The first physics exam grade was out a week later. Everyone was getting their results back and discussing the answers. Beth looked dejected as she walked along with Julianna.

"What's wrong, Beth?"

"Well, I didn't do quite well on this exam, and I am anxious now..."

"I am sorry to hear that, but it's impossible to un-do the test now." Julianna was not the best person to turn to when someone had an emotional crisis. However, she offered some practical help to Beth. "Umm, I am quite good at the material. Maybe we can review together sometimes to get you more familiar with it?"

"It's so nice for you to offer that, but I am honestly unsure about how I will do on the future test based on my current performance." Beth walked into a crowd in front of them. "Wait...what's happening in here?"

"Beth, you are famous now." A student walked toward her.

"Huh?" Beth leaned forward to a billboard before her. It wrote: Runway Competition Result Compilation. The first five places get the opportunity to be shown on stage.

First place: Bethany Clementine and Julianna Miller.

Beth started to feel a little less nervous after her flunked test.

"Hey Jules, we made the first place in the runway competition!"

"Cool. Tell me what we need to do next!"

"It says that the runway show will take place at 7:00 PM at the giant stadium of Laurel. All winners/groups should have one person wear the clothing of entry and the other member wear a matching costume. The judge will pick the best five from all the candidates and give them the final award."

"So, do you want to wear the dress that we made, and I find a matching suit for it?"

"I think so!"

"By the way, it's already near the end-of-class time. I need to text my parents to pick me up."

Thirty minutes later after Julianna texted the Millers, they arrived at Laurel Prep. As soon as Beth and Julianna walked out of the campus together, they waved to Julianna on a street beside the school entrance.

Beth turned her head to face them. She was blown away. They looked like two graceful scholars, just like Julianna herself.

They have a great fashion sense, just like the magazine models.

The Millers were Eleanor and Darius. Beth tried to make eye contact with them, yet her view silently diverged from their eyes and traced their silhouette instead. Being a fashion designer wannabe, she naturally picked up what they were wearing. Jules' parents are so fashionable. Just look at this woman. Her blue and white maxi dress with decorated check looks bohemian. Those earrings reflect shades of gold under the setting sun. Moving on to her husband...his purple suit looks classy and modern at the same time. Wow. Those pairs of quality leather shoes...where did he even get them?

"Sweetheart, we heard about your runway competition result. It's so amazing!" Eleanor reached out to Julianna. Then, she stared at Beth, trying to remember her name at the tip of her tongue.

"Oh, are you..."

"Bethany, but you can call me Beth. I am Julianna's friend, and we worked on the runway competition together."

"Oh yes, Beth! I remembered. Jules had been talking about you these days with us. You are a good friend to her." Darius grinned. "By the way, do you guys need something for the runway show? Eleanor and I are both free for tonight so that we can take you guys to Laurel Space."

Laurel Space was the largest mall in downtown Laurel City, inspired by the symbiotic relationship between humans and the natural environment. From the outside, the buildings of the mall looked like several large silver water drops, with transparent parts on the surfaces constructed by glass panels. However, inside each water drop, various layered floors host different shops and entertainment facilities. In one of the water drops, people could stop by at an immersive dome that acted as a digital display area, showcasing movies and interactive games.

What's more impressive was that there were plants and trees in every water drop. It was even so on the first floor of one water drop, where people worked in glass 'bubbles' in a constructed park, filled with trees and flowers. There was an indoor theme park with rides and a free-play area in another water drop.

With those said, it was not hard to imagine why Beth was stoked on hearing about going to Laurel Space. Her eyes were instantly lit up by the thought of exploring an advanced mall with all sorts of fancy stuff.

"I need a suit to go with Beth's dress for the runway show," Julianna answered.

"That sounds wonderful! Are we going to Laurel Space now?" Beth asked.

"We will all go there later. Before that, want to grab a meal together? It's a good day today, and we know somewhere that's cool."

Julianna laughed along with everyone, but she started to look a little bit uneasy. Usually, Beth would ask her what was happening if she saw her looking this way. However, she was so engrossed in her joyousness that she unintentionally forgot Julianna by the side. She didn't even hesitate to accept the invitation from Darius. With everyone seemingly looking good, the group headed into the Miller family car.

