“SO you’re a fan of Sproutoon,” Cecile suddenly said. She was looking at the screen of her phone. “They’re one of my favorite groups too.”

Mandy looked at her and smiled hesitantly. “Really? I thought your favorite group is only Boy-Dol. I saw your albums a while ago, they’re all Boy-Dol signed albums.”

“Nah, I also have Sproutoon’s album,” she said and smiled at her. “Do you wanna see it?”

Mandy’s eyes widened in excitement, but she suddenly changed her mind. “No, I don’t want to see it…” she said. “I’ll just felt bad for not having my own copy of their album.”

Cecile laughed. “I’ll give it to you if you want.”

Mandy looked at her unbelievably. “You’re kidding me.”

“Of course, I’m not,” she said and took her bag on her side. She opened it and took out the album by Sproutoon. “It wasn’t sign that’s why it’s okay with me to give it to you. I only keep signed albums.”

Mandy hesitated to accept the album, but Cecile took her hand and made her hold the precious album. Mandy’s heart leaped as her palm touches the album cover. What more could she feel if it was signed by Elias? Thinking that his DNA prints were in the album can make her heart go crazy, and her ovaries as well. Yikes! How could I feel so maliciously about him? She thought as she bit her lower lip.

“Accept it as my token of appreciation for letting me eat with you today,” Cecile said and smiled at her sweetly. “I know you want it.”

“Isn’t it too much to be a token for the simple favor that I gave you?” She’s still hesitant, or maybe because it was her first time to receive such a gift from people that she seldom speak with. “I mean, I just let you sat beside me, I didn’t even invite you… You just asked me if you could sit here…”

Cecile shook her head. “It means a lot to me, Mandy.” She smiled. “Actually, I was hesitant too to ask you a while ago, and I thought you’d refuse. But you didn’t, and I’m glad about it. So, please accept it as a gift from me.”

Mandy nodded her head as she accepted the album from her. “Thank you…” she smiled shyly. “I think I should eat with you more often.”

Cecile laughed. “I like that. I will never be alone at lunch,” she said and offered her the sandwich in her food container. “Where are your friends? What’s her name again? Jennie and Shen?”

“Sherry,” Mandy corrected. “They have other plans...” she added and looked away.

“And, you’re not part of it?” she asked. “It’s the first time that I saw you alone at lunch.”

“No, it’s not that I’m not a part of it. I just chose to not go with them,” she explained and heaved a sigh.

Cecile knotted her forehead. “Why? Is there a problem?”

Mandy shook her head. “Nothing…” She looked at her feet. “Actually, I don’t know. I just feel that they’re starting to be distant to me.”

“Distant? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to explain this, but I think… they don’t want me to be their friend anymore.” Her voice cracked as tears stung her eyes. “I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, you can talk to me, Mandy,” Cecile said and patted her back. “You can treat me as your friend now. I’m willing to listen to you any time of the day.”

Mandy looked at her and smiled bitterly. “Thanks,” she sighed. “Maybe, Sherry and Jennie are just busy with some things. Jennie’s got a boyfriend now, while Sherry… she’s busy with her mom.”

Cecile nodded. “Then, I guess we’re meant to be together. I don’t have friends too.”

“Really? I saw you surrounded by all of our classmates a while ago. They all like you—”

“Because I have the things that they wanted to have,” she said without a second thought. “They’re all curious about the signed albums. People like them treated you as their friend because of what you have and what you can do for them. They’re user-friendly.”

Mandy studied Cecile’s neutral facial expression while saying those words. She didn’t know what to tell her, because even though they have the same thoughts about the people around them, she’s still hoping that Sherry and Jennie are different.

“When the time comes that you have nothing to give to them, they’ll abandon you as if you never did anything good for them before. They will make you feel useless and unwanted,” Cecile added.

When she looked at her, Mandy was surprised by what she saw in her eyes. Instead of sadness and loneliness, she saw nothing but a blank dark space. Cecile’s eyes were like the ones in dolls: Emotionless.

“Well, at least, you have all the things that you want as a fangirl,” Mandy told her, trying to cheer her up even though she doesn’t look sad with all those things that she told her. “You have signed albums from all your favorite K-pop groups, and I am sure that you can also see them in person if you want, right?”

Cecile laughed and nodded. “It’s because I worked for it. I wanted to support my bias group with all my heart. And, because being in the entertainment industry is their business, I have to invest in them financially.”

Mandy is impressed by Cecile’s devotion to her favorite group. “I wish I can also do that for Elias… But, I don’t have enough money to buy even his old albums. I’m broke.”

Cecile nudged her shoulder. “If you want, I can recommend you to my agency. They’re hiring assistants now,” she said then put out something in her wallet. “This is my payslip. Look how much they’re paying me weekly.”

Mandy looked closely at the piece of paper that Cecile is showing to her. She gasped when she saw the multiple figures written on it. “Two thousand dollars per week? That’s a huge amount of money!”

“It is. And you can also earn it if you’ll apply to them,” Cecile said casually. “So, do you want to come with me tomorrow? After class?”

***