Twicelight

Chapter - 2

Third person's pov:

The next day was better... and worse.

It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because Sana knew what to expect of her day group at lunch that included Mark, Jb, Jihyo, and several other people whose names and faces she now remembered. She began to feel like she was treading water, instead of drowning in it.

It was worse because Sana was tired; she still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Lee called on her in Trig when her hand wasn't raised and she had the wrong answer. It was miserable because she had to play volleyball, and the one time she didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, she hit her teammate in the head with it. And it was worse because Tzuyu wasn't in school at all.

All morning she was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of her wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While she was lying sleepless in her bed, she even imagined what she would say.

But Sana knew herself too well to think she would really have the guts to do it. She made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.

But when she walked into the cafeteria with Jihyo - trying to keep her eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely - she saw that his four siblings
of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.

Mark intercepted Jihyo and Sana and steered them to his table. Jihyo seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined them. But as she tried to listen to their easy chatter, she was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. She hoped that he would simply ignore her when he came, and prove her suspicions false.

Tzuyu didn't come, and as time passed Sana grew more and more tense. She walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mark, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by her side to class. She held her breath at the door, but Tzuyu wasn't there, either. She exhaled and went to her seat. Mark followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered by her desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at her wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like Sana was going to have to do something about Mark, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. She had never been enormously tactful; she had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys.

When the school day was finally done. Sana walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. She got in her truck and dug through her bag to make sure she had what she needed.

Sana gunned her deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in her direction, and backed carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot.

As she waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, she saw the two Yoos and the Son twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new BMW. Sana hadn't noticed their clothes before - she'd been too mesmerized by their faces. Now that she looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins. With their remarkable go looks, the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrag and pulled it off. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as she could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here. No, she didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; she couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.