Jennie's POV
A block away from the frat house, the streets are dark and quiet. The other frat houses aren't as big as Lisa's. After an hour and a half of walking and GPS-obsessing, I finally reach the campus. Fully sober and figuring that I might as well stay awake, I stop at the 7-Eleven and grab a cup. As the caffeine hits me, I realize that there are so many things I don't understand about Lisa. Like: why is she in a fraternity with a bunch of preppy rich kids if she is punk, and why does she go from hot to cold so quickly? It's all academic musing, though, since I don't know why I even bother to waste my time thinking about her, and after tonight I am beyond done trying to be friendly with her. I can't believe I kissed her. That was the biggest possible mistake I could have made, and the second I let my guard down she attacked, worse than ever. I'm not stupid enough to trust that she won't tell anyone, but I hope her embarrassment over kissing "the virgin" will keep her quiet. I will deny it until the grave if anyone asks.I need to come up with a good explanation for my mother and Kai for my behavior tonight. Not the kissing—they will never know about that— but that I was at a party. Again. But I also really need to have a talk with Kai about telling my mother things; if I'm an adult now, she doesn't need to know what I am doing all the time.
By the time I reach my dorm, my legs and feet hurt and I actually sigh in relief as I turn the knob.But then I nearly have a heart attack at the sight of Lisa sitting on my bed.
"You've got to be kidding me!" I half scream when I finally regain my composure.
"Where were you?" she asks calmly. "I drove around trying to find you for almost two hours."
What? "What? Why?" As in, if she was going to do that, why didn't she just offer to take me home earlier? More importantly, why didn't I ask her to as soon as I found out she hadn't been drinking?
"I just don't think it's a good idea for you to be walking around at night, alone." And because I can no longer read her expressions, and because Wendy is who-knows-where and I'm alone here with her, the person who seems to be the real danger to me, all I can do is laugh. It's a wild laugh, ragged and not really me. And it's definitely not because I find this funny, but because I'm too drained to do anything else.Lisa furrows her brows, frowning at me, which only makes me laugh harder.
"Get out, Lisa - just get out!"
Lisa looks at me and runs her hands through her hair. Which is at least something; in the little time that I have known this frustrating woman that is Lisa Manoban, I have learned she does that when she is either stressed or uncomfortable. Right now I hope it's both.
"Jennie, I'm—" she begins, but her words are cut off by a terrible pounding on the door, and screaming: "Jennie! Jennie Ruby Jane Kim, you open this door!"
My mother. It's my mother. At 6 a.m., when someone is in my room.
Immediately I spring into action, as I always do when faced with her anger. "Oh my God, Lisa, get in the closet," I whisper-hiss and grab her arm, yanking her up off the bed and surprising us both with my strength.
She looks down at me, amused. "I am not hiding in the closet. You're eighteen."
She says it—and I know she's right—but she doesn't know my mother. I groan in frustration and she pounds again. The defiance with which her arms are crossed over her chest tells me I'm not moving her, so I check the mirror, wiping at the bags under my eyes, and grab my toothpaste, smearing a little on my tongue to conceal the smell of vodka even beyond my coffee breath. Maybe all three scents will confuse her nose or something.
I'm all ready with a pleasant face and greeting on my lips when I open the door, but it's then that I see my mother hasn't come alone. Kai isstanding at her side—of course he is. She looks furious. And he looks . . . concerned? Hurt?
"Hey. What are you guys doing here?" I say to them, but my mother pushes by me and goes straight for Lisa. Kai slips silently into the room, letting her take the lead.
"So this is why you haven't been answering your phone? Because you have this . . . this . . ." She waves her arms around in her direction. "Tattooed troublemaker in your room at six a.m.!"
My blood boils. I am usually timid and sort of afraid when it comes to her. She has never hit me or anything but she isn't shy when it comes to pointing out my mistakes:
You aren't wearing that, are you, Jennie?
You should have brushed your hair again, Jennie.
