Karma ━━ Jake Sim

𝟭𝟭 ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀The Claws Come Out

Lunchtime couldn't even be considered a break. She'd holed herself up in the corner of the cafeteria, head buried in a pile of homework between hasty bites of an egg salad sandwich.

Already, her bag is filled up with an array of textbooks, handouts and worksheets to be read through and completed.

It's all too much.

And this is only day one.

She'd reunited with her roommate in the back row of fourth period Japanese. Sora was sitting next to a boy with copper-hued hair and an infectious smile. Kim Sunoo, he'd introduced himself as. Based on the way he and Sora were attached at the hip for the entire lesson, Sujin managed to come to the conclusion herself that they're best friends.

All three of them share fifth period PE together; so they'd walked side-by-side from their Japanese class to the changing rooms, and now toward the gymnasium.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

"Ugh, shut up!" Sujin groans, uselessly directing a glare at the clock tower.

Sunoo laughs. Although he's only known the new girl for no more than a couple of hours, he already finds her constant state of agitation quite entertaining. Sora had told him about her 'interesting' new roommate over the weekend, of course, but nothing she said could have prepared him for the real deal.

"Hurry up, then!" Sora urges Sujin, tugging her forward by the sleeve, "At the rate you're going, we'll be lucky to even make fifth period at all!"

Sujin huffs, "With all the textbooks I've been carrying around all day, you're lucky I'm even standing on my own two feet right now."

"Hm..." Sunoo reaches over to momentarily lift Sujin's tote bag off her shoulder, testing the weight with a giggle, "It's probably a good thing we're heading to the gym now, then."

Sujin gasps, hugging the bag to her torso defensively, "Did you just call me weak?!"

"I mean, if the shoe fits..." Sunoo teases, to which Sora lets out a loud laugh.

Sujin lightly shoves at the duo with a roll of her eyes.

"Ah, finally!" Sora exclaims once they finally reach the gymnasium.

Sunoo pushes at the door, holding it open for the two girls to scamper through before following suit himself. "Thank god," He puffs out a sigh of relief upon entering the cool, air-conditioned room.

Sujin similarly reacts. To her, playing sport at all is bad enough - but playing sport in insanely hot weather? Might as well start digging her own grave.

What looks like the majority of her classmates are already inside, either sitting in small groups on the bleachers or lazily shooting hoops on the basketball court in the middle of the room. Everyone's changed out of their ties and blazers and into their sports uniforms - a maroon tracksuit with white accents, and a simple polo with the school emblem etched over the heart. Sujin much prefers this change of clothes to what she's been wearing for most of the day.

"I wonder what Coach Sato's gonna make us do today..." Sora thinks aloud, propping her foot up on a bench to tighten her shoelaces.

"Look, I'll take anything as long as it's not running laps." Sunoo grimaces, turning to Sujin before explaining, "The guy made us do five around the soccer field at the start of every single class last semester!"

Sujin scrunches her nose in distaste, "I'd literally rather get run over by a semi-truck."

"Hey, Sunoo!"