Karma ━━ Jake Sim

𝟬𝟵 ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀Give It a Chance

Jay's hand immediately falls to his side, "What's that supposed to mean?"

A pause.

"You're wearing a sweater vest. Voluntarily."

The wry tinge in her voice makes it impossible for him to gauge whether she's being serious or not. But going off the seemingly permanent scowl fixed on her face, he's leaning toward the former.

"Y'know, a thank you would have been nice." He folds his arms over his chest, a brow raising expectantly.

"A thank you? Please. You said a couple words and threw a ball across the room," Sujin scoffs, before adding in a tone laced with sarcasm - "My hero."

Jay's expression drops to a frown. She's harsher than he remembers, not even an ounce of warmth radiating from her words nor actions.

"Uh..." He falters, urging himself to shake the awkwardness off for his mother's sake, "My friends are coming down to join us for lunch, if that's cool with you. I figured we could get a headstart and I'll give you a little tour on the way to the restaurant."

"Sure," Sujin shrugs indifferently.

Jay gulps as he holds the door open and watches the girl walk through it with her stone-cold attitude, "Sushi sound good?"

"Whatever."

★

͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀⠀ The next twenty minutes are no different from the first. As Jay takes Sujin through the upper campus - past the soccer field, library, and swimming pool; through the greenhouse and tennis courts - she remains tight-lipped, only grunting or nodding every so often in bare acknowledgement of his existence.

If Jay didn't know any better, he's almost certain he would have tapped out barely ten minutes into their outing.

At least his mother had warned him she'd be difficult.

More like impossible, he thinks to himself with a huff.

Sujin kicks a stray pebble off the path as they walk away from the tennis courts and, at last, toward the sushi restaurant she's heard Jay praise about a hundred different times already. She thinks that if she hears him say one more thing about how 'amazing' and 'prestigious' this school is, her head might just cave in.

At this moment, he's going on about some upcoming holiday - but she can't quite bring herself to fully tune in to the conversation. Her eyes absentmindedly drift from the floor to the line of mountain ranges in the near distance. They seem even closer than they did from the car ride and the Headmistress' office. She's not sure whether the feeling blooming in her chest at the sight is unsettling fear, or an odd comfort. Perhaps a mix of the two; a realization of how truly small she is in such a grandiose world.

Jay is quick to notice the newfound recipient of the girl's attention. He quietens, drawing his own eyes to the picturesque view with a smile, "It's real pretty, don't you think?"

"Yeah..." Sujin admits, "We don't really get this kind of thing in California."

"Much better than the Hollywood Hills, in my opinion." Jay adds. And for once, she wholeheartedly agrees.