In the morning, Eunice had woken up. In her school uniform. But for only one thing.
My school trip, she complained in her head.
And then, there was a knock at the door. And this knocker knocked frantically. Eunice put her shoes on, grabbed her backpack and raced to the door. She opened the door and Jake was standing there.
“Have you been sleeping in or something?” Jake asked.
Eunice stuttered. “Today’s the field trip, right?”
Jake shook his head.
“That’s on the following Friday. Right now, we are supposed to fill out the permission slips.”
Permission slips? But my parents wouldn’t allow me to get out of the house! What do I do?
Eunice then sighed.
It was at school and Mr. Lee stepped inside the classroom with hundreds of papers that were the permission slips. He passed them out to each of the students.
“Class,” he announced, “As you might have known from the staff during morning announcements, the whole 10th graders are going on a big field trip. It was supposed to be this week, but due to the flight delay, we could not go and we had to move our trip to next Friday.”
Fortunately all of the students have understood.
After school, Mr. Lee lightly tapped on Eunice’s desk.
“I want to speak with you in my office before you head home.”
Meanwhile, Jake was waiting for Eunice outside Independence Academy. He then noticed her talked with Mr. Lee as they were walking out. And then, they eventually parted their ways. Jake was confused.
“What did Mr. Lee say?” he asked concernedly.
Eunice smiled. “He just said that I needed a parent or guardian to sign the sheet, and I said that I have my friend’s mom to sign it.”
Jake frowned.
“But…don’t you have your parents to sign it?”
Eunice gave a shutter.
“I can’t give it to them,” she said, “You…you don’t even know what they would do to me…you just can’t even imagine it.”
“What would they do to you?”
Eunice felt her right arm and wrist, and then, she heard herself screaming as she envisioned the time when her own mother and father would cane her numerous times.
“I…I have to go.” Eunice said, quickly walking away and riding on her bike.
Eunice laid on her bed, without the covers. She felt tears coming out from her eyes. She heard herself whimper.
Suddenly, she envisioned herself being locked in her own room, years before she lived in the apartment.
She screamed uncontrollably and hysterically, whilst banging on the door, for help. Eunice then began to cry. She cried throughout the night.
The next morning, Jake came by to her room and knocked on the door. But Eunice didn’t answer. She was in a deep sleep. All she could do was rest after crying so much last night.
But Jake wasn’t ready to give up. He knocked on the door for the second time. He waited a while and then…
“Oh, my goodness! Oh, my god!” he exclaimed.
Jake saw the emotion that Eunice was feeling.
“What happened? Did something go wrong?” she asked.
“Your eyes,” said Jake, “They are red! Were you up all night, crying?”
Eunice could not figure out a straight answer.
“Why must you think that way?” she asked.
“I heard weird noises last night. I thought maybe it was someone crying. I thought it was you. But was it you?”
Eunice moved back one step and shook her head. But Jake didn’t believe her.
“What else do you want me to say? I’m telling you that I didn’t cry last night.”
“But your eyes are red. I want to make sure you are all right.”
“I am! There is nothing wrong with me.”
Jake wrapped his arms around Eunice, allowing her to be hugged without her permission.
“I’m sorry, Jake.” she sniffled, “I just don’t want to talk about anything like this. It’s so uncomfortable.”
“Then…why do you become upset when there are matters similar to this?”
“I…I don’t know.”
Eunice hurried to pack for the big trip to California. She packed everything that she needed.
She was about to put on her big fluffy coat, but she remembered that it was going to be warm and sunny in Los Angeles. But she brought it along just in case.
She met up with Niki and Jay in time for the bus to come around and pick up all of the students.
She noticed that Jake’s university class was waiting and all packed up too.
They must be going on a trip, too, I guess.
She was right. But what she thought somewhat backfired.
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Eleven hours later, they arrived at the LAX. Eunice then saw that the older students had come along with her class. But then, she saw Jake.
Out of all the students of that stupid university, why did it have to be that boy and his class?! UGH!!
She scowled all the way to the Hilton Hotel in Downtown LA. She saw how beautiful the buildings were, especially when it was in the evening. And then, Mr. Lee stood in front of both students.
