Chapter 17: K-Pop Life X School Life

"Excuse me," Danica and Imari said in unison that morning.

"Where are you girls going?" Cha Eun Woo asked them.

Something had changed.

Danica wore a Sweet Orange tee from Natasha with her violet cap and blue skinny jeans, while Imari wore a sky blue T-shirt that had 'I ' design on it, along with black straight-cut jeans.

The boys were donning their shoes at the main door when they noticed the two wear their own alongside them. They each had their own bagpacks slung on their shoulders.

"We're going to UST." Danica replied with a smile as she finished tying her shoelaces.

"We'll be back before dinner." Imari added as she opened the door, heading out into the front yard. The van arrived just then, sounding the horn twice. She opened the gate and let the boys go out first, before closing the resthouse with Danica.

The girls eventually parted ways and headed to school on each of their own.

"Please pass this around," Mrs. Gonzalez said to one of her students in first period, handing over some exam sheets.

"Yes, ma'am." Imari replied, passing it on to her classmate. She decided to watch the papers getting around for a change.

Eventually the paper got passed on to Ignacio, to Pineda, who passed it on the last... Quezon.

Quezon, Danica.

She didn't know that she'll find Danica at the back, sharing the same classroom as her.

"Wow..." Imari muttered to herself. No wonder she didn't notice her, Danica sat at the farthest part of the room while she sat on the first row.

"Galingan nyo sa exam, ang babagsak maiiwan at kailangan umulit para makuha nyo 'yung requirements for clearance for next year. Goodluck." Mrs. Gonzalez said, taking a look at the wall clock above the blackboard.

"Bibigyan ko kayo ng one hour para sagutin yung exam. Time starts...now."

Answering the questions one by one, Imari found it easier to write the correct choice once she understood the gist of the question in each subject. She skipped some that she couldn't answer on one go then decided to return to it later.

Danica, on the other hand, never skipped a question and just made a best answer guess by gut feel if she had a hard time, which only happened a couple of times.

Reviewing together gave me more confidence in tackling this, Danica thought.

Focus, Danica! This is no time to think of other things. Other than the reality that I need to pass this thing and persevere through this black and white labyrinth of choices and questions...

It was lunchbreak when Imari's phone rang while in the campus grounds.

She settled on the grass under a tree with her bento. She fished out the phone from her bag and received the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ate!" A young girl's voice sounded at the other end.

"O, Kiara! Musta na?" Imari smiled.

"Mabuti po. Si Ate, musta na?" the young girl asked.

"Alam mo na...ma-beauty pa rin. Kumain ka na?"

"Opo. Si Joaquin kumakain pa."

"Eps! 'Kuya' dapat tawag mo sa kanya, 'Kuya Joaquin.' " Imari reminded her, as she opened her lunch single-handedly. She ate as she listened to her little sister happily narratae how her morning went.

Her youngest sibling KiaraLynn would call her during lunchtime to catch up with lost time.

Imari taught her to use the phone so she can still communicate despite the distance between them. She bought her an ordinary handphone, though. Not the android type, for she's too young to handle such a gadget.

"Kiara, let me talk with Kuya." Imari said.

"Okay!" Kiara chirped. Imari listened attentively for her younger brother. Eventually he took it and spoke.

"Mm, Ate Imari, what's up?"

"How's Kiara getting along? Did you report the bullies to the teacher?"

"Yeah. They got detention. Mom and Dad had a meeting wih the bullies' parents, then Ma'am decided to change Kiara's seating arrangement."

"Good. From now on, accompany your sister during lunch. I know you have a lot of friends, Joaquin; but you need to make sure that your little sister is OK before playing with them. Understand?"

"Yes, Ate."

"Good boy. Take care and have fun in school, ha?"

"Opo. Take care of yourself, too. We can't wait for you to come home."

"On Christmas break, I will. Salamat sa updates, Joaquin. Bye."

"Bye." Joaquin said, passing tue phone back to Kiara. Kiara took it excitedly.

"Bye-bye, Ate Imari! Love you, mwah!"

"Bye-bye, Kiara. Love you too, mwah!" Imari said, ending the call.

She continued eating her food when a pair of white sneakers appeared in front of her as she gazed down the grass. She looked up and saw Danica, grinning at her.

"You...always seem to eat lunch all by yourself, huh?"

Imari drank some water from her yellow Tupperware tumbler before speaking.

"Yeah, that way I can chat on the phone with my younger siblings."

Danica raised her brows as she nodded, taking a seat down on the grass beside her. She placed her bagpack on the ground, leaning back on her palms to relax.

"Oh, so those are your siblings I heard earlier. They sounded so cute."

Imari frowned. "Were you eavesdropping?"

Danica shook her head. "No, I overhead. I wanted to join you, since my other beshies aren't around to chill and hang out. They're too busy making banners for this upcoming concert."

"There's Arohas on this campus?"

"Mm-hmm. There's also A'TIN."

" 'Atin?' What's that?"

"Another fanclub...for a different group."

Imari held up a hand, groaning. "Augh, I'll pass."

Danica laughed. "Don't worry, it's not like I'm recruiting."

She rummaged through her bag and brought out some yarn in six different colors.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask."

