Rivalry's Beginning

Shiketsu had one big perk that Kaylee hadn’t been expecting: free meals! Meals at the orphanage were…quintessentially British, to be polite. Lots of stews with cheap cuts of fatty mutton, bread and butter, that sort of thing. She always felt hungry even after finishing her food, but of course there were no extras allowed. More than once she had snuck out to get food elsewhere, using the mobility afforded to her, and she only sometimes got caught. But here? All the food she could take, all complementary of the school, and it was actually good! She had perhaps gone overboard with her portions, but who could blame her, this was the best food she had ever eaten! She had wanted to try everything; from the ramen to the sushi to the curry.
She had halfway through her latest plate, this one with a rack of ribs, when she heard some high-pitched giggling behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a group of five girls. All were clearly Asian, with the one in the middle looking like she was filthy rich. Kaylee was hardly the most feminine, but even she could recognize some of the brands she was wearing, as well as a jacket that looked like it was custom made by Best Jeanist himself! She had apparently said something hilarious, as her buddies were giggling while she was smirking.
Kaylee’s eyes narrowed. She had been around these sorts of people before; the offspring of rich snobs who thought that their parent’s money bought them a personality, and the sycophants who thought that hanging around rich people made themselves superior. They were all over England, both the spawns of the upper class, as well as foreigners who wanted to buy that heritage. Well Kaylee hadn’t traveled to almost the other side of the planet just to be looked at like she was less than dirt by the same type of people she had been trying to get away from! Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she got up and walked over to them.
Hailey Chang raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow as the round-eye giantess dared to approach her table. Her clique, who had been so entertained by her little witticism about keeping away from the black hole, but the glutton APPARENTLY couldn’t take a little jape!
“Watch out, an earthquake!” Faith murmured to the others, leading to a second round of giggles, as Kaylee stood over (way over) their table.
“You have a problem with me?” she said. Her Japanese was…not the best, but she was able to get her point across.
“Oh, we were just having a discussion on the ethics of cannibalism, what with you eating your pork sibling!”
As Hailey delivered the punchline, the other girls burst into mocking cackling
“Are you calling me a pig?”
“Well you certainly have your nose in the trough!”
Inside, Kaylee was panicking. She wasn’t good at social combat, it always seemed to escalate into actual combat. She could only think of one response, and the moment she did it, she regretted it.
“Y-Yeah, well, ever seen a pig with these?”
Kaylee lifted her shirt to reveal the strongest abs that Hailey had ever seen on a female.
“Oh my God, you could grind meat on those” thought Hailey, before snapping back into the moment. She didn’t know much about whatever country this overgrown livestock came from, but she assumed this was some sort of assertion of dominance. If so, she had to respond! Meanwhile Kaylee’s heart was hammering in her chest, she felt like a complete idiot!
“Just because you have a flat stomach, doesn’t make you any less of a cow!” It was the best Hailey could come up with, but as she said it, her eyes wandered upwards, to the reason why she switched from calling her a pig to a cow. The gaze did not go unnoticed, and a smug grin began to spread across Kaylee’s face as she re-positioned her shirt.
“OOOOH, so THAT’S the reason for this! Well, that clears things up! Have a nice day!” She turned to pick up her food, and quickly get anywhere else before the embarrassment of the whole situation overwhelmed her. Hailey let loose a string of insults, slurs, and swears in her native Korean. Her clique paled as they heard just what she was saying, but since Kaylee couldn’t understand a single word of any of it, she turned and used a word that Noah had taught her.

“Pet-tan~”

It had the desired effect; all five members of the clique froze, their faces paled and their jaws dropped. Kaylee took the opportunity to get her plate and leave, walking as quickly as she could without bursting into a run. The five Korean girls sat motionless and silent for a full minute. Eventually, Hailey spoke.
“Jimin, Jihye, Ngọc Hân, Minseo?”
“Yeah Hailey?” Faith replied.
“Remember this moment, because we WILL make her regret that. I swear it!”