Page 50 of XOXO

I wonder if this statement applies to me. Maybe it does, because I agreed to keep our friendship a secret. But also maybe it doesn’t, because I don’t think I can do it much longer.

We part ways: him to help Jaewoo, me to find Sori. Halfway across the quad, I close my eyes and lift my face to the rain.

Twenty-One

I find Sori laid out on her bed in our dorm room, uniform still on. Her hair is covering her face, which I’m starting to suspect is her anxiety coping mechanism. Except with the rain, her hair’s a little wet and she looks like an Asian water ghost. I’m proud of myself for not pointing this out to her.

“Do you... want to talk about what just happened?” I ask, slipping off my shoes.

“Not really,” she mumbles.

I wonder if we’re going to go back to the way we were before. Strangers living together.

Then she abruptly sits up. She whips her hair back, and it’s like she’s instantly transformed from a ghost to a mermaid, her smeared mascara only enhancing the beautiful shape of her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she says.

“For...?”

“You apologized, but I never did. I’m sorry for what I said about you, especially for what I said about your musical ability.As a musician myself, that was uncalled for.” Reaching out, she grabs her We Bare Bears cup from her nightstand and takes a sip.

“Is that cup for kids?”

“What do you mean?” She still has the cup to her mouth as she speaks.

“Like, was it made for little kids to use?”

“No. It’s for all ages.”

“Oh, sorry. I got distracted. I mean, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not fine. We’re roommates and I have no idea, like, what youdoeven.”

“I could show you,” I say.

The dorms discourage playing instruments in our rooms since the walls aren’t soundproof, so I grab my phone.

Sori pats her bed, indicating for me to sit next to her. I scurry over and plop down.

“Oh my God, is this Egyptian cotton?”

“Focus, Jenny.”

I open up the last video saved on my phone, one my grandmother sent me. Apparently one of the nurses in the clinic recorded my performance of “Le Cygne”

I hold my breath as Sori watches, her expression giving nothing of her thoughts away. I didn’t think I could be so nervous watching her watch a video of me.

When it ends, she hands me back my phone. “Jaewoo was right. You’re incredible.”

I’mblushing.

“I’ve heard that piece before,” she says. “There’s a famous ballet choreographed to the music.”

“You know ballet?”

“I study it along with other dance forms, like contemporary and hip-hop.”

“So you want to be a dancer?”

She slides mea look, like I’ve said something foolish. “I want to be an idol. For that, I need to know how to dance, sing, and have a personality.”

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