Chapter 1
Danielle wondered how come the Korean had the audacity to pick her out of the 36 people in her class for their shared project.
Well, if she was being honest, it probably wasn't Minji's fault; she just grabbed the wrong name from the hat. But still...Danielle's eye was twitching as she watched Minji flash her a smile–one that could only be described as fake sincerity, all polished and perfect, like a knife wrapped in velvet.
Danielle was a hundred percent sure that she must have done something utterly terrible in her past life such as being an axe murder or a cat hater to end up stuck with Kim fucking Minji.
Where did all this hate come from you might be wondering. Most people assume this on-going feud between them was because they were the people with the highest GPA on the whole school. But for Danielle it went further than that; it was no feud whatsoever, this was war.
And it all had started when they were 8. You see, Minji–as the entitled bitch she had always been (according to Danielle) – had pulled at her ponytail and stuck her tong out at her.
Now, it might seem like a childish reason to hold a life changing grudge but that was not the end of it. Year after tear Minji had always found a way to annoy Danielle was it by ruining her sandcastles or by pushing her slightly or by taking the last chocolate flavored drink, she ALWAYS with no flaw found a way.
And by no way did it help that Minji always looked impossibly flawless and ethereal, practically glowing in that infuriatingly perfect way every.single.fucking.time.
Danielle muttered a curse under her breath, as she saw Minji walk back to her seat, not without sparing her a glance and–of course– a wink.
Her eyes flickered towards Yunjin, who met her gaze with a mix of concern and amusement.
"You're going to have such a fun time" whispered to Eunchae, leaning over the table, propping herself on her elbows and flashing Danielle a devilish grin.
"Oh shut up" Retorted Danielle, way too annoyed to have to deal with her friends teasing.
"I'm just saying-" Eunchae started again, but received a sharp look from the professor that–for Danielle's luck– seemed to shut her up.
Another student stood up to draw a name from the hat, but Danielle's mind was elsewhere, looking at Minji's straight perfect black hair 2 seats in front of her. Her eyes blazing with intense fire.
She must have spent at least 20 minutes in this state, burning holes on Minji's skull, getting so lost on her frustration that she had barely registered time passing.
It wasn't until the bell rang, snapping her of her trance, that she realized it was already 12:30–lunch.
She quickly began packing up her things, absentmindedly, her mind still swirling with annoyance. She didn't even notice someone else–not one of her friends–was watching her.
"Dani!" She heard a familiar voice call, and she turned towards the door, where a happy Hyien was seen standing along-side Haerin who was wearing one of her signature small smiles.
Danielle returned the smile without thinking, and then glanced back at Eunchae, who was still struggling to pack, and Yunjin, who seemed to be in the same boat.
"I'll see you at lunch!" She called over her shoulders, slinging her bag strap over her shoulder.
"You're not even going to wait for us? Traitor" Eunchae shot back, pulling a disgusted face, Yunjin nodding with a fake disapproving look.
"It's not my fault you two are literal turtles" Danielle teased, sticking her tongue out at them.
Without bothering to hear any other comments, she turned happily and paced towards the door, pointedly ignoring her–the one person she really didn't want to deal with.
"I can't believe my bad luck" Muttered Danielle, her brows furrowing slightly as she linked her arm with Haerin's, whose arm already linked with Hyien's. The three of them walking towards the cafeteria
"Well, our math teacher gave us a project about a subject we just learned to give in TWO DAYS!" Hyien exclaimed, her eyes getting bigger, while she looked helplessly at Danielle.
Haerin chuckled and looked at the Aussie, her cat eyes curious. "Why do you say you have bad luck?" She asked, her voice pointed.
Danielle sighed deeply, frustration thick in her voice. "Today it was going to be decided who was going to be our semester project partner, and guess who's mine?"
She paused for dramatic effect, turning to look at her friends "it's Kim Fucking Minji" she grumbled.
Yes, she didn't only refer to Minji that way in her head; she also did it with her friends.
Both girls opened their eyes wide and Hyien tried to stifle a laugh, Danielle's face deadpanning as she saw her friend start to laugh, dropping Haerin's arm in order to hold herself.
"IT IS NOT A FUNNY MATTER!" Danielle exclaimed, looking at Hyien as if she just went crazy.
"This is serious, it's a curse!" Danielle whined, fueling Hyien's laughs.
Haerin looked at her with pity, a soft smile gracing her lips as she rubbed the Australian's shoulder in comfort.
"Haerinnie what am I going to doooo" Danielle whined.
And Haerin couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at Danielle's antics.
She was no stranger to the feud between the girls. Actually, she had been close to Danielle since the first ever 'Kim-catastrophe'–as they liked to call it.
"You'll...." Haerin tried to think of a way to reassure her, but knowing them, nothing would help. “You will work it out" She finally decided, and it was clear Danielle was not happy with the answer she had been given.
She opened her mouth to argue, but realized it was a waste of time and instead opted to go to the cafeteria for some food.
It didn't take them much time to get their food and find a table at the window. Danielle's mood lifted a little when she saw the extra carrots the cook had slipped into her plate–he always had a soft spot for her.
But before she could fully relax, a tray slid in besides her. Without even looking, she knew exactly who it was.
Eunchae casually took a seat next to her, facing Hyien as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"So did Dani tell you guys about her lucky situation?" Yunjin asked, her voice dripping with amusement.
¿Why did they all seem to find this situation amusing?
"Oh yeah" Hyien said the words muffled by her mouthful of rice.
"At least you know you'll get a ten" Eunchae added nonchalantly, looking at her as she grabbed a meat piece with her fork.
Danielle rolled her eyes. "I would've gotten a ten anyway" she muttered. "It is not like I need Minji to get it for me."
She was the best student in the whole school–sharing that spot with Minji–which she would never truly acknowledge out of her own free will.
Eunchae smirked "Still, isn't Minji top of the literature class"
A tense silence fell over the table. All eyes turned to Eunchae, wide with worry, before turning to look at Danielle.
Kazuha side-eyed Danielle carefully, afraid of her own mistake.
It was one of the things that Danielle found herself the maddest about. She had always been the literature queen, even after Minji came to the school, she had always fought for her spot with teeth and claws. But last semester, she had scored 97 points, and of course Minji didn't falter and scored an ass whooping 100.
And if Dani had to admit it, she was still sour about it, especially when Minji started teasing her about it, her smirk taunting.
Danielle felt herself twitch involuntarily, her hand gripping the fork a little bit tighter; nonetheless she smiled a little bit tight. "It's okay, it was only for 3 points, this semester will be different" her voice was a forced with self-control, her eyes cast downwards to her food as everyone looked at her.
A few seconds of uncomfortable silence passed before Hyien hastily switched the topic, mentioning the new Chase Atlantic album (an Australian band that was one of Danielle's favorite). The distraction worked–Danielle focused on the music, trying to shake off the gnawing frustration.
But deep down she knew it wasn't just the three points that got to her.
It was everything.
And now she was stuck working with Minji.