YOU & ME | JENLISA

Chapter 21

Jennie

Black Spanx.

Black leggings.

I stood in my panties for twenty minutes just staring at my clothes. I felt like the leggings gave me extra protection, he could touch me but he couldn't get inside the material. However, I knew if I didn't wear the Spanx, Krystal wouldn't be very happy with me for breaking uniform protocol.

Part of me hoped that Lisa would stick to her word and 'sort it out' though I didn't want to think too deeply about what she meant by that. I just selfishly wanted it 'sorted.'

"Chicken legs, you awake?" My dad knocked on the door making my heart jump like it was spiked with a bolt of electricity. I grabbed the leggings and pulled them on.

"Yeah dad, I'll be right out." I slipped on an oversized sweater and roughed up my hair a bit so it didn't feel as flat.

My dad had made scrambled eggs, bacon and freshly squeezed orange juice too. His hair stuck up everywhere and he kept rubbing his eyes. I wasn't hungry, too nervous to eat but he stayed up especially to cook me breakfast. If I didn't eat, he would lose sleep worrying what was wrong with me, so I picked up a fork and dug in.

"Sorry, I'm a little out of sorts. I fell asleep on the sofa at six, it was a busy night last night."

"That's okay." I mumbled with a full mouth.

"That damn trailer park, the Manobans. They're really something else." I stopped eating and raised my eyes up to meet his, and mushed egg flopped about in my mouth until I swallowed it down. "Such a sad, sad family." He shook his head.

"Why?"

"Fighting Jen, always fighting. Their lives are ruled by addiction and violence. It's such a sad life to live." He yawned and wiped the sleep away from his eyes.

"Dad, you're really tired. Get yourself to bed. I'll walk to school today." I reached out and touched his arm, giving him a sweet smile.

"Only if you're sure, sweetheart."

"I am." I kissed him on the top of his head, right in his thinning hairline and then left the kitchen table, thankful to not be eating anymore.

The morning air was fresh, I could feel it opening my lungs wider and letting me breathe cleaner. I stopped to speak to the paperboy doing his usual route and to stroke Mrs. Nam's new Labrador puppy. Then I entered the trailer park and the temperature dropped by a few degrees.

Lisa's trailer stood to my right, the windows were broken in and there was a boot mark to the lower door. Glass beer bottles lined the dead lawn around the area and her dad was throwing something in the trash wearing nothing but a wife beater and blue boxer shorts. His face was bruised, like he had been brawling down at the bar.

"What you looking at slut!?" He barked at me. "You're in the wrong part of town." I kept walking, faster now. "You are that pig's daughter yeah?" He fished into the trash can and threw a mouldy tomato at me. It didn't hit me, but it splattered on the ground close by. I kicked it away with the tip of my converses. "Yeah you better fucking walk away, don't come back to these side of the tracks again. You're not fucking welcome here!"

By the time I got to school, my whole body was filled with dread. It whirled around, tying my stomach into knots that I couldn't undo. I spotted him in the hallway, Taehyung. He laughed along with his friends and a small piece of me died because I had spent last night praying that he caught a stomach bug, or got ran over by a car or something.

I got to English class and sat down next to Krystal and the guys. Her eyes floated down my outfit and then she tossed her fiery hair over her shoulder and clamped her lips together.

"Are you wearing that so Taehyung can't slip you the finger?" Momo laughed, wiggling her finger at me like this was all a joke to them.

"Taehyung's hot, you should definitely let him slip you the finger, Jen." Somi joked.

"Enough!" Krystal interrupted. "He's not gonna slip her the finger. He's not gonna touch her anywhere. We'll just get on with the dance routine. We can't fuck this up and saying things like that is gonna get him disqualified, we can't lose another dancer."

I lowered my head and chewed on my lip.

"It's chill okay? It's chill. Just stop thinking about it, Jen."

"Take out your books and turn to page 89." Mr. Choi yelled out. "We'll be going over what you did in my absence."

"Jen, I have a spare uniform in my locker for you. Call it female intuition but something told me to bring it this morning. If you dance on my team, you represent it with the uniform chosen."

"Please Krystal, just for today let me dance in my leggings."

"And what happens when we're on stage, huh? You want to dance in your leggings then? Taehyung touching you is no big deal, we're dancers. The guys grope us everywhere, they're meant to. The dancing needs to look seductive, and sexy. It's art, if you're not cut out for that, then maybe you shouldn't be on the team."

Momo and Somi gasped.

"He's not meant to touch me like this. The way he touches me is different." I pleaded, and none of them seemed to take it seriously.

"Well maybe that's the vibe you give off." She turned her head to look at the empty seat that Lisa usually sits at.

"Can't really blame Taehyung for thinking that you have loose morals when you associate yourself with a rapist."

"I sat with her one time, Krystal!" I banged my palms down on the table.

"You represent us Jen, once was bad enough."