because the world can't hold us down

the girl you've always heard about

Lunch is a new experience for Lisa.

First of all, the sheer number of students is unreal. Her previous school in Thailand had a grand total of five teachers, one for each subject, and about fifty students. On the other hand, KP High isn't just any public school, it's one of the best and biggest in the area. Lisa noticed how crammed the hallways had been between classes, but seeing all these people all gathered in one area is a lot more dramatic.

There has to be at least a thousand students eating lunch in the central area of the school (they call it the "quad," according to Chaeyoung). The quad has an upper and lower part; the upper is surrounded by six two-storied classroom buildings. Grassy slopes, sectioned off from each other by stairs, descend into the lower quad, which is backed against the wall of the gym. That wall somehow folds into an outdoor stage, which Lisa supposes is meant for school performances.

Another difference is the lunch lines. At least twenty students line up in each of the eight lunch lines, leaving with a slice of pizza or a salad box. Lisa's used to a small cafeteria where one lunch lady puts a little bit of everything on each kid's tray. At Praphamontree (her old school), parents paid the equivalent of $20,000 for a year's tuition, covering meal costs among others. Today is the first day she's eating something her mom packed for school lunch.

Lisa pokes at the fried rice in her thermos. She, Jisoo, and Chaeyoung are lounging on one of the layers of grass, relishing the cool shade a nearby tree provides. Mid-September really should not be this hot, but that's southern California for you.
Neither of the other girls had second or third period— Biology and History, respectively— with her, but a quick schedule comparison shows that she and Chaeyoung share the next two, P.E. and English. Lisa has a free sixth (her parents were worried about the workload of a public school) with Jisoo, a member of the school soccer team. Lisa thought Chaeyoung and Jisoo would be happy to hear that, but instead they both wince.

"Lisa, we have a lot of classes together, but do you know who else is in these classes?" Chaeyoung exclaims. "Jennie! Including the free period, you have four classes with Jennie Kim!"

They both ignore Jisoo's snickered, "You mean Jisoo Kim."

Lisa lets out a long sigh, but she's not too worried. "It's not a big deal; I was just unlucky that I sat next to Jennie in math. I can avoid her in those classes. I mean, there'll be over thirty people, it should be easy enough."
Her friends roll their eyes at her naivety. In a pitying tone, Jisoo explains, "Our student body has been growing at an insane rate recently, so some of our classrooms barely fit twenty-five."

"And you might have noticed that Jennie isn't the most delightful person to sit next to. So guess where the only empty seat is in English?" adds Chaeyoung.

Lisa groans. "It's next to Jennie, isn't it? Why does this happen to me?"
"You should be honored to sit next to the great Jisoo Kim, Lisa." It looks like Jisoo isn't planning to forget Lisa's earlier misstep anytime soon, though the joke has long grown old for her and Chaeyoung.

"At least you won't have to sit next to her in P.E.," Chaeyoung smiles in an attempt at comfort.

"And if you're staying in the library during sixth, there's usually lots of empty seats," chimes in Jisoo. "I spend half the period there whenever we have a home game."

Lisa still isn't delighted with the situation. A sudden thought occurs to her: "Hey, you said earlier that Jennie is class president, right? If Jennie is that unpopular, how the hell was she elected?"

"Unpopular?" Jisoo and Chaeyoung exchange amused looks. Chaeyoung continues, "Lisa, Jennie is anything but unpopular."

"But you said..." Lisa trails off, confused.