Jennie's POV
After a stop to use the toilet, I come out and don't see or hear Lisa in the showers, so my mind of course starts worrying that she went off somewhere with those girls. She didn't even bring any clothes with her so if she does shower, she would just be putting on dirty clothes. Lisa could wear clothes matted with mud and still look better than any guy I have ever seen. Except Kai, I remind myself.
After a quick shower, I dry off and pull my clothes on and make my way back to my room, where I'm relieved to find Lisa sitting on my bed. Take that, schoolgirls, part of me yells. She is shirtless and the water has made her dark hair blacker yet. I close my mouth to make sure my tongue isn't hanging out.
"Took you long enough," she says and leans back. Her muscles constrict as she lifts her arms behind her head to brace her against the wall.
"You're supposed to be nice to me, remember," I say and walk over to Wendy's closet and open the door to use the mirror. Grabbing Wendy's makeup bag, I sit myself down and cross my legs in front of it.
"This is me being nice."
I stay quiet as I try to apply a little makeup. After three attempts of making a straight line on my top eyelid, I chuck the eyeliner at the mirror and Lisa laughs.
"You don't need that, anyway," she tells me. "I like it," I say, and she rolls her eyes.
"Fine, we can just sit here all day while you try to color on your face," she says. So much for nice Lisa.
She catches herself and gives me a quick, "Sorry, sorry," while I wipe my eyes off. But I give up the makeup routine. It's a little hard to do with someone like Lisa watching me.
"I'm ready," I tell her and she jumps up. "Are you going to put a shirt on?" I ask her.
"Yeah, I have one in my trunk."
I was right: she must have an endless supply in there. I don't want to think about the reasons behind that.
TRUE TO HER WORD, Lisa pulls a plain black T-shirt out of her trunk and finishes getting dressed in the parking lot.
"Stop staring and get in the car," she teases me. I stutter a denial and oblige.
"I like you in the white shirts," I say when we're both inside, the words just popping out before I can process them.
Cocking her head sideways, she gives me a smug grin. "Is that so?" She raises her eyebrow. "Well, I like you in those jeans. They show off your ass wonderfully," she says and my mouth drops. Lisa and her dirty words.
I swat at her playfully and she laughs, but I mentally pat myself on the back for wearing these pants. I want Lisa to look at me even though I would never admit it, and I am flattered by her strange way of complimenting me.
"So where to?" she asks, and I pull out my phone. I read her the list of used-car dealers within a five-mile radius and tell her about a few of the reviews on each.
"You plan things way too much. We aren't going to any of those places." "Yes, we are. I already have this planned; there is a Prius that I want to see at Bob's Super Cars," I tell her and cringe at the cheesy name. "A Prius?" she says in disgust.
"Yeah? They have the best gas mileage and they are safe and—"
"Boring. I knew somehow you would want a Prius. You just scream, 'Lady with a planner in her Prius!' " she says in a fake woman's voice and then cackles.
"Tease me all you want but I will save hundreds on gas every year," I remind her, laughing, when she leans over and pokes my cheek. I look over at her, shocked by her doing such a small but adorable thing; she looks as surprised at what she did as I do.
"You're cute sometimes," she tells me.
I look forward again. "Gee, thanks."
"I mean that in a nice way, like sometimes you do cute things," she mutters. The words seem uncomfortable on her tongue and I know she isn't used to saying things like this.
"Okay . . ." I say and look out the side window.
Every second I spend with Lisa increases my feelings for her, and I know it's dangerous for me to allow these small, seemingly meaningless moments to occur, but I don't have control of myself when Lisa is involved. I become merely a passerby in this storm.
LISA ENDS UP DRIVING TO BOB'S, and I thank her. Bob ends up being a short, sweaty, and overgelled man who smells like nicotine and leather and whose smile is punctuated with a gold tooth. While he talks to me, Lisa stands nearby, making faces when he isn't looking. The little man seems to be intimidated by Lisa's harsh appearance, but I don't blame him. I take one look at the condition of the used Prius and decide against it. I have a feeling the moment I drove off the lot it would have broken down, and Bob has a strict no-return policy.
We visit a few more lots and they are all equally as trashy. After a morning of countless balding men, I decide to suspend my search for a car. I will have to go farther away from campus for a decent car and I just don't feel like it today. We decide to get some lunch at a drive-through, and while we eat in the car Lisa surprisingly tells me a story about when Rosé got arrested for puking all over the floor of a Wendy's Restaurant last year. The day is going better than I could have imagined, and for once I feel like we could both make it through this semester without killing each other.
On our way back to campus, we pass a cute little frozen yogurt bar and I beg Lisa to stop. She groans and acts like she doesn't want to, but I see the hint of a smile hiding behind her sour features. Lisa tells me to find a spot and she goes and gets our yogurt for us, piling on every candy and cookie imaginable. It looks disgusting, but she convinces me it's the only way to get your money's worth. As gross as it looks, it's delicious. I can't even finish half of mine, but Lisa happily clears her cup and the remainder of mine.
"Lisa?" a man's voice says.
Lisa's head snaps up and her eyes narrow. Was that an accent I heard?
The stranger is holding a bag and a drink carrier full of yogurt cups.
"Um . . . hey," Lisa says, and I know instinctively that this is her father. The man is tall and lean, like Lisa, and has the same-shaped eyes, only her are a deep brown instead of green. Other than that, they are polar opposites. Her father is wearing gray dress pants and a sweater vest. His brown hair has some gray scattered on its sides and his demeanor is coldly professional. Until he smiles, that is, and shows a warmth similar to Lisa's, when she isn't putting so much effort into being a jerk.
"Hi, I'm Jennie," I politely say and reach my hand out. Lisa glares at me but I ignore her. It's not like she was going to introduce me.
"Hello, Jennie. I am Marco, Lisa's father," he says and shakes my hand. "Lisa, you never told me you had a girlfriend—you two should come over for dinner tonight. Karen will make a nice meal for everyone. She's an excellent cook."
I want to keep Lisa's anger in check and tell her father that I'm not her girlfriend, but Lisa speaks first.
"We can't tonight. I have a party to go to and she doesn't want to come," she snaps. A gasp escapes my lips at the way Lisa speaks to her father. Marco's face drops and I feel terrible for him.
"Actually, I would love to. I'm also a friend of Jisoo; we have classes together," I interject, and Marco's friendly smile reappears.
"You are? Well, that is great. Jisoo is a nice kid. I would be happy to have you over tonight," Marco says and I smile.
I feel Lisa's eyes blazing at me as I ask, "What time should we be there?"
" 'We'?" her father asks and I nod. "Okay . . . let's do seven. I need to give Karen a bit of a warning or she will have my head," he jokes and I smile. Lisa stares angrily out the glass wall.
"Sounds great! We'll see you tonight!"
He says goodbye to Lisa, who rudely ignores him despite me kicking her foot under the table. A minute after her dad leaves the store, Lisa stands abruptly and slams her chair into the table. It topples over and she kicks it partway across the room before rushing out the door and leaving me alone to deal with everyone's stares. Not sure what to do, I leave my yogurt where it is, stammer an apology under my breath, and clumsily upright the chair before running out after her.