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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 20, 2013 20:26:48 GMT -8
It was another school day, another Monday. Luckily it was closer to the end of the school day instead of the start. Finally it was her free period and she could take something of a mental break. Johanna would be a liar if she said she didn't enjoy her free period. Today seemed to be dragging longer than necessary. It was the longest Monday that had ever existed. She'd nearly fallen asleep in the middle of her math class, something she'd never do normally. Today was just one of those days. One day she was going to figure out how to get rid of those days. Especially if they had a bad effect on her grades. Not that one day was really going to make or break them, but you never knew! What if something absolutely hideous happened on that one day and then it set into motion a series of absolutely unfortunate events. She'd seen that movie. There were even leeches that could attack wooden boats successfully and ate people. Sort of.
That's a fiction story, Johanna. Don't get yourself so worked up. It's not like you go on boats anyway, she tried reasoning with herself.
Perhaps she wasn't going to find herself in a situation where doorknobs exploded or fridges tried to crush her. Maybe she wouldn't even get attacked by leeches in a boat, but she was sure there was some purely reasonable aspect to her concern. Anything could happen. People said that all the time. 'Anything can happen'. Who said possibly unfeasible, grade murdering things couldn't happen?
Waving it off, she walked toward the library. It would only make her more crazy than she probably was to get caught up in these thoughts. There was plenty of time to worry about her grades later. They were just fine now. Mostly. But she'd conquer Math one of these days. Hopefully before summer.
Maybe that was why the days kept feeling longer. They were in a way. The hours of sunlight lasted longer and the even the neighborhood children stayed out longer. She wanted it to be summer already. There wasn't homework over summer. There wasn't anything over summer. She could finally catch up on her sleep. At least for a couple days. It wouldn't last. She fought against the urge to walk partly slumped over at the thought of how many more days there were until summer break. Admittedly, it wasn't that many, but it felt like it was going to stretch on forever.
Soon, she thought. Soon it would be the summer and soon she would have more than enough time to lounge around in her backyard and nap under her favorite tree.
Date: May 21st Tagged: Johanna, Eun-Yul
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 20, 2013 21:34:40 GMT -8
The summer not even officially begun and Eun-Yul already didn't want it to end, her few months of freedom tainted by the looming prospect of starting her final year of high school come fall. But she knew well enough that the universal progression of time hardly operated on her futile wants, and thus there was little point in dragging her feet as she entered the school, crumbling up and shoving the directions her cousin had printed off into her purse. The rest of her family busy as always with work, and Mi-Ho wouldn't be bothered to take her. Eun-Yul didn't even attempt pushing for whatever flimsy excuse, more relieved than offended at being snubbed. Still under a week of sharing a room and it was already mutually understood the less time spent together between them the better, and Eun-Yul liked to think herself perfectly capable of finding her own way.
At least the vacation here was much longer than what she was used to, many of her academies operating year-round with only a week off around the holidays. The idea of an entire summer break was almost a bit overwhelming with all that she could do without any schedules or obligations, but there was only a short time of being able to enjoy it while everyone else her age was trapped in classes during the day. It was nice being away from other teenagers, not having to listen to their gossiping or being at the receiving end of their tormenting when they grew bored of talking about kpop stars. She really didn't have much hope that American teenagers would be all that different in that regard, although probably replacing those movie stars that all looked alike than the kpop stars that all looked alike and yet girls still liked to argue over.
Eun-Yul inspected her folder of registration documents for the school, had been told by her uncle the night before to drop it off at the administration office. But where that was, she couldn't quite figure out. Not too interested in wandering the hallways aimlessly until she happened to come across it or some teacher mistook her as somebody skipping class and shoved her into a history lecture, Eun-Yul stopped a girl with too bright hair walking by, with an uncertain "Hello?" and holding up her folder as if the other would have any idea of what it was or what she wanted.
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 20, 2013 21:57:08 GMT -8
There were some other students with free periods, so she didn't really think about it being strange to see another person in the halls. Only this girl she definitely didn't know. Then again, it was entirely possible that she didn't know everyone in the school. Highly likely, even. So she offered a smile, something not too big, but enough to seem non-threatening. People liked it when you smiled. At least that's what her mother told her over and over and over. "Hello, there." Perhaps a little too cheerful. Hm.