"You know, we are finally so happy that Jules finally had a friend. When she was in middle school, she looked kinda lonely, sitting at the lunch table all by herself..." Eleanor whispered from the side to Beth.

"Beth, you need to take care of Jules. She always concentrated on her studies and never had that many of her friends when she was growing up." Darius murmured.

"To be honest, we were kinda afraid that she was bullied in school during her middle school years. She had not been talking to us about this problem with us for a long time, so we don't know what exactly happened. We panicked quite a bit when sending her to Laurel Prep."

✨

All of a sudden, Julianna stopped at Eleanor's mentioning "being bullied in school." Something seemed to have triggered her. It was her memories from primary school.

She remembered herself as an outsider, sitting alone at a table while the other students gathered around and chatted within themselves in the group. Kids whispered about her awkwardness and her particular family background whenever they saw her in class.

"See that girl? No one wants to talk to her."

"I think her family has issues. Her family looks like a stitched-together one: they don't look like her at all."

"She also doesn't behave like one of us as well. Just look at her mannerisms--awkward and uneducated."

Young Julianna walked toward the students, but they ignored her and carried on their own conversations. One of the students slipped into her pocket and dropped her a paper slip instead. As soon as she opened up the paper slip, everyone started making funny noises.

Written in big, crooked letters were the words "Miller, are you an abandoned, unwanted child?".

Julianna teared up the paper slip immediately. Her anger controlled her. She threw herself onto the student, grabbed her by the wrist, and pushed her to the wall. The student fell to the ground with tears and a frightened look on her face. Seeing the student cry, the other students rushed towards her, patting her on the shoulders, and soothed her. However, Julianna knew instinctively that she was just crying like that to attract sympathy from her peers. It was simply some strategy to push the responsibility onto another person.

The teacher was quick to notice something wrong, asking what happened that resulted in this chaos. The student claimed that Julianna got angry in front of her and tried to bully her, her voice indistinguishable from her weeping sounds. Looking at her classmate collapse in front of her, young Julianna stood speechless. She took out the torn paper slip to the teacher, but the teacher dismissed her, suspending both the student and Julianna in the office after class.

The student was greeted by friends after being released from the office. Meanwhile, young Julianna walked alone in the hallway, with no one willingly by her side. The outside was dark, and all she heard was the intermittent rain sounds from the window.

"It was just a joke, why did she take it so seriously?" Once again, someone was talking about her while she walked away.

✨

"You know what, actually I don't think you guys need to worry about her." Beth was speaking to the Millers. "Jules...she is a great friend. I am not very good at academics but she offered to help me with my tests. She also made time for me to work on the project. I am lucky! Maybe other people had not gotten to know her yet!"

"We are happy that she has such a good friend as you as well! Oh, I almost forgot! Shall we head to Laurel Space after everyone has finished?"

"I have been expecting to go there the whole night!"

"I am okay with it. Please just drop us at the quad--I will be selecting my attire." Julianna popped her headphones on.

"Beth, please don't mind that." Darius smiled. "Sometimes, sweetheart just feels a little bit awkward expressing emotions and opening up to people! You need to give her time."

"Oh, yea, I will!"

For the rest of the night, Beth and Julianna were busy making the selection of Julianna's suit for their runway show. It was Beth's first time visiting a large mall, so Julianna had to guide her from not being lost between all sorts of choices presented in front of her. At last, they picked a pastel yellow shirt with lace and a rose suit set with dots. They also had a pair of short cream boots and a hat that matches the color of the suit.

While Julianna tried all those things on, Beth took a selfie with her.

"Jules, I can't believe how it turned out! You really look like my partner in crime."

"Thank you, Beth. We will make a great team at the runway show."

"By the way, I want to tell you something, Jules."

"Emm?"

"No matter what happened in your past, you will always have a friend in me. I am sorry for you if you were bullied in the past. You don't deserve to be treated like that!"

She continued speaking. "Running several clubs while maintaining your academics...You have always been so tough compared to me. I am weak. I had already been bogged down by academics at Laurel Prep. If I have been bullied, I might just have broken down and afraid to face people again. I am glad that I learned more about you through Eleanor today. Please let me know anytime you feel unwell and confused. I want you to know that I am here for you."

"Thank you," Jules said. She looked at Beth, blinked her eyes, and smiled faintly.