It's not easy to pick sides. Everyone has secrets, secrets they want hidden and buried. What extent would you go to hide your secrets? How far would you go for self preservation?
Like father, like daughter.
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T...
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You were out of breath. If it weren't for your heavy bag, then rushing to school would've been a lot easier. It couldn't be helped because your teacher gave you more work because of how many days you already missed.
So it didn't help your case that class already started five minutes ago, and you were still a couple blocks away.
Everything was busy this time a day, so you had to weave through crowds.
You already had a couple of texts from Mira because she didn't see you in the halls when she got there.
You'd rather get an earfull from Mira than another lecture.
Your teacher always got on your nerves. The way he would always get onto you and how he looked at you rubbed you the wrong way. Even though you were technically in the wrong, you still felt he overreacted.
You were passing, and that's all that mattered.
Your phone dinged as you turned the corner, letting you know your attendance had already been set to absent for the day.
Honestly, you were contemplating whether it was still worth making the trip.
You rushed up the stairs and almost tripped. The janitors barely cleaned the place up.
You could already hear the liveliness of your classmates from outside the door.
BAM!
You were panting heavily as you busted through the classroom doors, all eyes pointing towards you.
The first one you noticed was the teacher, scowl permanently on his face with a look of disproval as you walked in and shut the doors behind you.
Second, Vin. The asshole, looking you up and down, ready to point out anything that would make him feel better about himself.
Third, Duke. Your only friend in this class, and with a heart made of gold and pure talent.
The teacher didn't bother with you. Vin didn't want a repeat of what happened last time, so he kept his remarks between his group.
You took your seat next to Duke.
"Morning." You smiled at him and set your bag on your chair.
"Morning [y/n]."
Duke smiled back at you. He never seemed to hold any animosity against you, like Vin and many others did for whatever reason.
Duke helped you with your work. It was like this often. You'd miss a day or two, and then Duke would help you catch up. It came easy to Duke because of how passionate he was. Meanwhile, you only came to this school for Eugene and your basic education.
You never asked Duke for help. Mind you, you thought he was already busy enough and should focus on himself, but he insisted.
"Hey Duke, you going to audition at that ok talent agency?" You saw the agency name on the whiteboard in class. It was an agency that normally scouted through the school.
"Yeah."
He seemed to get a bit anxious but smiled non the less.
"They have auditions open tomorrow. If I try my best, then I'll probably be accepted..."
"That's the spirit!" You knew he had a good shot, so you cheered him on. But you did this mostly because of the reaction you saw from the peanut gallery.
You couldn't help but be filled with at least a little joy at the glare Vin shot in Duke's direction at those words.
"I mean, I'm sure I haven't met anyone with talent quite like yours.."
Duke blushed as you just used this as an opportunity to tease anyone who happened to be listening.
What's Vin going to do? Lash out again, but then let you plant his little secrets on all the billboards in Seoul? Hell, why would you stop there. Might as well tell them all across South Korea.
You would love for him to try.
You looked at the time while Duke was still talking about your class work. Lunch was almost here, and you wanted to do something new.
You were planning on seeing if you could sit with Daniel during lunch. For two reasons. One, Daniel and Jay are in the same class, and from what you've heard, Jay is almost like an admirer to Daniel. So, no doubt, one day, Daniel would lead you to getting close with Jay.
Two, you imagined that if Daniel was someone to be wary of, then you would've been able to find him sooner than Eugene and Charles. And if you managed that, then you would have yourself a very useful ally.
You watched the clock tick, zoned out into it.
"Hey [y/n], do you plan to audition?"
You looked at Duke, surprised.
"Uhh, not really. I never thought of it, I guess."
Duke was confused. Why were you in this class if not to pursue music. And with an agency like this one. But he wasn't going to push you.
You noticed his expression and just laughed it off.
"Don't look at me like that, I just don't have enough time on my hands, that's all."
You were trying to make the atmosphere more lighthearted. You didn't want him worrying about you or anything.
"Hey [y/n]... would you like to have lunch with me?"
You didn't want to turn him down, but at the same time, you didn't want to make Duke sit with you while all you were interested in was Daniel.
So you decided to choose between the two. At first you were going to choose Daniel. You had more to gain from him, or at least you were convinced you did.
"Sure!" You smiled.
But at the same time, once you took a look at what Duke had done for you, you felt the need to repay him somehow. Daniel could wait another day.
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Started: September 7th, 2023 Finished: September 8th, 2023
Animosity: Strong hostility.
When writing this, I thought, "How did it go from gang activity to a normal school day?" Then I realized it's because this is lookism.
