Saving Grace [discontinued]

{chapter 7} - preparations

Sana, Talia, and I had all agreed to meet for an early lunch so that we could talk about the big news we had just received. The fragrant smell of freshly baked bread lingered in the air as Sana and I stepped into the cafe that our trio had agreed to meet at. My eyes skimmed over the cafe until I found an empty table with three chairs near a big window that was projecting the afternoon sunshine into the quaint restaurant. I pointed the table out to Sana and she hummed in approval. While she set down our bags at the table, I went up to the counter and ordered our food. Ordering at this cafe wasn't a challenge anymore, considering the amount of times Sana and I had been too lazy to cook and decided to just eat here instead.

Right as I sat down I heard the soft ringing of the bell on the cafe door that signaled to Sana and I that Talia had arrived.  When I looked to the door I sent her a smile and waved her over. Talia simply pointed at the cashier, wordlessly saying that she was going to get her food first. I nodded and turned back to Sana. I gasped audibly when I saw her face. It was pink, on the verge of turning red, and her knuckles were gripping the table, turning whiter by the second.

"Sana!" I said in a panicky tone. "Are you having an attack?!" My voice was a little too loud considering we were in a public setting, but my best friend seemed like she was in pain, so I didn't really give a crap.

Sana shot me a confused look and then looked down at her knuckles. Looking bewildered at her own hands, she quickly pulled them away from the table. "Oh no, it's not an attack," she said sheepishly. "I'm just really excited to talk about the trip," she explained shyly, her face finally returning to its original tan color.

I simultaneously sighed in relief and rolled my eyes. I was about to scold Sana for scaring me, but Talia had just walked up to our table balancing all of our meals on her arms and in her hands, so I decided to wait until we got home to yell at Sana.

"How can you carry all of those?!" I asked Talia, who was concentrated on not dropping our lunches. "Perks of working as a waitress for two years," Talia replied in a strained voice. "Now can you please take them before my arms fall off?"

I quickly reached out and grabbed my salad from Talia's right arm, while Sana took the plate of pasta from her left. Talia sighed in relief and carelessly placed her bowl of soup on the table, not noticing how it sloshed dangerously close to the rim.

"Alright ladies, let's talk Korea," Talia said, massaging her right arm and eating a spoonful of soup with her left. Sana immediately set down the glass of water she was drinking and swallowed with a big gulp. "I'M HONESTLY SO EXCITED AND WE'RE GOING TO DO SO MANY FUN THINGS AND WE HAVE TO GO SHOPPING AND THE KOREAN FOOD OH MY LORD IT'S GOING TO TASTE LIKE HEAVEN AND-" Sana paused her loud rant to take another sip of water. Talia and I both looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"I can't say I disagree with you Sana," Talia laughed. "I've been dying to try authentic kimchi and tteokbokki for months now," she added. When I managed to stop laughing, I nodded eagerly in agreement. "I'd love to go shopping too," I said, taking another bite of my salad. "I've been researching some shopping centers in Seoul, and there's some that we have to see," I remarked, putting heavy emphasis on the "have to".

Our trio spent the rest of our lunch conversing about all of the things that needed to be crammed into our two-week trip, including hikes, shopping trips, and restaurants. After we'd done a decent job of cleaning the mess on our table and left a tip, I picked up my bag, and I heard Sana turn to Talia.

"Hey Tal, wanna come help us pack?" Sana asked excitedly. "I'd love to!" Talia squealed. "Is that good with you Grace?" Talia inquired. "Absolutely!" I answered cheerfully. I'd only met Talia at the beginning of the semester when she'd slipped a k-pop reference into a casual conversation. I was excited to finally become closer friends with someone other than Sana, who had been my only genuine friend since I arrived at CSU.

With my enthusiastic reply, our trio made our way back to the spacious dorm that Sana and I share. Sana and I led Talia to our bedroom and we both turned to our respective closets, sorting through to pull out random items of clothing and throw them onto our beds. Talia watched timidly from Sana's desk, which had random drawings and notes scattered over it's mahogany desktop.

"What do you think of this Tal?" I asked, neatly laying out an outfit on my bed. Talia tilted her head with an uneasy look.

"It's cute, but-" she paused, picking up the short black skirt I'd paired with a light pink top. "It'll be freezing in Korea, unlike here," Talia explained, gesturing to the window that was slightly cracked open, letting a light breeze in to relieve the stuffiness of our bedroom. I nodded understandingly, and clipped the black skirt back onto a hanger. I had forgotten to take temperature into consideration, as I'd foolishly assumed that the weather in a wintery South Korea would be just like California, with sunny 60 degree temperatures in the day and around 40 degrees at night. The temperatures in South Korea were probably less than half of the temperatures in California.

Talia must have taken my silent thinking as me being discouraged, so she put on a reassuring smile and started sorting through my closet. "What about this?" she asked, holding up a piece of clothing for me to assess. I smiled brightly and nodded, tossing the attire into my light blue suitcase.

F  A  S  T    F  O  R  W  A  R  D

Two weeks, a confirmation email, and countless hours of packing later, I was ready to go to South Korea.

face yourself has snatched my wig so many times this week im surprised im not bald