Almost Paradise

Chapter One

"What did I get myself into?" Jannel asked herself as she criticized her appearance in the mirror. She was wearing a grey vest layered over a crisp white, collared shirt. A red and gold tie was secured uncomfortably around her neck, feeling more like a noose than a fashion accessory. She kept tugging her plaid shirt down, hopelessly forcing the material past her mid-thigh.  She felt uncomfortable and exposed. Her eyes trailed down her stiff collar to her short skirt and coming to rest on her knee-high socks and black sneakers. "I look like an Usagi knock-off," she concluded lamely.

As she contemplated changing into a pair of jeans, a blonde head appeared in the doorway. "Hey Jannel, ready to go?"

Jannel looked at her roommate's wide blue eyes and wondered if she also wore the same look of nervous anticipation. "Yeah, Lacey, just a sec."

Turning away from the mirror, she paused to grab her blazer and bag before following her roommate out the door. "Are you still reading that?" Jannel pointed to the grammar book clutched in Lacey's arms. "I doubt they'll give us a punctuation quiz on our first day."

"I'm going over honorifics," she replied.

"We're seniors, so we'll refer to most people as hunbae."

"But what if I call someone hunbae when they are in fact a sunbae. I'll come off as rude."

"You could always ask them," Jannel suggested as they stepped onto the elevator. "Then you'll know for sure."

Her blonde friend pouted. "I don't want to have to do that with every person that I meet today. Speaking Korean will be hard enough." The elevator door slid open onto the first floor.

"Well, then use visual aids." Seeing Lacey's puzzled look, Jannel smiled and held up a finger. She pushed the doors of the dorm aside and let her roommate through. Jannel spread her arms wide. "Observe and learn my friend."

The early morning was warm, with the day's new sun slowly creeping over the tall buildings and painting the trees with a delicate orange glow. Jannel appreciated the contrast between the severe brick buildings and the natural softness of the surrounding greenery. As she admired the campus's beauty, her earlier nerves slowly dissipated. The hard part was over. She had endured the extensive application process and grueling placement and language proficiency examinations. She was in. This was simply high school in a foreign country. All she was required to do was maintain her academic performance and enjoy the experience. Nothing bad was going to happen. 

"So it it time for my honorifics crash course yet?"

Lacey's voice broke through Jannel's inner thoughts. "oh, yeah, visual aids," she reminded herself.

"So when it comes to Shinhwa, in order to determine how to address fellow students, you need to pay attention to their clothes."

Lacey looked dubious. "Their clothes?"

"Yep," Jannel said with a satisfied nod. When Lacey's expression remained unchanged, Jannel continued. "For example, right now we are in the West campus where the dormitories and university classes are located. Notice any significant difference between us and everybody else?"

Lacey looked at a group of guys lounging on the grass nearby. "They're in jeans?"

"Exactly," Jannel replied. "University students don't have a uniform policy, so anyone not wearing one of these stuffy blazers is a college student and thus, a sunbae."

"Ok, simple enough. But what about high school students?"

"Freshman and sophomore girls wear idol pins in their ties, juniors have flashy hair accessories, and senior girls wear heals."