can i ask you a question?

2

Let's just say I stayed the same for an entire year of our freshman year. Jisoo and I were able to form a group of friends who don't talk much and aren't stupid, so I get along well with them. Rosie and Lisa have their own group of friends, but Rosie still communicates with Jisoo and me. Lisa still talks to Jisoo, but only occasionally with me, which I don't mind. I mean, she and Jisoo both ride their bikes to school and back, so they see each other every day. I've only seen her in our classes.

I'm not sure why, but these guys who I've already rejected repeatedly are still doing so much. They just keep talking to me even when I don't respond. They give me gifts that I don't need, which I either give to Jisoo and our friends or throw away.

"Yo Jennie," says another.

"What now?"

"Could you please give this to Lisa?" he asks as he places a pack of gummies on my desk.

"You look more like a servant than I do," I noted. Lisa is also surrounded by a lot of annoying guys. To be honest, the same is true of Jisoo and Rosie.

"Please, Jisoo and Rosie aren't here, and I'm too shy to give it if there are a lot of people," he says, turning around before I could respond. The absence of our teacher is the reason why most of our classmates are outside the classroom. Lisa is probably on her phone at her desk, scrolling through social media. I sigh and get up, carrying the pack of gummies.

"Shithead," I said as I placed the gummy on her desk, causing her to look up in surprise. "He doesn't have the balls to give you that," I said, crossing my arms.

"Who?" she inquires.

"Tray? Troy? I have no idea what his name is," I admitted.

"Okay, thanks," she replied quickly. Is that it? I get up for a quick response?

"Shithead," I said again as I returned to my seat.

After a couple of days, we're in the middle of a class. I can hear Lisa talking to someone, but I can't hear the teacher clearly. She uses up a lot of energy talking to other people; why not expend the same amount of energy in our class?

"Jennie, do you have an answer?" our teacher inquired. Naturally, it's always me. When I first volunteered to answer his equation, he just kept picking me as if I were his only student.

"Lisa might have one," I speculated.

"What the fuck Jennie?" Jisoo says, knowing Lisa isn't listening.

"I have no idea," Lisa admits.

"I'll answer," Jisoo says as she raises her hand to save Lisa.

"Me too," Rosie says as she raises her hand. Rosie is also listening, so why shouldn't she?

"Lisa, come up here," the teacher instructs. I forgot he was the one who was strict. When I look over at Lisa, she's already in front of the class. Jisoo sighed next to me.

"Then you won't apologize again," Jisoo says quietly. The entire class was silent as I watched Lisa stand there. To be honest, Lisa is not stupid, despite what I always say. It's just that she doesn't pay attention in class, but her grades weren't too bad during our freshman year.

Lisa is facing the board, looking at the equation, and she is standing there with her back to us. If I were the one standing there, unsure of what to write, the silence would be detrimental. Our teacher stands beside her, arms crossed, waiting for Lisa to begin solving the problem. Lisa is tapping her shoes uncomfortably; she has no idea how to solve it, which is why she is so nervous.

"Your voice is too soft for us to hear back here," I said to our teacher. That is not true, but using that excuse means Lisa will not know the answer because she is also in the back.

"I advanced studied," Jisoo explained. Rosie is seated near the center, so she is not necessarily in the back.

"If you say so, Jennie," he said, trusting my words because I always do well in his class. He instructed Lisa to return and ask Rosie to answer instead.

"We're even now," I told Jisoo.

"Are you expecting her to thank you simply because you remove her from the position you placed her in?"

"I lied so she wouldn't have to answer; I don't lie very often," I explained.

"You put her in an awkward position; apologies are always necessary," Jisoo said, making me sigh. Sure, I'm in the wrong, but... Saying sorry is not an easy task.

Lisa once missed three days of school, which I would have noticed because there is less noise in our class. Jisoo and Rosie informed me that she was ill. I suppose shitheads do get sick from time to time. When she returned to school, it was as if she had been gone for a year, because so many people were calling to check on her. There was not a single moment during the day when she was not being spoken to. She appears to be fine, though she still appears a little pale when I catch a glimpse of her.

Most of our classmates went out during break, but I brought a sandwich and stayed behind. Lisa went out quickly to get some food, and when she returned to class, another classmate asked how she was.. never ever ending. They talk for a few minutes before Lisa notices her shoelace is untied. How can people be so clueless about such small things? It's  no surprise that people die from stupidity. Lisa knelt down to tie it for her as the woman carried her belongings. Lisa walks back to her seat, which is right next to mine, after the girl has finally left. Our seats are separated by an isle.

Is she only nice when there are a lot of people around? Or is she just not as nice to me? I'm not stupid to have missed the fact that I'm one of the few people with whom she doesn't strike up a conversation. I return my gaze to Lisa after looking down at my sneakers. She is staring at her phone. I'm not sure why, but I just pull my sneakers up and untie my shoelace. Just so you know, it's not that serious. I remained silent the entire time, waiting for her to act. She did look my way at times, especially when Jisoo and some of our classmates came in, but she didn't help me like the girl from earlier

I'm stupid enough to have forgotten about my untied shoelace and not realized it was still untied after class. I stand up and almost trip. Lisa had to hold onto both of my arms, of course, to prevent me from kissing the ground. She didn't say anything, and neither did I. When I look at Jisoo, she makes this weird ass face as if teasing me, so I show her my middle finger.