Imari glanced at it, fascinated. "Shoot." She picked one up and started squishing it in between her fingers.

"Instead of making banners, I decided to make some braided bracelets for them. But I need to get their wrist measurements first before their time here is over. Also..! I want it to be a surprise, so can you please get it for me?"

Imari scoffed. "You're crazy. Why don't you get it yourself?"

Danica covered her face with her hands, squealing.

"I can't do it!"

Imari nodded at the yarns. "Were you planning to make some braided bracelets with these?"

"No, I just bought these to take their measurement."

"Why in so many colors?! Why not one?"

"Because! Pink is for San Ha, Black for Moonbin and Yellow for MJ-- I like things color-coded."

"Why don't you just say it nicely to them? Like:

'Hey, I'm making some bracelets, I need your wrists, guys--"

"That isn't nice at all! And I'm too awkward for that."

"Awkward-- I should be the one saying that!"

Danica laughed, slapping her arm.

"I got an idea. Why don't you do that 'ninja' thingy again? You weren't awkward at all doing that!"

This time Imari covered her face with her hands.

"No. I've had enough embarrassment to last a lifetime. I can't believe I did it."

"You said...no, claimed to be a certified ninja of the--"

"Stop it! I just had a fantastic lazy day that time, okay?"

"Fantastic is right," Danica snickered, "Imari-ssi."

Imari fingered the multiple bundles of yarn, ignoring her. Somehow braided bracelets reminded her of--

"Making something yourself as a gift is really thoughtful. Braided strings reminded me of 'musubi.' "

"Musubi? Never heard of that before."

"It's in the movie Your Name. It's famous."

"Ehh? Haven't watched it."

"Hmp. You should. It's an animated film."

"Hmm...I'll try watching it tonight. Can you share it to me?" Danica said, producing her phone and selecting the SHAREIT app. Imari smiled, sending her a downloaded movie of Your Name from her SD.

"Tell me what you think after."

"Okei."

They decided to get home together after classes later that day.

After dinner and night dishes, Danica locked herself up in her room, plugged her white earphones in as she started to watch the movie.

Her life changed overnight.

The next morning, Imari went to the kitchen to find the late riser Danica already at the stove, cooking eggs on the skillet. The pot of rice is on the fire, already boiling. The chef hummed a merry tune.

"Good morning ate Danica." Imari greeted cautiously.

Danica turned to her with a big grin.

"Ohaiyou gozaimasu, Imari-san!"

Imari almost tripped at what she heard, she had to grab the edge of the table to regain her balance.

"Ohayou...wait, what?"

Danica tilted her head at her as she flipped the egg.

"'Matte' is wait, 'nani' is what...did you forget how to speak Nihongo, Imari-san?"

Imari rubbed her eyes. "Am I dreaming?"

Danica set the egg on the bowl of bibimbap.

"Iie, this is real. Your Name is such an amazing movie!"

Imari slapped her cheek. She flinched at the stinging pain.

"Ow, I'm not dreaming...So, you watched it, huh?"

"Mm-hmm. I should say, it kept me on the edge of my seat! I can't believe I just discovered the wonderful world of animé this 2020! I missed a lot!"

Imari sat on one of the tall stools, rubbing her cheek. Danica took an ice pack from the ref and handed it to her.

"Your cheek is red, daijobou desu ka?"

Imari was about to take it when she paused halfway.

"S-since when did you learn to speak Japanese..?"

"Last night," Danica said, "Why?"

Imari shook her head as she took the pack and pressed it on her cheek.

"You're weirding me out."

"I just picked up a few sentences. I'm not an expert."

At that Imari sighed in relief.

"Whew, thank goodness ~!"

Danica resumed cooking, cracking another egg into the pan.

"I've only been exposed to K-Drama and K-Pop because of my mom. Though I'm aware of other genres, I've never gotten across animé. Parental preferences, I guess."

"I thought you got abducted and learned Japanese in a short amount of time alá Matrix."

Without looking at her housemate, Danica raised a brow.

"Matrix...never heard of that before. Is that a movie?"

Imari facepalmed.

"Forget I said anything."

Danica shrugged.

"Oh, okay. Anyways, the movie is so cool and I saw what you mean about musubi. So I got the great idea that we should make the woven bracelets together!"

Imari's mouth hung open.

"Ha?"

"It makes sense!" Danica exclaimed, "After all, I've had these beautiful memories because you were here, Imari. The turn of events enabled me to meet ASTRO, who is a bright star in my sky...to be able to share that sky with you made it all the more memorable."

"That sounds great, Ate Danica."

"And since making these braided bracelets take a lot of time and effort, having you in this project makes it easier. Let's start making it every lunchtime in University."

Imari opened her mouth to protest but the boys have arrived on the kitchen at that time. Danica twirled in her apron to greet the boys.

"Ohaiyou gozaimasu, minna! Genki desu ka?"

The boys stopped in their tracks as they frowned in confusion. Cha Eun Woo's jaw dropped.

"Noona..?"

Imari stared at the ceiling, wondering if recommending the movie to her was a good idea or not.

-end of Chapter 17: K-Pop Life X School Life