I think you could have done better than that on your tests, Jennie.
She always puts so much pressure on me to be perfect all the time, it's exhausting.
For his part, Kai just stands there glaring at Lisa, and I want to scream at both of them—actually at all three of them. My mother for treating me like a child. Kai for telling on me. And Lisa for just being Lisa.
"Is this what you do in college, young lady? You stay up all night and bring anyone back to your room? Poor Kai was worried sick about you, and we drive all this way to find you running around with these strangers," she says, and Kai and I both gasp.
"Actually, I just got here. And she wasn't doing anything wrong," Lisa says, and I am shocked. She has no idea what she is up against. Still: she's an immovable object, she's an unstoppable force. Maybe this would be a good fight. My subconscious temps me to grab a bag of popcorn and sit down in the front row to watch.
My mother's face gets mean. "Excuse me? I certainly was not speaking to you. I don't even know what someone like you is doing hanging around my daughter anyway."
Lisa absorbs the blow mutely and just remains standing and staring at her.
"Mother," I say through my teeth.
I'm not sure why I'm defending Lisa, but I am. Maybe part of it is that she sounds a bit too much like how I treated Lisa when I first met her myself. Kai looks at me, then at Lisa and back to me again. Can he tell that I just kissed Lisa? The memory is fresh in my mind and makes my skin tingle just thinking about it.
"Jennie, you are out of control. I can smell the liquor on you from here, and I can only assume that this is the influence of your lovely roommate and her," she says, punctuating it with an accusing finger.
"I am eighteen, Mother. I have never drank before and I didn't do anything wrong. I am just doing what every other college student is doing. I'm sorry that my cell phone battery died, and that you drove all the way here, but I'm fine." Suddenly exhausted from the last few hours, I sit down at my desk chair after my speech and she sighs.
Seeing my resignation gives my mother a calmer demeanor somehow; she's not a monster, after all. Turning to Lisa, she says, "Young woman, could you leave us for a minute?"
Lisa looks at me as if asking if I will be okay. I nod and she nods back and walks out of the room. Kai swiftly closes the door behind her, his eyes trailing Lisa all the while. It's a strange sensation, Lisa and I together against my mother and my boyfriend. Somehow I know she'll be waiting somewhere just outside the door until they leave.
For the next twenty minutes, my mother sits on my bed and explains that she is just worried about me ruining my chance at an amazing education and doesn't want me to drink again. She also tells me that she doesn't approve of my friendship with Wendy, Lisa or anyone else in their group. She makes me promise that I will stop hanging around with them, and I agree. After tonight, I don't want to be around Lisa anyway, and I won't be going to any more parties with Wendy, so there's no way my mother will know if I am friendly with her or not.
Finally, she stands up and claps her hands together. "Since we are already here, let's go get some breakfast and maybe do some shopping."I nod in agreement, and Kai smiles from where he's leaning on my door. It does sound like a good idea and I am starving. My thoughts are still a little stifled by alcohol and tiredness, but my walk home, the coffee, and my mother's lecture have sobered me. I head for the door, but stop when my mother coughs.
"You'll need to clean up a little and change, of course." She smiles her condescending smile. I go get some clean clothes out of my dresser and change in the closet. I touch up last night's makeup and am ready to go. Kai opens the door for us, and we all three look at where Lisa is sitting on the floor, leaning against the door across the hall. When she looks up, Kai grasps my hand, tightly, protectively.
Still, I find myself wanting to pull my hand away from him. What is wrong with me?
"We are going to go into town," I tell Lisa.
In response, Lisa nods several times, like she's answered some question deep within herself. And for the first time she looks vulnerable, and maybe a little hurt.
She humiliated you, my subconscious reminds me. Which is true, but I can't help feeling guilty as Kai pulls me along past Lisa and my mother gives Lisa a victory smile, causing her to look away.
"I really don't like that girl," Kai says, and I nod. "Me, either," I whisper.
But I know I'm lying.