Chapter Three

"So, is there a specific reason the United States wants their students to be bilingual?"

"They want us to seem smart," Emily said, guiding the boy to his locker. It was next to hers, which she was sure her mother had arranged. She scoffed quietly at the thought.

"Ah," Jaekuk said, nodding with a grin. "I see. Has that worked yet?"

"No," Emily responded, expressionless. "We're all still illiterate, and it's not like the classes matter to anyone because no one pays attention in them anyways."

"You don't pay attention in class?" Jaekuk asked. They approached their lockers, and Emily raised an eyebrow. His accent shone through his voice only slightly, presenting his race authentically. Emily shook her head, pointing to the locker that was assigned to him. 

"Mi scusi, faccio attenzione in classe," Emily said, a slightly-offended tone taking over her voice. Jaekuk smiled, turning to enter his combination in his locker. "Perdonami, io devo essere scambiato," he replied, opening the locker on the first try. Emily grinned, turning to face the boy. A skeptical look flashed across her face as she opened her locker, placing her Mathematics binder inside of the metal rectangular prism.

"You can take Italian in Korea?" She asked, removing her ironically-necessary language binder. 

"No, I learnt it on my own. I learned English in Korea," he explained, following suit. He took out his Language Arts binder, a pastel blue color, and grabbed his silver, patch-decorated pencil pouch back from it's resting place on the top shelf. "This locker is boring," Jaekuk commented, glancing over it. 

"It doesn't suit your . . . style," Emily agreed. Jaekuk laughed quietly. "Don't worry, it'll be covered in decorations in the next few weeks." Emily nodded.

"Language Arts is down the E hallway, third door on your right," Emily explained, pointing down the student-swarmed hallway. Jaekuk furrowed his eyebrows, confirming his understanding with a bob of his head. A strand of dusty-rose hair fell into his face, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Got it . . ." He said, his voice trailing off as he located the room with his gaze. With a swift movement, Jaekuk shut his locker door, and Emily watched him mumble a small goodbye. She watched his body fidget forward, as though he intended to bow. However, he didn't and turned, covering his blushing cheeks as he sped off. Emily shook her head, slightly confused. He hadn't done such a thing earlier this morning, so she wondered why he felt the need to do so now.

Emily turned the opposite direction and made her way down the hallway after shutting her locker. She brushed shoulders with a few girls whom only looked at her, some disgusted, others seeming jealous. Emily automatically knew why; Jaekuk wasn't something normally seen around here, and she also knew it interested the other girls. It didn't affect Emily, as all she needed to do, and wanted to do, was study and maintain good grades for a nice college, for a nice job. She smiled as her mind wandered over the plan, confirming it as though she hadn't hundreds of times before.

Yes, she thought. Just my education.