you say your locker number was?"

"Um, 273."

"That's down this hallway." I lead him to his locker and helped him with the combination lock. "I assume you already bought your books?"

"Yes." He went to work putting all his books in his locker.

"Aw, you poor boy." I clenched my teeth and turned to see Delilah standing behind us. "Is this weirdo bothering you?"

"Delilah, don't you have something better to do?"

"No, actually I don't."

"Then maybe you should get back to class. Seniors still have to follow rules."

"Well your senior sure didn't."

"Solar didn't break the rules, you did. You were the one who wanted to fight, remember?"

"She still hit me first."

"Technically you hit her first."

"Whatever. You should get back to class. If your grades turn out any lower than last year, you won't graduate."

"Nice to know you care. You should get back to class, too. Not because I'm worried about your education, I just really want this conversation to end." She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Bye, cutie." She waved at Bang Chan before strolling away. I took a deep breath before turning back to him. He looked very confused.

"Who was that and how do I avoid her?"

"That's Delilah, and now that you have her attention there is no avoiding her."

"Great." He shut his locker.

"Well, this concludes your tour of JYP Boarding School. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I'm still not super clear on the dorm rules."

"Oh, those are simple. No girls in the guys' dorm, no guys in the girls' dorm. No food or drinks other than water but if the adults don't catch you then literally no one else cares. Lights out by ten, out of the dorms by seven. Breakfast is at seven-thirty, lunch at noon, and dinner at six. Do you think you can make it to class on your own?"

"Yeah, I remember where it is."

"Ok. If you have any questions, let me know." I started walking back towards my class.

"Actually, I do have another question." I stopped and turned around.

"Could I sit with you at meals? At least until I make some friends. I just really don't want to sit alone."

"Um, sure. I'll see you at lunch then." I started toward my class again.

If only he knew I needed someone to sit with as much as he did.

"By the way, you can call me Chan."