touched by stars -chaennie

Chapter 3: Friends?

Of course, Joan interrogates you about your trip to the Health Center with Jennie when you finally have lunch with them and Ashley the following day (Jisoo and Lisa had other plans). You’d thought of possibly avoiding lunch for them so you wouldn’t have to deal with the questions you knew they’d ask, but you figure you may as well bite the bullet and get it over with. The longer you avoided lunch with them, the more they’d tease you for it.

So you meet Joan and Ashley outside your dorm and walk to the Caf with them. You’re wearing gloves today because it’s snowing again on top of the couple of inches that had fallen overnight. Despite your worries, Joan doesn’t say anything on the topic for a while though they’d given you a pointed look when you’d met them. Instead they talk to Ashley who’s worried about what activity she could do to get the girls in your dorm together. Once Ashley decides on a movie night, Joan turns back to you.

“So how’d it go with Mrs. Kim yesterday?” They nudge you gently with an elbow. You turn your eyes from the ground in front of you to their curious blue eyes. You hold eye contact with them for a moment before you look down to the toes of your boots. “You sprang up pretty quick to help her.”  They continue.

“She could barely stand up and no one else was making a move to help.” You mumble in your own defense. “What did you expect me to do?” They scoff in return.

“Are you sure you didn’t just help because you wanted something from her?” The implication makes you blush.

“Come on, J.” You nudge them with a shoulder. “You know I’m not like that.”

“Yeah, I know that. She doesn’t.” You chew on your lip. Joan had a point. Jennie didn’t know the full intentions behind your decision to help her. Even if you know your project hadn’t been on your mind when you’d stood up, for all Jennie knew that was all you cared about. And that you’d only helped her to make her feel obligated to let you write about her. You bury your nose in the scarf wrapped around your neck and your stride slows.

“I didn’t do it for my project.” You say. “I told her that. She offered to help me though.”

“Is she okay?” Ashley asks before Joan can add in another word. She’d been making notes in her phone for herself and now her full attention was on you and Joan. You nod.

“Yeah. She’d just sprained her ankle a bit. She’ll live. They gave her a crutch at the health center to help her walk.”

“It will be difficult for her to get around trying to balance a crutch and a walking stick.” The thought hadn’t even occurred to you. You’d gotten her number before you’d left her at her apartment building the previous afternoon. You have the urge to call her to see if she’s okay, but you have to remind yourself that Jennie didn’t appreciate any amount of pity and ultimately decide against it.

When you don’t respond, Joan goes back to talking to Ashley about their latest test results on whatever personal project they’d gotten themselves into in one of their courses. Ashley smiles and nods politely, but looks as lost as you feel on Joan’s science speak. You finally arrive at the Caf a few minutes later and get to the doors first. You hold them open for Joan who then holds them for Ashley. You shed your coats and carry them into your respective lines for food. Before you can head off to order yourself a sandwich, Joan’s hand grips your shoulder.

“Hey, for the record, I knew you had it in you, R. Breaking down the walls of one of the mysteries of Berry. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even get to hear her tragic backstory.”