There was a moment of confusion as she looked at the folder, not really sure what she was meant to get from it. It wasn't anything special. It had the school's name on it. Not many of the folders had the school name on it unless there was a reason. She moved a little closer, trying to get a better look at the folder. Maybe it would help her to figure out what she was supposed to do. Folder folder folder. She would figure it out! Though, it might require a few questions. "Uh..." She paused, face scrunching up slightly as she tried to think of the right way to form the question. "Are you..." A pause. "I'm not really sure..." No. That might sound rude. "Do you need to take that somewhere?" That worked well enough. She fidgeted with the ends of her hair for a moment, worrying her lower lip. But then she remembered herself and smiled again.
Another thing came to mind. Where were her manners?
"Oh! I'm Johanna." She blushed slightly, nervously fidgeting with her shirt. Today's color was blue, which brought out more of the orange in her hair. "Sorry!"
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 21, 2013 7:20:08 GMT -8
The sudden burst of cheerful enthusiasm that she was met with was a bit surprising, with the alarming amount of teeth that the girl displayed in her smile. Like a shark. An overly friendly and towering shark, and Eun-Yul straightened her posture to attempt looking a bit taller, grateful for the added height from her heels. Eun-Yul once heard that you were supposed to punch sharks in the nose if you didn't want to be mauled by the beasts, but she thought better of punching the probably harmless girl. No use getting disciplined by the school before she even started going there. At least she had the folder held between them for protection, taking a step back with a wary frown as the girl inspected it.
"For to the admin... istra... tion office. Where do I go?" she sounded the word out slowly to make sure the pronunciation was understandable, her discomfort speaking English rather obvious. It was fine being forced to speak it in class amongst other bored Korean students with equally bad accents, but with an actual American... she was hesitant to use more than a few words at a time, sticking to familiar and simple words. "A paper," she clarified unhelpfully.
Her confusion only increased as the other girl became suddenly flustered while introducing herself, eyebrows raising but the rest of her expression remaining blank. One conclusion she already came to about Americans is that while they didn't seem to exercise a lot, they sure did exercise the muscles in their faces a bit too much. It almost made up for her inability to identify the various tones they used while speaking, the myriad of ways they could say the same phrase with different inflections and mean something completely different. So while she could see the tinge of pink to Johanna's cheeks, she had no idea why.
"My name is Eun-Yul," she offered her name to hopefully put the other at ease. "Or... Mabel." The idea was a bit silly, but she knew her foreign teachers could never get her name quite right and preferred to call her by an English name instead. She wasn't sure which she'd have to go by at the school yet, or if the school would let her keep her own.
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 21, 2013 8:01:29 GMT -8
"Oh!" The flustered look on her face faded a little and she smiled again. A foreign exchange student. Or maybe someone who had come to go to school from another country. She studied her for a moment. Asian was about as good as she could figure out. Exacts were not really something she figured she'd manage. Hopefully that was okay. Johanna was sure she could ask later. If they spoke again. She listened carefully to the name pronunciation. Now it was a matter of trying to form those same syllables with her own mouth. "Eun-Yul," she said uncertainly, not at all sure if she got the pronunciation right. Or Mabel. If she really butchered it, maybe she'd just stick to Mabel. Hopefully she wouldn't hate her too much for any mispronunciation. Well, this was definitely different from how she figured her free period was going.
"I can show you where to go, though!" At least that was something she could do without getting in trouble. The teachers knew her and so she could get around with some ease. Plus, she was helping a future student. She couldn't leave her alone. Smiling again, Johanna signaled for her to follow before starting off toward the administration building.
"Are you going to school here next year?" It seemed likely, but maybe there was some other reason for her to come. "I'm a junior, but next year I'll be a senior." A pause. Did she know what that meant? "My last year." She paused again before adding, "Of school here, I mean." But then it was university and real life and everything. Her eyes widened at the thought of it before she remembered she was in the middle of a conversation. No time for freak outs. Freak outs could happen later. She shook her head, laughing a bit. "It's both too long and too short."
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 22, 2013 1:04:02 GMT -8
Unfortunately her name fell into that category where nobody could quite understand what they were doing wrong when saying it, no real English equivalent to the sound. It never seemed fair that her English teachers had mocked her pronunciation when they couldn't even get her name right. "Eeeuun. Eun-Yul," she repeated with no expectation of the girl actually picking up on her mistake, and Eun-Yul resigned herself to a year's worth of mispronunciation. At least it was somewhat close, she couldn't begrudge her for trying. It never offended her as much as some of her classmates, who took their names quite seriously to the point of near tears when a teacher said the d too strongly.
