Jae Hwa lied on his bed, arms bent behind his head as he replayed the afternoon he had with Lisa. He could still feel the ghostly touch of her fingers on his shoulders, drawing him into her.

     Her smell.

    The quiet gasps of air she would take every so often....

  Shaking his head, he sat up in the dark dorm room. There were the faint snores of Thomas across from him, and the sounds of the animal nightlife just outside his window. Pulling at his short dark hairs, he decided that he would try and make a call back home, maybe that would divert his attention away from the simultaneous longing and pain he felt as he thought of Lisa with another guy.

       The room was cast in shadows of the night, giving him enough cover to move swiftly without disturbing Thomas as he shuffled out of the door. Without closing it completely, Jae Hwa scanned the halls to see if anyone else was up.

     He began walking towards the public phone, glad to see that he could take as long as he wanted to talk to his family. Whenever he called, he never failed to get an answer. Seeing as how his parents paid the extra fees to make the long distance call, they always wanted to make sure that whenever the phone rang, they were getting their money's worth by being able to talk to their son.

      "Hello?"

     "Mom, it's Jae Hwa."

    "My baby! I'm so glad you've called. Is everything okay? Isn't it late there?"

   "I just wanted to call in and see how you were. To see if things are going well."

     Jae Hwa listened earnestly to his mother give him story after story of everything that happened in his absence. She told him how his little sister missed him, and how she drew pictures to mail out. He asked for details of even the minute things, hoping that they would be enough to clear his mind of Lisa for the night. He told how he was thankful that his parents were healthy, that the restaurant was receiving good business. His mother told him how she had his picture nailed up beside his acceptance letter, and how often she would point it out to the new customers suggesting that by eating her food, their children too could become successful. The fact that he had become the face of his family's advertising put a humble spark into his heart.

     Bringing the phone down with him, Jae Hwa slid to the ground and drifted away comforted by his mother's voice.

oOo

   Lisa's journey had led her to a bus stop that dropped her off just within walking distance of her school. She had boarded the nearly empty transit with the few coins she had in her pockets. She shared her ride in silence with the city nomads. She could remember some encounters with the homeless and down and out of the city during late night excursions.

    Some had fallen victim to drug filled dazes that they called life, while others may have gambled away their homes and families to feed their addictions. Before, she had always felt a daring rush whenever she snuck out and waltzed around with the likes of the nightlife habitants, but now, she could only wish for the comfort of her small dorm room bed which was once an annoyance to her, yet seemed like a safe haven in that moment. She cursed to herself, wishing that she had a wider range of options when it came to running away to somewhere far away from her parents. God knows she would literally have just hours of relaxation before they discovered she was gone and came bombarding her dorm.

      "Last stop. Everybody off." The gruff voice of the heavyset driver guided her off of the bus. As she passed by him, she didn't miss his wink or the unashamed glance to her rear-end.

      Now she trudged along the sidewalk lit by neon lights. The time had never crossed her mind; all that she knew was that it was far into the wee hours of the morning. She rubbed her watch less wrists, looking into store windows hoping to find a clock. As she peered into a black shop, she heard the sound of heels and scuffling feet. It was a drunken business man and his chosen lady of the night leading him from a nightclub.

    She stared, debating whether or not she should ask the only sober one of the pair to check the nice and expensive watch hanging off of the man's arm for the time.

     "You want in, sweetie? He won't last but a minute, can't you see?" The woman popped her gum as she winked at Lisa. Quickly walking past them and ignoring her offer to "earn a few bucks he's got more than enough to spare." Lisa decided that it was in fact, late enough.

   At this rate, she knew that it would be pointless to even sleep. By the time she got up the stairs.....

      Lisa's hands unconsciously drifted to find her key to the building. Stopping in place, she frantically felt around her entire body hoping to come across the small ring which held her ticket to safety.

    "No..." Closing her eyes, she could see the key sitting inside her jewelry box at her parents' home.

    "Damn it!" There would be no way that someone would be coming or going when she would need them to the most. The security office was on the complete opposite side of campus, taking her way out of her way if she was even able to reach them before sunrise.

   Thinking quickly, she ran to a payphone with a plan. She thought that with a little coaxing, she could get one of the girls up to come downstairs and let her in. It shouldn't be that hard, it seemed like most of them could sacrifice a moment....

