“Still, I’m sorry.” How many times had she apologized at the point? There was a point when someone could be too apologetic. Jia Li didn’t want to be obnoxious or anything. She just wasn’t in her right mind at this point, but she was working toward becoming sounder. It almost seemed to be working, too, but she may have been kidding herself.
“Um…” Jia Li could hear her father’s voice, expressing his worry, willing her to open up. Instead of avoiding the topic altogether, she nodded. “Yeah. Exercise is a good way to keep my mind off things.” It was true. With a mind that constantly dwelled on the past - on things she should have done, could have done, would have done - it was better to try to keep herself from her thoughts.
“I think that sounds like a good idea.” Jia Li responded in response to continuing their jog while they spoke. Chatting and jogging would be an even better way to keep her mind from thinking about unpleasant things, right?
She chuckled softly. “Thanks. My mom chose it for me.” It was nice to have someone appreciate her name. “Kaydence is a pretty name, too. Were your parents into music?” Being a dancer, she knew a bit about music. The dryad couldn’t recall the meaning of the word ‘cadence;’ she only remembered that it had something to do with music.
Running and swimming. That explained why the other girl looked fairly toned though the dryad hadn’t appraised Kaydence’s form as much as the siren had appraised hers. Of course, if Kay had been flirting, it would have gone right over Jia Li’s head. Not dating for four years really put a damper on learning more about the rules of flirting. Sure, her roommate would toss a compliment to the dryad every so often, but she was so used to it that it wasn’t really anything she consciously thought of flirting. All in all, Kaydence’s comment about her body didn’t offend in the least.
“I’m a dancer. I’m on the school’s team, and I practice all year long. I also do yoga and exercise regularly. I don’t really swim very often.” Jia Li did swim, but she tried to make a point to go when the fewest beings possible were also using the pool. She didn’t like to air her dirty laundry, and by that, it was meant that she didn’t like to show off the horrific burn scar on her leg. “I probably run more than I swim, actually, but even that’s pretty rare.”
Her dark waves bobbed behind her in the ponytail into which she’d tied it. They had a good pace going, and she wasn’t feeling winded at all though her heart rate had begun to rise. “How long have you been at Alden? I don’t remember seeing you around last year.” Then again, Jia Li had seen a lot of faces when she was a freshman. Maybe she just didn’t remember?