Imperfectly Perfect [Chaelisa]

one

"You're new. Right?"

"Um... yeah." Lisa glances up at the other girl who sat down in front of her in the library. She has to admit that she's kind of intimidated by her; the girl is practically oozing confidence, and Lisa is probably the most socially awkward person ever. "I'm Lalisa Manoban."

The girl smiles at her.

"Kim Jisoo. Nice to meet you, Lalisa Manoban. You were in my physics class, but I didn't get a chance to talk to you before you shot out of the door."

Lisa laughs softly. "Uh, yeah, I figured it'd probably be crowded in the cafeteria so I tried getting there as quickly as I could get myself a banana."

"So, Lisa, how are you liking this hell hole of a school so far?" Jisoo asks her. "Clearly you don't enjoy it, if you're holed up in the library of all places."

"It's not too bad, actually." Lisa admits. "And I happen to like the library. It's quiet."

"God, you sound just like my friend. But you know where else is quiet? The art room." Jisoo says. "You should come and sit with me and my friends. That's where we go."

Lisa blinks in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Deathly serious." Jisoo stands up and nods towards the door. "Come on, Lalisa Manoban. Make some friends."

She's still a little stunned, but she packs her book away and follows Jisoo out of the library. The other girl leads her out of the main school building and towards a smaller building which Lisa knows is for creative arts, since her music class was in there that morning. But when they follow the path to the music room, they take a sudden left turn and head towards a different classroom.

Jisoo holds open a classroom door for her, and Lisa follows her inside to face three other girls sat around one of the tables. Lisa smiles politely as Jisoo introduces her. "Guys, this is Lisa. Lisa, this is Somi, Jennie and Chaeyoung."

Two out of three of the girls, the ones Jisoo had identified as Somi and Jennie, look up at her and flash her bright smiles. The other girl, Chaeyoung, keeps her gaze directed towards the sketchbook she's drawing in, and while Lisa is a little offended that she doesn't seem too polite, she figures that maybe she's just shy.

Still, it'd be nice if she made an effort.

"Are you new around this area?" Somi flashes her a warm smile as she sits down in the free chair between Jennie and Chaeyoung.

"Um, yeah." Lisa explains. "It was because of my dad's job."

Jennie hums. "Well, you'll settle in eventually, right?"

"I guess so." Lisa nods and drums her fingers on the desk absentmindedly. "So, how long have you guys known each other?"

Jisoo smiles. "Jennie and I have known each other since preschool, and we made friends with Somi in first grade. We met Chaeyoung after that in third grade."

Lisa blinks in surprise. Apparently they're a very close knit group of friends. Why would they want to adopt her into their little group? They seem to go back quite far. "Oh, that's cool."

"Enough about us, though," Somi beams at her again, "Did you leave any friends behind at your old school?"

"Yeah." Lisa nods. "My friends Ava and Sandra. They're sisters. It's going to be weird not seeing them every day, but we promised we'd text each other."

Jennie shrugs. "Well, they'll probably come and visit you, right? How far away from Seoul is your old house?"

"It's in Thailand, actually." Lisa tells her. "The weather is a big change - shorts in September is never really something I could get away with back home."