The New Student

Hansol (2)

"How was it because of me?" he asked, shocked. "You and I have never been affiliated with each other. What did I do?"

"You!" I groaned angrily out of frustration. How could he not understand?! "Never mind! Forget it!" I tore away, running towards the bathroom. 

I almost screamed when I saw my own reflection. Black streaks of makeup had dried on my face, shadowing my eyes. The places where I had wiped my tears were all smudged and messy. I hurriedly washed my face with the water, furiously scrubbing at the dried makeup. My face, pink and raw, looked less like a monster's. 

Back in the classroom, I silently sat in my desk by the window, peering out. Everything seemed so much clearer now and I felt less burdened. Of course, a slither of guilt remained in my heart for Johnny. He was silent for the entire day and had dark shadows under his eyes. His hair was still rumpled from this morning. Forget about him! Forget about Johnny! The rest of the day, I forced my mind to forget about Johnny, staring outside at the green scenery. 

The bell rang, signaling the end of school. I heard the clacking of high heels on wooden floors and immediately knew whose feet were running, Jess.

"Johnny!" She exclaimed, flinging herself onto him. "How are you feeling? Do you want me to go beat up that awful girl for you? She deserves it, considering what she did to you."

Johnny was silent. Jess looked up at me and smiled, walking towards me. 

"Jess." She whirled around, surprised to feel a strong grip on her arm. "Stop." It was Johnny. "Stop it. Go away."

"But Johnny darling, I-"

"I said go!" He yelled at her, his eyes wild and stormy. "Get away from me! Just stop it!" Before storming away, he stopped and looked at me, searching my face for any remaining compassion. Seeing none, he turned around and left without a word, leaving Jess in a heap on the floor, sobbing. I quietly packed my bags and turned to leave when I ran into Hansol's back. 

"Oof." I rubbed my nose, which had smashed into a shoulder blade. 

"Ah, sorry." He turned around and looked at me, tilting his head. 

"What are you doing?" I asked, peering over his shoulder. 

"Oh, I'm just packing my gym-bag. I have a basketball game today."

"Who are you playing against?"

"Darmount High."

I smiled. That was my old school. Maybe I could see Susana at the game. "Can I come? What time?"

"You are going to a basketball game?" He looked at me, astounded.

"Yeah." I shrugged. "Why not? Just because I've never been to a basketball game doesn't mean I can't  go. Maybe I could go and see Hansol Ji's amazing skills. I heard that he was a really good player."

He smiled crookedly. "It's at six, but it's at Floosom Athletic Center, I don't know if you want to drive all the way over there."

Oh...that was pretty far. I pursed my lips, thinking. I was sixteen and old enough to drive, but my parents were wary about letting me loose on the same streets as dangerous drivers so I still didn't have a car or a license. 

"Oh hey, I can give you a ride. I'll just tell the coach that I'll be driving myself instead of riding the bus. But you'll have to stay for the warm up." 

I grinned. "I'll do my homework during that time then." Quickly texting my parents, I followed Hansol outside to his car. Basketball games were always fun, weren't they?