“The nickname that guy gave you was better than the jerk I met gave me. Betty is better than Susy.” She didn’t add that “Betty” almost suited the siren because she didn’t want to offend her. Jia Li didn’t feel that “Susy” fit herself at all. It was kind of weird that they’d both met guys that refused to use their names even after they’d made them known. Then again, they had to be different guys, right? “Interesting” was a word she’d have used to describe the guy she’d met. She didn’t know about his level of cleanliness, though. Sure, he had sort of looked like he’d just rolled out of bed whenever she’d met him, but that didn’t really mean anything.
“You would really sneak into someone’s room just to clean it? Isn’t that illegal? It’s totally an invasion of privacy, too.” The idea of it kind of worried Jia Li. She wouldn’t want anyone sneaking into her dorm room. They certainly wouldn’t need to clean anything because she kept things neat and tidy, but they would have free reign to rummage through her things, to find her diary, or rifle through her underwear… It was disconcerting, and she didn’t think she could do something so bold to someone else when she wouldn’t want it for herself.
“Well, at least you can have fun for your first couple of years. I’ve already decided on my major, but I’m taking some electives that have nothing to do with it.” She didn’t try to tell Kaydence that she was probably better than she thought. This woman seemed pretty confident in herself otherwise, so maybe she really wasn’t very good? Besides, if she was great, she could find out later if they became friends, and she could reassure her then. Until that time, she didn’t want to give the woman false hope. Becoming a writer was a difficult accomplishment unless you were either amazing or had good connections.
“I’ve already decided on mine. I’ve known what I wanted to do since I was fourteen, and nothing’s going to deter me from it.” Sure, some of the classes were hard, but she worked hard, so it definitely paid off.
“How is it better for someone to be a jerk than to have him treat you kindly?” Jia Li really didn’t get it. She always figured that nice guys were the safest route, and she really wanted to be treated well once she was able to get past her fear of getting close to someone at all. “I really wouldn’t know what it’s like to be treated like a goddess. Guys don’t really notice me.” If they did, she wasn’t aware of them.
“The guy who was being a jerk to you fell all over himself? What did you do?” Whatever thoughts Jia Li may have entertained that the jerk they’d met was the same guy disappeared at that. The jackass she’d met had been cocky and secure in himself. There had been no tripping, even when colliding with her hand and her book, and he was very collected.