"Jennie? Is that you?" Her mother asked as she heard the front door of her house bang closed.
Jennie sauntered into the kitchen where her mother was chopping vegetables and dropped her bag on the floor next to the dining table.
"Your one and only child," she said happily, going over to fridge and pulling out a can of diet coke.
She looked at Jennie strangely for a moment, her daughter was a happy person, but she always seemed somewhat... isolated. Ever since she was a baby she had preferred being on her own, happy with just the company of herself or her mother. Jennie's father had been an immature, mean man who had run for the hills as soon as he had found out that his girlfriend was pregnant and it had just been the two of them ever since. The one positive was that their mother/daughter relationship was a lot stronger than most, and Jennie was always completely honest with her. Her mother still worried about Jennie though, not having any friends your own age couldn't be healthy. When she'd been offered a promotion where she worked, she had thought the move to California might do them both the world of good. A fresh start. And judging from the smiling face of her child, she may just have been right.
"What's got you so smiley?" she asked, putting the knife in her hand down as Jennie took a seat at the table and popped the tab on her soda.
"Is it okay if I go out tomorrow after school?" Jennie answered, knowing her mother would say yes straightaway but still try and fish for more details.
"Of course it's okay, sugar. Where are you off to? Did you make a friend?"
"Kinda..."
Ms. Kim made her way over and sat down at the table.
"Spill it, sister."
Jennie giggled at her mother and took a swig of her coke.
"I met a girl, Mom."
"Does my little angel have a date?" Ms. Kim asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Jennie just blushed and nodded.
"Well tell me all about her."
Jennie had come out to her Mom during her freshman year. They had never had secrets before and when Jennie had figured it out for herself, she told her mother straight away, and it just brought them closer. Her mother was proud of her daughter and getting that kind of reaction to the first person she told just made Jennie proud of who she was, a pride she refused to relinquish even when the strict catholic school she had attended threatened to kick her out if she didn't play the role of 'heterosexual'. She wrote an English essay on gay marriage during her sophomore finals, which had mandated a parent-teacher conference about their 'concerns for Jennie's health'. Me. Kim's promotion couldn't have come at a better time, neither of them wanted to be involved in that kind of environment any longer.
Jennie's smile beamed as she thought about Chaeyoung.
"She has blonde hair and these really gorgeous brown eyes. She's beautiful, Mom, really beautiful and she has the most adorable smile. And I feel all giddy around her."
"What's her name?"
"Chaeyoung."
Ms. Kim heard the adoration in her daughter's voice and smiled. She hadn't seen her this elated since she was a small child and the idea of Santa was still very real.
"How did you meet?"
"Oh...Um, she fell over in gym class and I helped her inside."
"Uh huh," Ms. Kim nodded, knowing there was more to the story from the blush on her daughter's face and the way she was letting her hair fall over her face, "And..."
"She kissed me. Just for a second. Then she kind of panicked and ran off, but we talked again in Bio. We're lab partners. She thought I wasn't interested, so I set her straight. Um, so to speak. And she asked me on a date. Her parents are away so we're gonna study at her place tomorrow."
"Alone? Do we need to talk about safe-"
"Mom, it's only our first date. And you gave me the safe sex talk when I was fourteen."
Ms. Kim got up and pulled her daughter up into a hug.
"I'm so very happy for you, sweet pea."
"Thanks, Mom," Jennie said, wrapping her arms around her mother before pulling away with an alarmed look on her face, "What the hell am I gonna wear?!"
•••
"Hey guys," Chaeyoung greeted Jisoo, Lisa and Seulgi as she approached the bench they were all sitting on.
"Morning Rosie," Jisoo and Lisa said at the same time and Seulgi nodded cordially towards her.
"Everyone ready for a day of learning?" the blonde asked excitedly.
"Okay, what the what? Not even you're this happy about school," Lisa accused.
"Oh no, she's a lot more happy about what's going on after school," Jisoo replied, playfully punching Chaeyoung in the arm.
"What's happening after school? Are we getting doughnuts?" Lisa asked enthusiastically.
