Tribal (Jenlisa)

Chapter 3

Jennie's POV

The next day, I wake up feeling even more sleep deprived than the day before. I am restless again. Images of Lisa haunting me all throughout the night. Her dark, almost black eyes making me squirm under her.

Chaeyoung stops at her neighbor's house and a gentleman opens the door. He gives us a polite smile and then hands her something in a brown bag. We follow her further down the village until we get to a work section. There are tools and papers with writings on them.

"For today, we are going to make some soap." She smiles sheepishly. "We owe my mother a bar or two after losing the last one we had yesterday."

"I'm sorry, Chae." I don't miss how she added herself as a guilty party when she was not at fault.

"Don't be. I hope you don't take this the wrong way but seeing Lisa jump into that river with no hesitation was refreshing. She is so mean nowadays that I forget she has a heart."

"She doesn't seem to like me much." Must I sound so insecure?

She smiles down at the bag she brought. "Just stay out of her way and she'll forget you're even alive."

Chaeyoung sets everything up and explains the process. Jisoo catches on a lot quicker than I do. Both seem at ease with each other. Probably because both of them are used to working every day of their lives. It takes me a couple of trial and errors to finally get the right pattern.

We spend the whole day making multiple soaps. Some unscented, others with lavender, and even some with drops of oranges. I hate that my thoughts keep going back to Lisa, but I let myself get carried away.

With determination I make my last batch of soap and set one aside. This one smells more like the woods than the others. "I would like to give this to Lisa." My cheeks heat up just from saying her name. Wait, did I say that out loud?

Chaeyoung nods without any comments and helps us get the soaps in order. "We have to let these sit for days before we're able to use them."

We walk through the village with our heads down. Chaeyoung is the only one smiling and waving at everyone. People are still staring, probably because we're the only women, besides Clare, who are covered from head to toe. Most don't even wear shoes.

"Here is Lisa's house." Chae motions for me to knock. "I don't think she's home yet. If she's not, we can leave it by her window with a note."

I build up the courage to knock on the door. My knuckles feel raw against the wood. Jisoo is watching me with curiosity but I ignore her.

The door opens.

"What are you doing here?" Lisa answers, annoyed. Her hair is all over the place. She is wearing a different colored fur now, much lighter than the others. Her gaze then softens as she sees Chaeyoung.

"I came to give you this as a thank you for saving me yesterday." I turn my palm up and show her the soap.

Her eyebrows pull in together. She snatches the soap from my hand and slams the door in my face.

I huff in anger but shrug it off. I did my part. I can finally put the whole incident behind me.

~~~

The next couple of days go by in a blur.

From the moment that we wake up to the time that we put our heads on our cots we are constantly moving around.

They have us on vegetable duty so we are always chopping or gathering what we can find. The garden they have also needs tending to. My arms and legs are sore from being overused but at least it has helped me sleep at night. I am so tired that I do not even dream anymore.