"Thank you," she gave the bare minimum of a smile, tucking the paperwork back under her arm now that they had established her purpose. The girl had much longer legs and thus a quicker stride, but Eun-Yul managed to keep with the pace without falling behind. As they passed by classrooms, she couldn't help but glance inside, trying to push down a sense of dread in being in one of those classes and stuck behind a desk herself. She'd deal with it when the time came, remembered that this was the easy way out. And after this year, she'd never have to step inside a school again, nobody could convince her otherwise. Her disastrous test scores would make certain of that. "Yes, next year is last of mine too," she regarded the girl, supposed they looked about the same age. It really was difficult to tell with westerners.
Maybe they would have classes together, or maybe the school was large enough they'd never see each other again. Well, with hair that shade it'd be impossible not to pick Johanna out from a crowd. "Your hair... is it really?" she asked, almost in awe.
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 22, 2013 5:23:09 GMT -8
Johanna hadn't expected it to be right, but it still made her mouth twist in disappointment. At least she didn't seem overly annoyed. It wasn't like Spanish. Everything was easily pronounced and she picked it up pretty quickly. But if she was going to be here, then she could listen and try to make her mouth form the right....whatever. Maybe it would work. Or maybe Eun-Yul would get so annoyed with her, she'd shake her until she just settled for saying Mabel to stop making it terrible.
Knowing that the girl was in her same year, Johanna smiled. They were in the same year? That was even better! Maybe they'd see each other. Unless she hated her. Glancing over at her, she tried to decide if she was the sort to hate her. She couldn't really tell anything from looking, though. She was just looking at her and holding onto her folder. Nothing that hinted a possibly murderous inclination. Perhaps she was worrying too much again. This whole free period was turning into worrying forever: the free period.
There was a slight pause as she looked at her hair. "My hair?" Her fingers toyed with a bit of it. "It's real." She wasn't wearing a wig or anything. That would be a little strange. But then she had done that once. For Halloween. She glanced at it. "It's a bit longer than it was before, but it grows pretty fast most of the time."
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 23, 2013 5:49:18 GMT -8
Though currently free of murderous intent, Eun-Yul was still trying to assess whether or not she could tolerate Johanna beyond the convenience of her being in the right place and willing to bring her the right direction. She was too suspicious to take any kindness at face value, knew the manipulative games of highschool girls too well to be fooled by any unassuming smiles. But there was almost something refreshingly naive about Johanna, or was Eun-Yul herself being naive for thinking so? She narrowed her eyes a bit. If she were back home, she'd suspect that the other girl was leading her to a janitor's closet to lock her inside... but that was unreasonable, she had no reason to do so. While the reputation of an outcast in Korea was nearly inescapable, year to year and school to school, there was no way that it could have carried over this far. This was supposed to be a fresh start for her, but Eun-Yul knew that given time she'd be found out.
Could Johanna sense it? That she was too different? Eun-Yul had no idea what the standards of conformity were in the US, if it meant being louder and more open, maybe the mere basis of being foreign was enough to set her apart. But LA was more diverse than Seoul, and blatant racism supposedly less prevalent. Could she even be friends with a westerner, or was she expected to stick within her own community? Did she even want a friend? It could be beneficial, though, knowing somebody on her first day. Somebody that might keep her from looking like too easy of a target. It was unfair, probably, to regard another girl's potential friendship only in terms of protection, but she knew first hand there were far worse things her age could do to each other.
"It's pretty. The colour. The sun going down over the sea. Then night," Eun-Yul complimented the unusual shade, a bit surprised that it was natural. She wondered if she could recreated the exact colour in paint, already yearning to capture it on a canvas. Shark smiles and red. So much red.
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 23, 2013 6:09:51 GMT -8
Johanna sensed nothing entirely different about Eun-Yul. She was quieter, yes, definitely a little awkward with English, but it was nothing that Johanna could say was strange. If she had to learn a new language (outside of Spanish), she might be a little awkward with it, too. They had passed a janitor's closet, but Johanna had no intention of shoving anyone into one. She'd never been much for bullying. There was that one time she got detention for hitting a boy in the shins with her field hockey stick, but he'd earned it, so she couldn't feel too poorly for it.
