Prejudice

V

After emerging from the shower feeling fully rejuvenated and clean, Irene started to feel a little bad. It didn't feel as good to win if she'd done it by deceit. She felt like she was a much better person than Lisa, but those qualities weren't being portrayed the right way. She felt the need to redeem herself. It wasn't necessarily another stroke at friendship but an endeavor to make amends. They could at least be cordial to one another.

She slowly opened the door and peeked out into the hall. Part of her felt like Lisa was waiting in the wings to attack her or something. But when she caught view of the girl distractedly scrolling on her phone on her bed, she let out a breath of relief. She put away her things, then showed up in Lisa's doorway. Lisa saw her figure from her peripheral vision and chose not to acknowledge her. She swore at her internally but gave no signs that she sensed her standing there. It prompted Irene to announce herself.

"Hey..." Irene called out softly, but loud enough for Lisa to hear. The younger girl simply kept scrolling. "Sorry I beat you to the shower," she apologized a little louder.

Lisa glanced at her and sighed. Then she looked back down at her phone. Tumblr was far more interesting than some privileged brat offering her apology.

"I shouldn't have done that. It was mean..." Irene persevered, despite the way she wasn't eliciting much of a response at all from Lisa.

Lisa was wondering why she was still there. Most people would leave after being ignored in such a manner. She found it kind of sweet that Irene kept pushing through it. She made it a fraction harder to blatantly ignore her. This was kind of commanding her attention.

"And sorry I made you fall," she added meekly with her hands behind her back. "I didn't know that would happen. I mean, I knew I was dripping... But I didn't want you to slip. Are you okay, by the way?" Irene questioned, fully expecting to be ignored this time around too.

"Yeah... I kind of did that to myself, though. I think that was karma or something. Sorry too," Lisa relented and finally acknowledged the apology. "For, you know, what I did in the car."

"It's okay," Irene granted almost instantly. It was taking way too much energy to feud with this girl. Whether they became friends or ignored each other for the rest of the summer, she didn't care. But she needed some sort of solace for this. "We're okay?"

"I guess..." Lisa tapered off. She was going into thought about the same thing Irene was. Although ignoring each other was really the only tangible option.

"Good," Irene smiled.

"Yeah... So anyway, I'm gonna go shower now," Lisa dismissed herself and left Irene no time to say anything else. Irene got the hint to leave her alone, then found herself downstairs. She opted to watch Dr. Oz with Sooyoung and Jihyun.

As the water beat against Lisa's skin, she tried to make sense of the way she was acting. There was no real reason she was so mean to Irene. Perhaps what Jisoo and Seulgi said held a little bit of truth. Maybe she did kind of like her in a way. And maybe she was hiding it or overcompensating for it by being so rude to her. Irene wasn't a totally bad character. Lisa could admit that she was a lot worse to her than vice versa. She was somewhat cruel to the girl that just wanted to live in a friendly environment. In the shower she told herself she'd try harder.

Dr. Oz was great but Irene really wished she was doing something else. She felt like she'd given her enough space. She didn't want to talk to Lisa but she did want to retrieve that book she was reading the night before. She felt like Scout's journey could distract her from her undesirable reality. It could take her mind off of the way things were for a little while.

Irene made it to Lisa's room and was surprised to not see her in there. She heard rummaging in the bathroom and figured out where she was. She was surprised; Lisa was usually in and out of the bathroom within ten minutes. The moment she'd exit was unpredictable. That didn't leave her with much time to take the book and go. She quickly scanned her room for the book and luckily found it in the corner. It must've gotten kicked over there in the process of her trying to put away the sleeping bag earlier. Irene swiped the book hurriedly and made her way out. She was darting across the hallway when Lisa exited the bathroom. Lisa looked at her curiously and called her name just before she reached the safe haven of her room.