Chapter 10

The one thing that really sucked about being the new girl was that everybody already had their own cliques. In freshman year, since everyone was as new as the next, it was easy to make friends because we were all strangers. But joining a school when the students knew one another for two years and most of them were already satisfied with their friends was pretty difficult. Which was why I pretty much walked through the hallways alone. Some people were kind enough to send me courteous smiles when I walked past them and even though I knew the gesture wasn't an invitation to start a conversation with them, I was glad that they had at least acknowledged my presence. I was never an attention who.re but damn.

"Hey, Sexy." There was only one person with such a deep voice and only one person with a masculine musk and he was the only one to ever call me sexy so I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

"Hi Jonathan," I said before shutting my locker. I stepped aside then turned around. "How is it going?" His shirt had a few buttons undone and he looked like one of those devilish characters from an American soap opera.

"Let's have dinner tonight – I'll buy."

I sighed. Was I even in the position to reject anyone who wanted to be my friend even if looking into his eyes made my heart flutter? "I don't know if I'm allowed to have dinner outside the house," I replied honestly.


He frowned. "Oh, you're one of those. Got strict parents?"

I shrugged. "You could say so."

He stood still and thought about it. "Then we can have lunch together," he said smiling. "We can ditch the cafeteria and go somewhere good."

I pursed my lips. "I don't think that's a good idea."

He raised his brow and sent me a lazy smile. I felt my heart thump so I turned away. Gosh, why was he so hot?

"What's wrong with us getting to know each other?" he asked, reaching out to take my hand.

I quickly moved away to avoid his touch. "I heard you're a player and I already have a boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? Damn, you work fast. Didn't you just get here? Who is he? Tell me where he is so I can go and beat him up," he said, smiling in that charming way again.

I stretched out my hand. "Let's just be friends, okay?"



***

I dropped my tray on the table and sat across from Ali and Ryan. "Hi, guys."

"Ryan," she spat, "look who we have here." She looked pointedly at me. "You don't feel like sitting next to your friends?" she said, glancing at the table I'd sat at the previous day.

"You weren't here when I got here."

She raised her left brow. "Are you sure? Because when I walked in, I waved my hand like a mad woman trying to get your attention but you completely ignored me then sat next to the Prada Bitches." She chuckled. "Of all people to sit with. I bet they ignored you too. If you were going to sit with your own kind, you should have at least gone to a different table," she said with a smirk.

I knitted my brows in confusion. "That's not it at all. I couldn't find anyone I knew so I just sat there. I swear, I didn't see you."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Ignore her. She probably wasn't here when you came in - we spent part of lunch break looking at her car."

"Big mouth," Ali said before stuffing her mouth with a fist full of fries.

I looked from him to her and couldn't deny that they shared a certain warmth. "Are you guys dating?"

Simultaneously, they made horrified faces, glanced at each other then shook their heads vehemently. "Eww!" they said in unison.

I laughed. I was glad to see the tension dissipate. "So how do you guys know each other?"

Ryan eyed her. "I'm her assigned caretaker."

"Whatever," Ali scoffed. "The guy stalks me so what can I do? Even if I move to another town, he's still going to follow me so I figured that I might as well give in and enrich his life with my presence."

"What the…?" Ryan started to say before asking me to pass him the salt. As he sprinkled it on his burger, he said, "Our parents work together so we're family friends."

He went on to explain that their parents worked for a multi-national company which was why he'd been born in Dubai, moved to Houston when he was seven, relocated to DC when he was twelve and that Ali's family had followed a similar path although they were usually about two years behind. "Which is why I am eternally being asked to 'show her around' and take care of her."

"Cool," I said before taking a bite out of my juicy burger. I'd never had it with bacon and it tasted so good that I was already planning on getting seconds.

"So," Ryan said a few minutes later, "have you thought about my proposal?"

Ali's eyebrow shot up. "Proposal? Wow, don't tell me that geeky Ryan Cho is finally interested in a girl. Oh my God!" she yelled. "May the seas part and the heavens rejoice! Ryan Cho has finally realized that he's got a di.ck!"

People from other tables looked over at us then turned away in irritation.