The compliment made her smile brightly. "Thank you. Your hair is very pretty, too. You probably never have any problems with it." She fidgeted with her hair a little. "Mine can be a bit of a mess sometimes." Which wasn't really an issue. She was used to it by now. Honestly, though, it wasn't the worst hair that ever existed. At least she hadn't inherited her mother's hair. It was a curly, frizzy mess of a hairstyle and she honestly didn't know how she got it to do anything she wanted.
She took a quick glance at the folder that Eun-Yul had with her. "Do you know any of the classes you have yet? Maybe we'll be in some together. I can help with notes and things if you have any trouble with the English and everything." She imagined that it was probably going to be difficult considering the teachers might not slow down because a student didn't entirely catch what they'd said. That as some people didn't like to say if they couldn't figure something out. That was something Johanna never quite grasped. If something was confusing, you should say something. Teachers should teach and care about their students. If not...then maybe they should question whether or not teaching is what they really wanted to do.
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 23, 2013 7:19:49 GMT -8
Normal was not something Eun-Yul strove to be, at least not any sense of conformity that her peers viciously competed to achieve. But neither did she dare flaunt that she wasn't. Maybe it hadn't started as rebellion but she felt on the verge of one now, determined to keep some form of individuality no matter how insistent others had tried to shame it out of her. With no subculture available as an outlet of expression she certainly never went the way of a typical angry American teenager with ripped fishnets nor black lipstick, her clothing giving the impression of somebody far better put together than she actually was. Made it easier to blend it, though she resented the idea that she had to she could at least appreciate not drawing attention to herself.
But Johanna and the few other students she noticed in the halls were far more casual in their jeans and t-shirts and their hair unstyled, wearing what her mother would have condemned as sloppy and her classmates would have openly sneered at as unfashionable. She didn't even know what to think of it herself, other than she didn't even own a pair of blue jeans and certainly didn't intend to go by a pair just to fit in. Heels and skirts suited her just fine.
Watching the other girl play with her fiery hair perhaps with too much interest, she decided it didn't look all that messy... Though she didn't know how long it took for it to stay the way it was. If anything, the strands appeared soft and light, and Eun-Yul was well enough aware of cultural standards that reaching out to confirm it probably wasn't polite. Eun-Yul didn't like to spend too much time on her own hair, never bothered getting it permed or dyed in the latest trend. Which kept it healthy and manageable enough without any extra work.
"No. I don't know," Eun-Yul answered, figuring she was taking whatever courses were standard, but unaware of any schedule or teachers. "I hope art," and the rest really didn't matter. That probably wasn't assigned until later anyway, so there was no basis for comparison with Johanna. Maybe there was some way to request being put together, although she wasn't sure how to even ask. And would she even want to? The help with notes was a well-intentioned offer, but nothing she was interested in. Her understanding of English was better than her speaking, but actually paying attention to her classes was the least of her worries. Having somebody go over notes with her sounded like more work than she wanted. Even in her native language, she let the droning lectures wash over her as her mind wandered to far more interesting pursuits, her attention only caught when her name was called out for her blatant daydreaming. "I am having the English tutor in summer," Eun-Yul informed the other girl to dissuade her of any obligations of helping.
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 23, 2013 10:40:08 GMT -8
Johanna nodded a little at the comment. It was probably too much to suppose they'd have made a schedule for her and let her know ahead of time. It seemed like the reasonable thing to do when someone was coming in a year later, but then she supposed they might let her choose her own classes. "Well, if they let you choose, I'm sure you can pick up art." She smiled again. "I've never been all that good with art. I was more of a chorus type." Which wasn't so bad. It was easier than learning how to play an instrument at any rate. Art was never the same in high school as it was in elementary school anyway. Less macaroni art and more serious art. She'd never been all that good at the serious art part. Reading music was easy enough, but she more often took her cues from hearing the notes than reading them.
"It's good you're getting tutoring, though. Over the summer." A pause. "But if you need anyone to practice with..." She laughed a little, shaking her head. "I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I just get a little excited about new people." And helping. "But if you do, maybe I'll figure out how to say your name properly at the very least." She still wasn't entirely sure how she was meant to say it.
She peered at Eun-Yul for a moment. Maybe they could talk about colleges together. Though, if she knew anything about her decision not to go, she might have been less excited by the idea. "The office is just around the corner. I can walk you in or you can...walk in on your own..." She stopped walking for a moment, jotting down her name and number on a piece of paper before holding it out. "Just in case you need anything. Or want to do something..." She hushed any comments about possibly dangerous intentions that were buzzing around her head, quietly reminding her brain that it wouldn't do to avoid every new person. Plus, they were the same age. Maybe she'd like someone to hang out with. Maybe it would be nice to have someone to spend time with.