"She's got a date with her gym class hero."
"The band?"
"No, you goof," Jisoo said, hitting the girl on her upper arm, "Jennie. The girl she hasn't stopped going on about for over a month."
"You've got a date?" Seulgi interjected as Lisa rubbed her arm. She had breathed a huge sigh of relief when the blonde had come out, but she still had her insecurities. Chaeyoung and Lisa had known each other so long, it was hard not to be jealous of their bond.
"Um, yea?" Chaeyoung answered, blushing.
"So you won't be after Lisa?"
"Seulgi, for the last time, I don't want Lisa. I've known her since we were five. It's kinda hard to get the hots for someone when you've seen them with superman underwear on their head."
"Yea, come on, Seulgi. We've all been friends for so long we would never do that to you either," Jisoo pointed out.
"Could we maybe stop talking about how I don't wanna date Lisa? What if I screw up tonight? I'm so nervous."
"You need to relax, Rosie. Last time you got all nervous around her, you ran out of the room, remember?"
"Kind of hard to forget, Jisoo. How am I supposed to relax?"
"You could try masturbating," Seulgi said casually, genuinely trying to help. Having an orgasm always relaxed her.
"Okay, Seul, we should get to class," Lisa stood up, pulling her girlfriend along.
"What? I was just trying to help! I'm not even in your first class!"
Her voice faded as the couple moved further away, Lisa turning to give a small wave before they turned a corner.
"Is your room tidy?" Jisoo asked when Chaeyoung plopped down onto the bench beside her.
"My room is always tidy, Chu."
"No embarrassing photos on display?"
"All banished to the conservatory."
"Delicious snacks available?"
"Popcorn and drinks for study breaks."
"Rosie, Rosie, Rosie. It's a study date. You don't actually study. You open the book and pretend to be really smart and know all the answers, then you start making out."
"That's...but..." Chaeyoung spluttered as she learned of this new etiquette. Normally she would trust Jisoo on all matters dating, but she sensed that on this occasion, that when she'd organized a study date with Jennie, that both of them expected study. If it happened to be littered with intermittent smooches, well then she was more than happy to let it happen, but she genuinely wanted to help the brunette with her math as well, "I think maybe we're gonna study a little. I mean, as fun as it would be, I'm not just gonna jump her bones. I just wanna get to know her, y'know? Where she's from, what her favourite colour is. And I wanna make her smile. I feel all warm inside when she smiles."
"You really like her, huh?"
"I do, Chu. I really do."
"Well I'm happy for you, Chaeyoung," Jisoo said with a smile, then pouted, "When you two get all couply, I'm gonna be a fifth wheel."
Chaeyoung looked off dreamily for a second at the thought of Jennie being her actual girlfriend. Shaking it off, deciding is was too soon for that train of thought, she put a reassuring hand on Jisoo's arm.
"We'll find you a guy, Chu. Or a girl. Whatever happened to Jinyoung?"
"That loser? He was more boring than mud."
Chaeyoung was stopped from saying anything as the bell rang. Jisoo stood up and dragged Chaeyoung up with her.
"C'mon, we gotta get to History. I need to copy your homework before class starts."
Chaeyoung chuckled and let herself be led down the hall, looking forward for classes to start so they could end and she could see Jennie.
•••
Jennie walked nervously across the quad. She hadn't had much time to think about the afternoon, she'd been busy with class and was doing a make-up test during lunch. She arrived at the set of lockers she knew housed Chaeyoung's and looked around.
"Hi!"
She jumped, startled at sound of a voice off to her side.
"Um, sorry," Chaeyoung said when she saw the brunette jump, "I didn't mean to scare you."
"That's okay," Jennie replied, grinning broadly at being able to see the blonde.
"I'm just gonna grab my books and we can head off, is that okay?"
Jennie nodded and followed as Chaeyoung went towards her locker. A couple of minutes later the taller girl was zipping up her book bag and closing the door of the locker. She turned to the brunette.
"Shall we?"
Jennie smiled sweetly and fell into step with other girl, towards the school gate.
"We shall."