"Su Jin, as I was saying," he said, ignoring her, "have you thought about it?"

"This surely is interesting," Ali interrupted before I could respond. "I wonder when this is going to show up on the notice board," she said with glee.

Ryan turned to her. "Yeah, I am quite sure it will end up there – after all, rumor has it that you're the #1 gossip queen at this school."

Ali replied by moving her brows up and down mischievously. "Now you know, huh? So expect this as tomorrow's headline: Which 'straight of the plane' girl is already involved in an intense love triangle with a 'fake wannabe filmmaker science geek' and a 'heartless playboy predator'?"

"'Heartless playboy predator'? I always thought I was more of the 'sensitive playboy predator-type'," Ryan said in a bored tone.

I laughed. "Well, I can't be the 'straight of the plane' girl since I already have a boyfriend."

"Cool," Ryan said.

"Really?" Ali added curiously.

I nodded and pulled out my keychain. "His name is Min Ki. He gave this to me," I said smiling, showing them the couple ring I kept on the keyring. "I can bring my phone in tomorrow if you want to see a picture," I offered.

She shook her head. "No need. So this is some guy from the old world? A country bumpkin you made a blood oath with? Some innocent guy you promised to love for the rest of you life?"

I snickered. "No. I've always lived in the city. And so what if we promised to be together forever?"

"Nothing, I guess." She studied my face as she played with her knuckles. "Long distance relationship, huh? Good luck with that."



***



"This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the word, happy are those who are called to his supper," the priest said.

"Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed," I responded with the rest of the congregation.

I got off my knees and waited to get in line to receive communion. Receiving communion was supposed to be one of the most sacred sacraments and you were only supposed to receive the body and blood of Christ with a clean heart. But how could I say that at that moment, I even had one?

For starters, the mass was the second most boring service I'd ever attended in my whole life – with the first occurring the previous week. It wasn't like Catholic churches were known for being particularly exciting but goodness! At least, back in Korea, we dressed up and on days I was feelings holy, I enjoyed singing the hymns. But mass at St. Catherine's could sure insomnia. Most of the congregation looked like they'd just rolled out of bed, no one really bothered to participate in all the responses and I just felt bad for the old lady who screeched as she tried to lead us in the hymns. Even the priest looked like he wouldn't mind being elsewhere and no matter how hard I tried to pay attention to the readings and sermon, my mind kept wandering to more important things like the different cell phone plans I could get.

I walked up to the priest, received my communion, went back to my spot and knelt down and as I watched the rest of the congregation walking up to the altar to receive theirs, I recognized someone I knew.



***



"Hey, so I guess we attend the same church," I said to Ryan's back. Mass had ended so people were hanging around greeting their friends, chatting with the priest or checking out the chapel shop. I'd seen Ryan lighting a candle so I went to say hello.

He turned around and smiled at me. "I guess we do. I saw you guys for the first time last week so I knew you were definitely new in town."

I shrugged. "Or we could have switched churches or something."

He shook his head. "Na. You guys had the whole deer-in-headlights look so I definitely knew you were fobs."

He started to walk towards the back of the church so I mimicked him. "About your History notes…"

"What about them? Yeah, now you want to borrow them?"

I looked at him sheepishly. "Yeah, still want to trade?" Miss Saunders' notes had turned out to be very sparse because they were just the outlines she brought with her to class. Most of what she dictated was stored in her brain and as it was, I had no real access to them. And as for Ali, she was taking AP History so we weren't even in the same class.

"Well, I know we're in the house of God and all that but I'm going to have to decline," he said before walking out of the church.

"Why?" I ran out to catch up with him. "I thought you really needed me for your documentary. I promise to say very interesting and amazing things," I said hopefully.

He chuckled. "Yeah, whatever. I needed you when you were still fresh and unbiased. Now, you've already been at the school for a week, already have a reasonable idea of what the school is like, what the cliques are, made some friends and all that so you're not as unadulterated as I would like."

"I could fake it?"

He smirked.

I looked away sadly. "So no deal."

He shook his head. "Sorry, no deal." He looked at me for a moment then broke into a smile for some unknown reason. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he said before walking over to who I presumed were the rest of his family.