The only thing left to fear was obnoxious parent questions.
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 24, 2013 4:41:31 GMT -8
Not many practiced art with enough dedication to be any level of good at it, some too discouraged by initial failings or comparisons to more experienced artists and others too content with whatever they managed to produce to realize it wasn't any good. Very few had a critical eye for their own works, could understand what needed changing or how to improve, and stagnating in mediocrity. Yet those without talent were the most shameless in calling themselves artists, eagerly displaying their works like a too-proud child for their mom to hang on the refrigerator. So it was refreshing that Johanna was comfortable enough to admit that she wasn't any good at it, wouldn't inflict her creations upon the world under the labels of symbolic and deep and with excuses of artistic license.
What the girl actually did to keep herself busy, other than apparently herding around new people and flashing her bright teeth, was still a mystery. And if she went into the office alone, it was likely that Johanna wouldn't be waiting when she was finished.
"Come. Then practice now," she decided, taking the piece of paper and folding it neatly after confirming that it was a number. Eun-Yul had a cell phone, of course she did with her father working at Samsung, but she had yet to get it activated with a plan that worked in the US. She'd have to hold onto it for a bit before she could actually use it, and there probably wasn't much of a chance that Johanna used Kakao messenger. "What is chorus type?" Eun-Yul asked with mild curiosity, usually allowing words she didn't know go unresolved without caring much of the gaps of understanding. But knowing what sorts of hobbies or interests the girl had might reveal a bit more about her beyond the image she was trying to portray.
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 24, 2013 11:55:03 GMT -8
Johanna nodded. She could go with her for now. She knew the people in the office and she could just explain that she'd brought Eun-Yul so that she got there safe. Math studying would come after school. After practice, really. "Oh. I sing instead. It was that or an instrument and I figured singing fit more." There was a shrug after she said it. Instruments were really better left to people who wanted to play an instrument. It also cut into her studying less. It wasn't like she was going to get a scholarship for a brilliant singing voice. She'd rely on her grades for that.
"Do you sing at all or do you stick to just art?" Most people sang, but less people sang in a choir or in chorus class. She'd debated going out for a part in the play or musical, but the schedule had clashed with field hockey, so she'd decided against it. It was for the best, really. Acting wasn't going to get her too far either. Plus, it wasn't like she was going to go to school for it. She preferred saving the environment. She knew it wasn't going to get her super far, but maybe just far enough. Perhaps.
She turned the corner and paused outside the door. She studied the people in the office for a moment before putting on her best smile and opening the door. Adults always responded better to smiles and shows of good behavior. That, at the very least, was something she'd picked up. Unless they were one of the obnoxious sorts of teachers. In which case, it was best to go unnoticed. Which was actually pretty difficult when you were taller than most girls with bright red hair. But most of the people in the office were the sort that responded well to smiles.
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 28, 2013 3:19:23 GMT -8
Singing was almost a given amongst the hobbies of Koreans- small preschool children, teenagers, and serious business men avoiding going home to their families alike. Getting drunk and spending too many hours screeching as loudly as possible while messing up the lyrics to the newest kpop song and your friends banged on tambourines was a national pastime that even Eun-Yul enjoyed. She smiled a bit, because it was an easy way to invite the other girl to do something that they were both comfortable with, glad they at least had something in common as a starting point. It was rare that anybody invited her out after school for any sort of socializing, being seen interacting with her outside of school just as damning to somebody's reputation as during school hours. Maybe making a friend here wouldn't be so difficult after all.
"Singing sometimes, but only for fun. No class," she answered, getting a bit more comfortable with the conversation as it became clear that Johanna could understand her well enough without laughing at her probably choppy phrasing. "Do you like noraebang?" she asked hopefully, certain that America had some equivalent and unaware that most of them knew it only as the Japanese-termed karaoke instead.
Singing in school was never something she enjoyed, hated performing dances that her teachers threw together in what Eun-Yul was convinced was an attempt at humiliation. She much preferred playing an instrument, but there was little hope that the school's orchestra was in any need of a gayageum and she had left hers back in Korea to gather dust. The western string instruments weren't really equivalent, the numbers of strings and notes and even the method of playing completely different, no idea how to even hold a bow. Perhaps harp was similar enough, but she wasn't interested in finding another way to dedicate her time, more than happy to minimize her commitments now that everyone's expectations of her were significantly lowered. Her aunt and uncle were certainly lax on her cousins' education, allowing both of them to avoid university.
