Clueless | DAERIN

13: lies and deception

h a e r i n
—

A loud sneeze forces its way out of my body, causing me to groan in pain.

Partially from the sneeze, partially from my pounding headache.

Ugh.

This has been going on for two days now!

I guess I should have listened to my mom.

"If you sneeze one more time, I won't hesitate to lock you in the den," Minji groans with annoyance.

Hanni is meeting with our mother today to discuss the whole 'secret business' situation.

Minji didn't want to stay and hear about the scary parts of their deal, so she came up to her old bedroom, which is near mine.

"Sorry, I'll just hold it in next time," I reply with heavy sarcasm.

She glares at my joke, not finding it funny.

"Whatever," is all she says as she walks out of my bedroom.

Before she enters the hallway, she slams my bedroom door closed behind her.

I roll my eyes at her attitude and lean my head back against my stack of pillows.

She has been like this all day.

I don't know why, nor do I want to know why.

I sigh and roll over so that I am lying on my side.

This movement causes my head to hurt way more.

My headache is so bad that it is affecting my vision to the point that I feel like I am in a video game simulation.

I close my eyes and almost immediately fall into a deep sleep, only to be woken up by my phone ringing loudly.

I practically jump awake from the loud ring.

It takes me a few moments to register that my cellphone is ringing before I reach for it and answer the call, not checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" I ask with a stuffed nose.

My eyes ease shut again, but I am still responsive.

"Hey, are you okay?" a familiar voice asks from the other end.

I furrow my eyebrows and open my eyes, moving my phone in front of my face only to be met with my best friend's beautiful face.

Her blonde hair is flowing over her shoulders in loose curls, a thick headband holding most of it back, giving her a polished look.

Her brown eyes are practically sparkling as they keep their gaze fixed on me.

Her addictive pink lips are set in a heartwarming smile.

Shit.

I give her the best smile that I can muster up, which is saying a lot considering the amount of pain I am in.

"Yep, never been better," I muse.

I shift my body so that I can prop my cellphone up against one of my pillows.

Danielle raises a brow.

"Really?" she asks.

I nod my head as best as I can.

She laughs at this.

"I mean this in the nicest way possible, you look like shit," she tells me.

My jaw drops at this.

I roll over so that I am now lying on my stomach, resting my chin on my folded arms.