Of course, after graduation meant a celebratory lunch with their families and a s**tload of grad parties to attend.  They suffered through the meal, in which Minzy got her cheeks pinched numerous times, Bom accidently spilled water all over her new dress, Dara had to sit in between her screeching siblings, and Chaerin had to wear alfredo sauce from the plate that the waiter accidently dropped on her.  The four girls had gone home to freshen up and change, then met up again in Bom's backyard.

Bom's grad party was that night, and after Bom's older sister and mom had completely taken over the planning, they had kicked the girls out and told them to not show their faces until half an hour before it was supposed to start.  

Chaerin, although she was excited for her European trip, was extremely lazy and very good at procrastinating.  Her flight was in two days and she still had not begun packing. Dara, Bom, and Minzy felt obligated to take her to the mall to buy a suitable suitcase for the self procclaimed "Baddest Female."

"I like animal print," the Baddest Female declared.

Dara slapped her shoulder.  Minzy grinned and stated, "There's only black, pink, red, and stripes."

Bom sighed, staring wistfully at the Auntie Anne's next door.  She her lips and breathed in deeply... Ahh, fresh baked pretzels in cinnamon sugar...  

Dara slapped her shoulder as well.  Minzy grinned and stated, "We just ate."

The youngest two sighed.  Chaerin grimaced and declared, "I'm going to Saks Fifth Avenue.  They should have animal print."

Bom grimaced and declared, "I'm buying a pretzel. I'm hungry."

The oldest two sighed, resigned to their fate of being failures as parents.  Dara trudged after a sashaying Chaerin, while Minzy waited in line with an overenthusiastic Bom.  

Minzy smirked at her best friend, and teased, "You'll get fat. You'll lose your visual appeal when you audition."

Bom shot back, "You're just jealous that I might have a chance to meet Usher before you."

Minzy scoffed, "What does Usher have to do with pretzels?"

Bom flipped her hair and nonchalantly stated, "Oh, everything."  She smiled at the boy behind the cash register.  "One of everything, please."

Minzy stared at her friend in disbelief.

Meanwhile, at Saks Fifth Avenue, a fashionista was dragging her young mother figure around.  "Oh my God, look at this Versace jacket."  "Oh my God, this Coach bag is so fine!"  "Oh my God, Gucci sunglasses."  "Oh my God, Jeremy Scott Adidas."  

Dara had enough.  "Yah, we're here to buy a suitcase." She grabbed Chaerin's wrist and dragged her to the suitcase display.  Chaerin had entered animal print heaven.  Zebra, cheetah, snow leopard, tiger, snake...  What was the girl to do? 

"Cheetah, they're y fast," she announced, as she attempted to lift the large suitcase off the shelf.  Dara rushed to help her. The two girls dragged the monster to the cash register, and somehow managed to lift it onto the counter.  After paying for the baby, they dragged it to the bench outside the store, where Bom and Minzy where waiting.  

Strolling around the mall with an oversized cheetah print suitcase was too much for Dara to bear.  She loved her sisters to death, but there was a certain amount of staring from strangers she could take.  She ducked into a Claire's, and began to look at the displays. A set of necklaces caught her eye.  The design was simple, a silver heart on a silver chain, yet it captivated her.  There were four in the set.  Without thinking, she embraced Bom's spontaneous nature and grabbed it off the rack and paid for it, deciding to pass them out to her friends later that night.

***

Bom's party was a hit.  Her sister and mother thought of everything - loud, festive music; awesome, delicious food; small party favors; crazy, fun games... They even pulled out a slip 'n' slide, which the dumb boys in their class were all over.  

The four girls each grabbed a cup of some concoction that Bom's sister had made, and sat on the railing of Bom's porch.  Their feet interlocked, arms touching, hair mixing - they were like one being.  

Chaerin broke their comfortable silence and said, "Thanks for shopping with me today."

Dara smiled, "No problem, hon."  She looked over at Minzy, "When are you leaving for Korea?"

Minzy sighed, "My flight is in three days."

Chaerin pouted, "I won't be able to see you off."  She glaced at Bom, "What about you?"

Bom squinted as she counted the number of days, "Four.  I leave after Minzy."

Dara smiled, "I get to see you off by myself."  She pulled out the necklaces.  "Here, I bought these earlier today. They're friendship necklaces. We each wear them and magic happens."

Minzy smiled, "It'll be like we're together."

Bom laughed, "That's so cheesy."

Chaerin grabbed one, "It's pretty. I like it.  Thanks!"  She hugged Dara.  

The girls all put their necklaces on.  

Dara lifted her cup.  "To us, together forever, even when apart."

"To us!"

The girls lifted their cups and took a sip, not realizing that the magic in the air that night would change their lives forever.  

A/N: Yeah... It's cheesy... but the adventures about to start and the boys come in, lol :)  Thanks for liking and subscribing!! XOXO