As Johanna offered a bright smile for the desk workers in the office, Eun-Yul trained her features into what she learned as an appropriately neutral facade, not used to interacting with anyone that expected friendliness beyond the scripted polite phrasing. She brought the folder up to the nearest worker, opening it up and hoping it was self-explanatory enough that she wouldn't have to fumble too much. "Hello. This, please."
She didn't pay too much attention as the secretary began processing her papers, filling out the information from the form into the computer systems. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long, but no impatience showed across her face as she glanced back at Johanna to make sure she was still there.
wow fantastic baby TAG JOHANNA TIMESTAMP MAY 21st
NOTES NOPE |
for jelly only okay
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 28, 2013 19:34:05 GMT -8
"Oh. Well, singing for fun is just as good." She paused as she thought about that sentence. Well, it was fine in her book. It wasn't exactly the same. The songs you sang in a class were different from the ones you sang for fun, but she didn't bother to go back and correct herself. There was no reason to go back and make a difference when she'd already claimed there wasn't. It was very confusing.
However, the next question made her confused. "Um. I don't know. What is it?" She'd never heard of it, so it could be anything, really. So soon after the conversation about singing made her wonder if it wasn't a singing thing. Maybe there was one around. She'd never been to anything of that name, but then she hadn't been everywhere in LA. Her parents didn't go everywhere and so she hadn't. Maybe it was something to do some day. But probably not until after school was over. She'd have more free time then. Even if she did want to make sure there was enough time to laze about.
Once inside the office, Johanna wasn't sure whether she was meant to stay or not. She wasn't really supposed to be wandering the halls, but then if Eun-Yul needed anything, she didn't want to leave her to try to figure it out on her own. When Eun-Yul looked back at her, she smiled and waved. It wasn't a huge smile, just something encouraging. Then she took a seat by the door. If she got in trouble, she could leave, but hopefully she'd go mostly unnoticed. Smiling at the people in the office having been done, now she just attempted to blend into the background. It would never work. Her hair was too red. She looked at it quietly. How troubling.
After a moment, she glanced up at Eun-Yul again to see if there was anything she needed. She wasn't sure how long this process would take, but she hoped it wouldn't take too long. She shifted her gaze toward the clock. Hopefully not too long.
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Dec 30, 2013 6:37:20 GMT -8
Signing her name to a couple documents and answering a few questions that were more attempts at friendliness with how she was liking America so far (fine) and if she was excited about school (no, which was met with an amused chuckle and shake of the head) and nothing of much actual importance, Eun-Yul was glad when she was handed back her folder as a sign that they were finished.
The folder had more papers in it now than what she brought, welcome information packets and school policies and things that she probably wouldn't bother reading because she could guess the most important parts of it like don't bring guns or alcohol to school, and the minor rules she could learn about as she got corrected on as she went if they actually mattered. But she accepted it with a small nod and an automatic thank you in response to the wish that she had a good summer.
Not one to linger once business was taken care of, she approached where the redhead was waiting, somewhat pleased that she bothered to stay at all. Grabbing the girl by her forearm, she gave a swift pull to get her back to her feet. "Let's leave here now," she suggested, just barely above a whisper. "You can show the school." Maybe the other girl had a class to get to soon, Eun-Yul wasn't certain how the schedules here worked, but she wasn't going to give her an easy excuse to leave.
wow fantastic baby TAG Johanna TIMESTAMP May 21st
NOTES Nope |
for jelly only okay
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Dec 30, 2013 14:57:11 GMT -8
Johanna went quickly up from the chair, trying not to fall over. She managed well enough, something she credited to her years playing field hockey. The truth was that she was going to have class soon, but it was luckily one of her better classes. Her heart beat fast in her chest at the idea of missing a class, but she was probably would live if she missed it. It wasn't like she'd had a perfect attendance rate anyway. Sick days always ruined everything.
She'd try to show the whole school, but who knew if it would actually work. "All right," she said quietly. Now it was a matter of where to start and how quickly they could get around before the next class started. And she'd have to remember the places where teachers tended to magically appear. "There are a few places to avoid, but that's mostly because of surprise teachers." The cafeteria would have to wait. There were always people down there. They'd get caught for sure. Maybe the library. She'd been on the way there anyway.
