later that day...
"Ugh. One more time Mrs Lee picks on me, I swear I'd rather kill myself!" Yang Baek Hee excalimed frustratedly, stabbing her fork into the home-packed sushi she brought to school, while Goo Mary sighed; shaking her head.
I met Baekhee and Mary in Chemistry where this teacher, Mrs Lee, an old sadistic woman who makes her students' life like living hell 'cause she has no life of her own - or so I was told.
I don't usually pack my food from home, so I brought the cafeteria's ramen instead. It tasted so much better than it did back at Samchock's.
"I think Mrs Lee is an OK type of person," I said simply, chewing the noodles heartily. Baekhee stared at me through her glasses - shocked.
"Mary, tell me I'm hearing wrong," Baekhee said.
"Baekhee, she's new, so she doesn't understand that much of the concept," Mary pointed out and continued eating her bowl of ramen.
"Understand what?" Chonsa said as she approached. She was actually skipping here. Euri followed behind chewing a piece of gum. Chonsa nuffled Mary's short hair. Mary looked up and smiled hugely at Chonsa and Euri. They sat next to Mary and began gossiping about teachers and students, particularly Matilda.
My mind drifted and I felt my throat went dry. Mary turned to me quizzically.
"Your lips look dry, why don't you get yourself a drink at the vending machine?" She suggested. I nodded and followed behind her to the cafeteria's entrance. I slipped in a few coins in the slot and chose Coca - Cola.
The vending machine whirred and clinked but no can rolled out.
"Why not try kicking it?" Mary suggested, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. I grinned at her and threw a swift kick at it.
At that particular moment, Yonghwa happened to be passing by and he stopped - wide eyed - as my right leg was still stretched to the vending machine. Mary bit her lower lip and hid behind me in embarrassment.
Yonghwa stared - surprisingly - between me and the machine several times before saying:
"Excuse me. May I pass?" His voice sounded sweet, a bit of husky and deep; but sweet. I felt blood rushing up my cheeks and I pulled back my leg. He nodded briefly at me and I muttered a really, small sorry in his direction, before he walked away.
Mary and I stood in silence before retrieving the canned drink.
"That was really awkward," Mary piped up, her tone still cheerful after what had happened.
"Yeah." I nodded. We approached Euri, Chonsa and Baekhee to find them laughing over some silly jokes Chonsa made up. They looked at us and waved.
Mary slid into the seat next to Euri while I stood awkwardly at the edge of the table. I took sip by sip as Mary fired away the story between the vending machine and ... me.
The bell rang.
*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
after school ...
The rest of my day at school kinda went like this:
Bell ring, meet Chonsa / Euri / Baekhee / Mary outside class, go next class. Bell ring, end of school.
My footsteps crunched as I walked down the gravel road, the dark blue skirt of the school's uniform, swinging side-to-side around my knees as the wind blew. The blue necktie hung around my neck as I released the tight ponytail to a loose hold.
