The Girl Who Lives In My Garage • Jenlisa

nine

"Do you know how much it sucked being sick on a day off?" Rosé asks. She slides a veggie quesadilla onto her tray, and I follow suit. It's Salisbury steak day in the cafeteria, which means the vegetarian entrée is a popular choice. "All I did was sleep. My mom wouldn't even let me stay home today. She said I'm not contagious after being on antibiotics for twenty-four hours. Damn modern medicine.

Before I can respond, Hanbin calls Rosé's name and motions us over to his table. I pay for my food and follow Rosé in his direction. The seats at his table are filled so we stand along the wall.

"You're back," he says to Rosé, giving both of us a dimple smile.

"Miss me?" she asks in a sultry tone.

"Sure, sure. But don't worry." He nods to me. "I made sure Jennie wasn't lonely without you."

"Hey, Jennie," Nick/Nate kid says, mouth full of food. He's eating the Salisbury steak. Gross.

"Hey," I say, trying not to wrinkle my nose, but failing.

"Lucky girl," Rosé says. "But you didn't save seat for us today? What the hell, Hanbin?"

"Sorry. But I'll make it up to you. Bonfire tonight. You two will be there, right?" Compared to the bitter cold of the past few days, anything above freezing feels like a heat wave. Perfect bonfire weather. And Hanbin's bonfire are epic. I'm not sure if "filing a field with a shit-ton of people, alcohol, wood, and lighter fluid" is something he can put on his college applications, but it's impressive enough that I feel like he should.

"Definitely," Rosé says.

Hanbin turns his attention in my direction. "And you, Jennie?"My mind flashes to Lisa, but I can't stay home all the time just because she's hanging out in my garage, Besides, with the nonzero temperatures, who knows if she'll still be there? "Yeah. Maybe."

Hanbin grins. "Good. See you later."

As Rosé and I walk toward our usual table, empty seats at various catch my attention. They make me wonder where Lisa would sit if she went to school here. With herself, maybe Jen. She's tall enough and seems smart, she'll have some people asking her to sit with them.

We sit across from each other and Rosé leans close so I can hear her over the cafeteria din. "Do you think Hanbin is good in bed? I bet he is. I mean, the muscles alone."

The thought of sleeping with Hanbin makes my quesadilla look like something out of a litter box. "Gross," I say. "It's Hanbin. I bet he's slept with eighty percent of the girls in this room."

Rosé dunks a quesadilla wedge in too much sour cream and shoves it in her mouth. "Probably good odds for a reason," she says around a mouthful of food. "Have you seen the dimples, Jennie? They're so sexy. I just want to stick my finger in them. And then I just want to take him and..."

"Okay." I hold up a hand to stop her before she gets any further. "I get the picture." Not that I want that kind of picture with anyone other than Lisa.

"So, you're going to the bonfire tonight. Don't give me any of that 'maybe' shit. Will the girl from the mall be there? She was hot. Maybe if she's there, then you and her can hang out and Hanbin and I can hang out, and..."

It's like she knew I was just thinking about her. But as much as part of me wishes her cafeteria seat was the one next to mine, Lisa is my secret to keep. "I don't think she'll be there," I say. "But I'll go. Think Irene unnie can drive us?"

"Sure. Hey, the label on a prescription that says 'Do not drink alcohol while taking this medication,' is probably just a suggestion, right?

I laugh. "Absolutely."