Hanni stretched best as she could, legs hitting the seats in front of her. The backseat of Kazuha's car was crowded, Hanni the lone passenger amongst a mountain of luggage and homegoods. In vain, she shifted a duffle bag to free up some space to try and get comfortable. She had spent the last few hours in relative silence, listening to Kazuha and Danielle laugh and sing along to the radio, taking mental pictures of crumbling rock and towering trees lining the sides of the highway. She checked her phone more out of habit than curiosity, and was silently relieved when there were no new messages.
"Since when is Hanni this quiet?" Kazuha asked Danielle, presumably trying to annoy Hanni into joining the conversation. She was right though, Hanni normally wasn't quiet. There was just a lot on her mind.
"Since never." Danielle laughed, turning around in the passenger seat to face her.
"What's the deal, Hanni?"
"No deal, just taking it all in." Hanni shrugged. It was the truth, mostly. She was taking in the scenery more as a distraction from the knot in her stomach. The summer was over. She was on her way to a new school with her best friends, miles away from home, from her mom, from all the people who wanted something from her. She knew in her mind that she should feel good, but apparently the message didn't make it to her body.
"So are you going to tell us, or what?" Kazuha asked plainly.
Hanni furrowed her brow. "Tell you what?"
"Tell us about your mysterious summer hookup, duh." Danielle said. "And don't try to deny it, because I know you started reblogging a bunch of romantic shit for a reason." She laughed, looking at Hanni expectantly.
"Are you going to acknowledge how creepy that is, or should I?" Hanni chuckled. It was weird to think about now, those few weeks of calm in the middle of her shitstorm of a summer.
"Oh whatever! I wouldn't have to be creepy if you would just tell us things." Danielle huffed, slumping dramatically in her seat.
"Seriously Hanni, talk, because if I have to hear one more time about how gorgeous Haerin is, I'm going to drive us right off the road." Kazuha said.
"Hey!" Danielle pouted. "You're both just jealous that I went to orientation and got a girlfriend and you guys didn't."
"Why would I have gone to a freshman orientation?" Kazuha chuckled.
"Not the point, and anyway, she is gorgeous!" Danielle shouted.
"That's it!" Kazuha shouted, laughing as she intentionally swerved into the empty right lane, threatening to move even further.
"Oh my god Zuha stop! Stop!" Hanni couldn't help but join Kazuha in laughing at Danielle's shrieks. "That was so not funny! You could've killed us!" Danielle said, breathless and clutching her chest.
"It's not like I didn't warn you." Kazuha laughed. "Anyway, Hanni, don't think I forgot about you. Come on, spill."
"Yeah, spill!" Danielle joined in, momentary terror suddenly forgotten.
"It wasn't serious, if that's what you're wondering," Hanni shrugged. She had been debating on whether or not to tell her friends about her coffee shop romance when it had started, eventually deciding the fling wasn't worth coming out for.
"That's not what we were wondering and you know it, Hanni," Danielle said flatly. "If you don't give us deets, Kazuha really is gonna drive us off the road, right Zuha?"
"No, that's reserved for you and your obsession with your new girlfriend," Kazuha said.
"Hey!" Danielle punched Kazuha on the shoulder, "you're supposed to be my bad cop!"
KAMU SEDANG MEMBACA
room 722 (bbangsaz version)
FanfictionHanni Pham is not nearly as enthusiastic as her friends to start the new semester. Maybe, it's because she's a transfer, new school already tainted by the bad experiences of the last one. Maybe it's because her mom hasn't called, or because her ex w...
