Lost and found

Beep, beep The alarm went off for the third time this morning as Nina groaned and fumbled around to grab her phone and hit the off button.   7:45  Great, class starts in 15 minutes and she's still in bed. That's just what she needed. Nina ran to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed her face then hurried over to her closet to pick an outfit. She opted for jeans and a hoodie since she had no time to do her make up or her hair for that matter. She grabbed her back and stuffed her laptop in there, along with her notebook and charger. She shoved her classic white converse on, grabbed her phone and ran out the door like a maniac, obviously no time for breakfast either. It was usually a 5 minute drive to get to college, but to her luck traffic was absolutely bad that she arrived to class about 10 minutes late. Thankfully though the professor wasn't even there yet, so she quickly walked into class and sat down. She let out a long sigh as she rested her head against the desk. Apparently 3 hours of sleep everyday for a week was just not enough to keep her up and focused.  But when you're balancing a part time job and a hectic university schedule, you don't really have time to sleep. Nina had just graduated high school last year in Daegu, and moved to Seoul to attend her dream college. She was an art major, and so far her first year has been quite busy. Since she wasn't staying in the dorms she had to rent an apartment that she shares with her best friend who was a psychology major. So getting a job was a must, and for now she was getting by pretty decently.  But not surprisingly, it was hard. And right now she was struggling to stay awake, much less pay attention to what the professor was actually saying. Finally once class was over she walked straight to the cafeteria to get a coffee, at this point it was crucial to get her through the day.  After getting her coffee she headed for her next class, it wouldn't start for another 20 minutes but she liked being early. She also wanted to get one last look at her assignment before handing it in. She only had two classes today "thank god for that" she thought as she sat down and opened her laptop. After her class, Nina got into her car and drove straight to work. Her shift started at 11:00 and she hated being late. Nina worked at a small coffee shop right across the street from her apartment. She really enjoyed working there, everyone was nice and usually when they weren't that busy she could work on some assignments or study.  " well don't you look just lovely"  She heard someone say behind her. She didn't even bother looking back at the person as she put on her apron. " thanks Yuri, and yes i know i look like a zombie" she mumbled back. "Guess  staying up till 4 was a bad idea then" Yuri said with a mocking smile on her face " thats a shocker" Nina rolled her eyes at her best friend. Yuri was the only friend she had in Seoul, also her roommate. Yuri was a little older than Nina, just a few months older but she still considered herself as a sort of parent to Nina. She knew that if she didn't look after her and make sure she eats and sleeps well, Nina would overwork herself to death. "Did you eat?" Yuri asked knowing full well that the answer would be no. Nina shook her head, not wanting to hear any scolding about how she was being irresponsible and not taking care of herself, which happened quite often. Yuri took a sandwich out of her bag and shoved it in Nina's hand, "you'd better eat this before getting to work or I'll force feed you" she said with a straight face. Nina smiled at that and whispered a quick "thank you" before taking a big bite. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't hungry, having eaten nothing since a late lunch the day before.  Nina didn't really have any issues with eating, she kept saying that she simply just forgets to eat. Yuri didn't quite believe her, but she didn't want to pressure her into talking about something that maybe she wasn't so comfortable talking about. "You still have a good 10 minutes so don't freak out and force the whole thing down", Yuri said with a smile as she ruffled Ninas hair and walked out of the back room to get back to work.  Nina and Yuri weren't the only college students who worked at the cafe, which made the atmosphere very comfortable and friendly. Everyone was nice and things were very flexible.  After a long day of work the two friends left work at 6 and drove home. The minute Nina got into the apartment she took off her shoes and went straight to her room, throwing herself on her bed with a deep sigh.  "Pizza sounds good?", she heard Yuri ask as she walked into her room. Nina just nodded and closed her eyes, she had way too many projects and assignments to even think about food right now. Saying that she was stressed out would be an understatement.  Yuri left the room and closed the door. Nina rolled over on her bed to get her laptop from her bag and check all her due dates. She had just two assignments due at midnight, and both weren't necessarily that hard. She closed her laptop in relief and grabbed some clothes to get into the shower. Half an hour later, she heard Yuri basically yelling her to get her ass down there to eat. Nina would normally skip dinner on nights like these but Yuri was just not having it tonight. Nina grumbled as she made her way downstairs and plopped onto the couch next to Yuri. Even though she had so much work to do, the pizza looked and smelled too irresistible, and before she could protest Yuri was already handing her a plate with a few slices.  "20 minutes to eat wont kill you y'know", Yuri said as she chewed. " we don't even talk that much anymore, you're always in your room" "I've just been busy this last week" " it's not just this last week though Nina, you're constantly "busy" and you don't even bother talking to anyone or getting to know people", Yuri argued. They had moved to Seoul over a month ago and Nina has yet to talk to anyone or make any friends. "I talk to you", Nina said before taking another bite. " i don't need to be talking with every person i meet you know, i just don't do that" " i know, but I thought we agreed college would be different from school, you promised me you would go out more"  Nina was very introverted, she didn't like to interact with people much. She didn't see the importance of making friends either, she was doing just fine and she had no time for distractions. "Seriously Nina", Yuri sat straight and put her serious mom mode on, "can you tell me even one name of anyone in your class?"  Nina thought for a second, nope definitely didn't know. She didn't really pay attention to any other person aside from her professors. She decided to just make up a name instead, " there's this girl called Suki ". Nina tried to sound believable, she also tried not to make eye contact with Yuri because otherwise, she would be caught.  Yuri and Nina had been friends since kindergarten, so needless to say Yuri could see right through Nina. Although they were friends, they were both extremely different. Yuri was very sociable and outgoing, she had tons of friends and was always invited to parties and gatherings. She often tried to get Nina to go with her but usually failed at that. "You know i know you're lying right?", Yuri asked with a knowing grin. " it's not like we met yesterday or something" Nina huffed unamused and just looked away, there was no point in denying that she was lying. Yuri knew her too well, but Nina just wanted to avoid the topic all-together so she kept quiet. " i just want you to have some fun okay? It's not healthy working so much and being stressed out all the time and not sleeping enough", Yuri reasoned out. "Would it kill you if you just went out and made at least one friend?" Nina didn't reply, didn't really acknowledge Yuri either she just stared at her plate and continued chewing.  Yuri was silent for a few minutes before smiling mischievously, " you're coming with me to a party on Friday, and it's not negotiable".  Nina's eyes widened at that, she looked at Yuri and violently shook her head. "But- " no butts so don't even try", Yuri said as she got up and took her plate back to the kitchen with the leftover pizza. "It's high time to make some friends and actually enjoy your life" Nina groaned as she followed her to the kitchen, thinking of a way to get out of this; an excuse. " i have this really important proje-  "No you don't missy, I checked your schedule and nothing is due till Sunday, but nice try" "Ughhh I don't even know who's throwing that party how do u expect me to have fun? I don't know anyone", Nina was both intimidated and pissed. She didn't like parties, she didn't like crowds either. " you know how much i don't like that typa stuff unnie", she whined when Yuri completely ignored her as she put the dishes in the dishwasher. "Any form of protesting won't be tolerated", Yuri said strictly, "and that includes the dramatic sighs and the cute whines as well" Yuri had that look she puts on when her mind is set on something, Nina knew she wouldn't change her mind no matter what. So she did the next best mature thing she could think of, she walked very slowly to her room whining and complaining the whole way there.  She closed the door to her room with a sight and sat next the pile of books and papers on her bed. Friday was only two days away and she couldn't be more anxious.