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JUNE 16th, 2:15pm DAISOSE PET SHOP
chaeyoung stood in front of the pet shop. lalisa told her to meet her there at two in the afternoon, and yet she was fifteen minutes late.
getting tired of standing around, chaeyoung was about to walk away until she heard the familiar voice call out to her.
"chae! wait, i'm here!" lalisa gasped, running towards her. chaeyoung let out a huff and stood still.
"chae?"
"it's a nickname. you don't like it?" lalisa pouted playfully, toying with the hem of her plaid skirt.
chaeyoung wasn't used to receiving nicknames. at least, not from anyone around her age.
"why are we at a pet shop anyway? i don't want to buy a one..." chaeyoung said, ignoring lalisa's question.
lalisa grinned. "animals are a great reason to live! i figured you wouldn't mind at least seeing some."
animals? the only "animal" chaeyoung liked was her puppy, peach.
"right..." chaeyoung trailed off, heading past lalisa and into the pet shop.
she just wanted to get this over with. afterward, she'd probably go home, sleep, wake up, eat, then go back to sleep again.
chaeyoung saw life as nothing but a cycle of the same things over and over again. she wanted to keep it that way.
the shop was dim, but in a way that was comforting. there were tons of fish tanks lined up on the left and right sides of the buildings. other pets such as birds, dogs, cats, bunnies, and such were in designated parts of the shop. pet toys and food was displayed in front of the cash register, where a young woman stood. she waved at the chaeyoung as she entered the shop.
lalisa came behind chaeyoung, beyond excited. she hurried over to one of the fish tanks. chaeyoung forced herself to follow her, although she secretly felt like leaving.
"aren't they pretty?" lalisa purred, looking at the colorful fish lovingly.
chaeyoung couldn't deny that. the fish swam together in sync, making them look like a clump of blue and green.
"yeah..." chaeyoung replies awkwardly.
she wasn't used to talking to people around her age. let alone, girls. being homeschooled for pretty much her entire life, she sort of lacked the ability to make friends her own age. she usually spent summer break indoors, catering to her mother's needs.
but enough about that.
"you don't get out much, do you?" lalisa asked chaeyoung, glancing at her briefly before going back to marveling over the fish.
"it's that obvious?" chaeyoung chuckled lightly, a small smile making its way on her face.
"to be fair, i've never seen you at school. you do live in the same apartment complex as me, don't you?" lalisa said, still inspecting the fish.
chaeyoung doesn't recall ever seeing lalisa before yesterday. after all, she spent most of her time indoors anyway. she only left her apartment to take walks, shop, or visit her grandparents.
"yeah...where i almost jumped." chaeyoung said blankly, the memory replaying in her head.
"yeah. i saw you with your puppy one day," lalisa smiled, gazing at chaeyoung.
this girl had seen her before, and yet chaeyoung had no knowledge of her existence until yesterday. weird.
"stalker," chaeyoung smirked, staring at the fish blankly.
"pfft, no way. i was just...watching," lalisa stammered, scratching the back of her head.
"sure you were," chaeyoung joked.
this was good! chaeyoung managed to talk to someone without being an awkward mess.
chaeyoung felt a little better about this friendship, or whatever it was.