      "Uh uh. Nope. Not happening." Turning her pockets inside out, Lisa fumed with rage slapping the side of the phone box. She had used the little money she had for the ride here, and that left her with no change to make her lifeline call.

    Covering her face, she crouched in front of the blue box. Tears threatened behind her eyelids as she massaged her temples. Inwardly, she began blaming her parents for this. Her escape plan had blown up in her face, leaving her to wallow in self-pity.

    "You need some help baby?" Not even risking looking back at the creeping car in the street, Lisa sprung to her feet, feeling the slight pain in her ankle for the first time since she jumped from her bedroom window. Without breaking off into a jog that would give away her fear, she continued on towards campus, silently praying for a veil of protection the entire way.

oOo

    With her options running dry, Lisa soon found herself tucked away in a sticky booth of an all-night diner just outside of campus. When she had walked in, none of the waitresses were motivated enough to put out their cigarettes at the sound of the welcome bell.

   She too had no intention of being bothered by anyone, and made no moves to ask for anything from any of the waitresses.

    Sitting and recounting the events of the day, Lisa felt small tears of stress soon pool into streams running down her face.  Muffling her whimpers, she bit her bottom lip hoping she wasn't drawing any attention by looking insane.

 When an older worker finally sauntered over, Lisa was quick to decline any special she may have thrown her way. She was penniless, and wished to just stick around long enough to get back to school.

      A cup of coffee was placed in front of her instead.

    "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't order this." Looking up politely, she hoped that the woman would ignore her red rimmed eyes and catch on.

   "I know honey, this one is on me." Patting Lisa's shoulder kindly, she walked away, leaving the girl to grip the warm cup in her palms.

    Lifting the hot liquid to her lips, she took just a few sips to relieve her small thirst. Setting it off to the side, she pulled her hood over her head tightly. Looking to the clock that ticked endlessly on the wall, she rested her eyes behind shut lids.

    If she could only wait here for a little while longer, she could finally reach her destination soon.

oOo

    The clutter of dishes and the sound of chatter permeated Lisa's soundproof box of sleep. On her forehead, she could feel the rays of the sun reaching through the diner windows towards her. The brightness assaulted her eyes when she first opened them, leaving blinding spots behind for her to blink away.

   She rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the slight irritation. Through her blurred vision, she spotted two figures standing over her. Her mind hadn't connected all of the dots, and she was almost ready to dismiss what she saw as her imagination and drift back off to sleep.

    "That's that chick right? I should hang out with her more often if she wakes up in diners after partying. That's hardcore." Whatever portion of the mind that controlled vocal recognition went into full force after hearing the sound of Thomas close by. Suddenly, what seemed to be a part of a dream made sense.

   She remembered jumping out of her window, getting propositioned by a hooker, crying, and ending up at a diner.

    Lisa's back began to protest against the hard booth seats, and she quickly sprang into a seated position. Thomas hopped back, missing the collision that would have been their foreheads by just an inch.

    "Good morning hot stuff. When are you going to invite me out on one of your little shindigs, huh?" Cringing from the rush of blood throbbing through her head, Lisa went to grasp the table to steady herself in order to get up to leave.

    "Hey, I'm sure you could use something to eat! Trust me; you will regret not eating something as soon as the urge to barf hits you." Thomas put his arm around her shoulder, preventing her from leaving. Cracking one eye, she could see Jae Hwa staring at her expressionlessly. His gaze was daunting, and besides the point of her not feeling like her usual self, she didn't plan to take Thomas up on his offer. She was still a bit embarrassed about the whole knocking down his door fiasco last time she saw him.

       "No, I-I need to go. Sorry."

      "I'll be insulted if you leave. Here, how about a free breakfast?"

       Shaking her head, Lisa gently removed his arm from her.

    "Come on..." He insisted.

    "Thomas, I-"

    "You are staying. I have decided." Pushing her softly into the booth, Thomas placed Jae Hwa right next to her. When he first sat, he had lightly brushed her side. When she saw him retract contact, it felt like a blow to her ego. She worried that he was still holding her sudden departure yesterday against her. Sinking in to her seat, Lisa prayed for herself conscious thoughts to subside.