“Listen up, students!” he said, “We have decided to partner up a boy and a girl to share a room with one another. There shall be no drinking or smoking or any other alcoholic or toxic remedies while we are here.”
The students obeyed. Mr. Lee then passed out the papers of who stays with whom. Eunice rushed to find her name next to Niki.
But it was not there.
It was right next to Jake.
Why me?!
Eunice rolled her eyes and groaned, sitting on the lounge chair that was coincidentally right behind her. Jake could tell that she felt frustrated. He was as well.
But at least we are kind of, sort of, friends…right? He then chuckled nervously.
The couple did not speak to each other when they got in their hotel room. Both of them were in their own worlds.
As the day went by, Eunice picked up her mobile phone and watched BTS’s Taehyung go live on Instagram. She smiled uncontrollably. Jake felt worried for her.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“I’m okay,” said Eunice, “Kim Taehyung had just begun his Instagram live.”
She then laughed so hard. This annoyed Jake terribly.
But in the evening, Eunice’s phone would not stop vibrating. She looked at the caller’s phone number: No Caller ID.
“Why is someone calling me at this hour? I’ve already alerted my mother and father about this.” she mumbled.
But then, when it was time for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, her phone rang again. But this time, it was her mother! In frantic, Eunice ran to the girl’s bathroom and answered her phone.
“Um…hello?” she said.
“Eunice Park…” her mother growled, “You are in big trouble, young lady!”
“But I did nothing–”
“YOU ARE ALL THE F***ING WAY IN AMERICA AND YOU DIDN’T F***ING BOTHER TO TELL US?! HOW DISHONORABLE OF YOU!”
“I’m sorry, Mother, it was mandatory that we, as a class, have to go.”
“I DON’T CARE! WHEN YOU COME HOME, YOU WILL BE LOCKED UP IN YOUR ROOM! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”
Eunice began to cycle through her teary thoughts. And then, she blubbered. “Yes, Mum, I will come home, very soon.”
When it was bedtime, she laid down on the bed next to Jake. She did not want to say anything. This concerned Jake to the core.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” said Eunice, “I’m just tired.”
Jake then turned off the lamp, and everyone went to sleep.
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The students headed out to a little town close to the beach. It was while on the bus ride over, when Jake noticed the way Eunice felt by seeing her twiddling her fingers.
They were not permitted to swim in the sea, but they could swim in the public community pool.
Mr. Lee and the university teacher Mrs. Kim were supervising everybody, similar to the job of life-guards.
But as everyone began playing in the water, Jake noticed that Eunice refused to go in the water.
“Eunice!” called Niki, “Come on in, the water’s great!”
“Thanks, but I don’t want to!”
“Why not,” asked Jay. “I’m… afraid of drowning!”
“Afraid of drowning, you say?” taunted Heeseung, “Then that means you’re a chicken.”
“First off, I’m not an animal, and second of all, I really cannot swim!”
“Then why stick around here?”
Heeseung and his group of friends laughed and mocked Eunice.
Suddenly, when she wasn’t looking, Heeseung then pushed Eunice into the water, making a big splash.
“EUNICE!” shouted Jake.
He didn’t hesitate to jump in the water. He then found her nearly drowning and brought her up to the surface. She was breathing. But she was having some sort of memory.
“No,” she whimpered, “Please, no! OW! MUMMY, PLEASE STOP! PLEASE! HELP ME! PLEASE! GOD!”
Tears escaped from her eyes. Jake caressed her cheek. She coughed and then woke up.
“Jake?” she asked, weakly.
Jake then brought her into his arms and carried her out of the pool area.
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In the evening, Eunice’s phone rang again. Jake woke up and noticed her answering the call. He then heard the sound of Eunice’s mother yelling at her from the phone. She then began to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Mum,” she cried. “I will be home tomorrow. Happy, now?”
She then hung up the phone and laid down, crying. Jake laid down right next to Eunice and patted her back.
“Jake…” she sniffled, “Why are you up?”
Jake sat her up and held her in his arms.
“You might want to explain the reason your phone kept ringing throughout the trip?”