"This way." There was another way to get to the library than the way they'd just come, so it wouldn't be too long.
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Jan 1, 2014 5:18:13 GMT -8
Having skipped enough classes to earn her probably the worst attendance record in the history of any of her schools, it felt disingenuous to pretend to care about Johanna's potential to get in trouble over missing just one. She hardly cared much about getting started off on the right foot, herself, knowing any effort put into coming off as a responsible and conscientious student was just setting herself up to fall short. Might as well crumble any expectations before they were placed upon her so no teachers could use the words disappointment or thought better of in an attempt to shame her into changing her ways. Those meetings were always such a bore.
She knew well enough that others didn't disregard their education as much as she had, at least in Korea where her classmates had an impressive obsession of knowing everyone's rankings on every test. She heard Americans were lazy with their studies in comparison, although their universities were apparently fairly good. But if it was a valid worry that the other girl had, she was perfectly capable of denying the tour, even if Eun-Yul had worded it more as a demand than a request.
It really wouldn't do to have somebody worrying too much about rules in her company, and it was worth seeing how flexible Johanna could be. The lack of protest was either a good sign, or proof that she had an impressively long free period. Both were good.
"Surprise teachers," she wrinkled her nose, catching on to the need for discretion as she followed wherever the other girl was leading them. She doubted they'd be up to anything that would draw too much attention, anyway. And acting confused and lost was always worth a shot if they were questioned.
The lockers lining the hallways were a bit strange, but she understood what they were for. Back home they kept all their belongings in their classrooms, but all the moving around for different classes and switching books out in the hall seemed like a hassle. Or would have, if she were the type to care much about making sure she had all her proper supplies in class. "We just wear the shoes around?" she asked curiously, staring down at her heels and Johanna's sneakers.
wow fantastic baby TAG Johanna TIMESTAMP May 21st
NOTES
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for jelly only okay
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Post by JOHANNA CHAMBERS on Jan 4, 2014 0:53:56 GMT -8
Johanna was a follower of the rules most of the time. She never broke any that would ruin her life or any. She'd never been in any serious trouble, but then it was really hard to get into serious trouble at school unless you did something stupid. Of course, people were prone to doing stupid things more often than not. As long as those people weren't her, she was happy. Generally speaking. She didn't want to get into any serious trouble. She didn't really want to miss class either.
It was difficult to be caught between trying to help others and trying to do what she wanted to. Frowning, she tried to pull herself out of her thoughts and blinked at the question about their shoes. "Wha--" She glanced down. "Yes. We wear them around. You never know what's on the floors." Like spit or possibly urine. The mystery meat. Germs. So many gross things happened that she wouldn't be surprised by what she'd find there. It was almost enough to make her want to take a culture and see what was there. Almost. She still didn't really want to know what was there. It would only make her that much more paranoid about touching any surface in the school...and that just wouldn't do. "People don't really care what they drop on the floor or what's on the floor and the janitors are just...well..." She wrinkled her nose.
"It's probably best not to take your shoes off. Or think about the floors. Or anything."
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Post by EUN-YUL MOON on Jan 4, 2014 11:23:08 GMT -8
Eun-Yul hadn't meant barefoot but didn't see the point in clarifying, the idea rather repulsive after the way Johanna described it. They had changed into school slippers for the sake of keeping the floors free of outside dirt they may have tracked in. Which had made it a lot easier to keep the school clean, most of the janitorial work actually maintained by the students. For community and respect of their shared space, for discipline and accepting duty, but also probably to cut costs.
Apparently nobody had much regard for cleanliness here, and while Eun-Yul liked the idea of not having to scrub down tables and windows... the tradeoff wasn't too appealing either. Even as somebody who spent much of her time digging around in the dirt and getting herself covered in paint, she liked the idea of not sticking to things she decided, while narrowly avoiding stepping in gum on the floor. "I see," she did, literally.
She walked a bit closer, having to take a few quick double-steps to keep up with Johanna's stride. "You are good at the sports?" she asked, sure that the girl's long legs would be quite useful for running or jumping or whatever sorts of things were required. Despite being well-coordinated, Eun-Yul never cared much for sports herself, more than content to stand off to the side where nobody passed the ball to her anyway.
wow fantastic baby TAG Johanna TIMESTAMP May 21st
NOTES
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for jelly only okay
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