It was cold, wet, and miserable as gray skies blocked the sun, rain pouring down heavily onto the pavement. Wonpil shivered as a gust of wind blew his bangs off of to the side, exposing his ears to the cold. He tightened the grip on his umbrella, trying to keep his brand new uniform dry as he walked solemly toward the courtyard, continuing to shiver in the short sleved plaid shirt and tie he was forced to wear. He felt like a clone, seeing what seemed to be a million other boys in the same dull uniform. The rain remained thick as he finally found shelter beneath an auning, lowering his umbrella and taking a moment to rub some of the fog off of his glasses. Why did it have to be so cold? It was supposed to be summer, but apparently mother nature seemed to change her mind. Wonpil wouldnt have minded a little rain, but this was just too much. All he could hear was rain, thunder, and wind. He sighed faintly and shook off the remaining wetness from his umbrella before clipping it to his backpack. He looked up at the sign in front of him, swallowing thickly as the words truly sunk in. 

 " Welcome to Seoul Academy! Please check in at the tables inside, and have a wonderful first day of school!"  

   Slowly his feet brought him through the double doors and into a crowded lobby filled with another hundred or so lost first year students. He began to panic as people crowded around him, trying to fight his way through the crowd to get to a more vacant space. He headed for a hallway, sighing in releif as the crowd seemed further away. He didn't check in yet, he couldn't, not with all those people. He waited for the lines to shrink before he dared get near a table, shyly approaching a woman who handed him some paperwork and told him not to be so nervous. Her words didn't help much, but he managed a small smile as he walked off towards his classroom. The hallway was long and narrow, filled with all sorts of people, some much larger than him. Wonpil was thin, fairly average size, and a bit nerdy looking. He would be an easy target for someone stronger than him. He swallowed thickly again, lookinf down at his feet so he wouldnt make eyecontact with anyone. He was petrified. His heart raced, mind going crazy as he walked faster, trying to find his classs. Finally, the door was so close. At long last he saw the sign, Room 322, and opened the door. 

  There were already several students inside when he waled in, all eyes turning towards him. He kept his head down, quickly finding a seat near the back of the class, facing the window. The other students resumed their chatting, and Wonpil stared out the window. Below he saw a sea of umbrellas and pavement, watching the rain flood down from the sky. Thankfully it was much warmer inside, but the gray sky still seemed so out of place this time of year. It made him woder what it could possibly be. Perhaps it was the collective tears of the students who dreaded returning to school, or maybe just some flue storm. He shrugged it off and took out a notebook and a pen, beginning to absentmindedly scribble some stick figures while he waited for class to start. His nerves calmed down a bit more as more lsot sheep found their way to class, sitting down shyly just as he had done. No one was near him still, everyone else seemed to have found a friend. He was alone, but he liked it that way sometimes. Finally, class began, and his attention turned toward the professor, everyone greeting her before role was taken. Class moved slowly, just some simple recapping from their las year od school, and Wonpil found it hard to pay attention. He wondered if anyone ese felt this trange sense of melancholy, gazing out the window still. 

   All morning something felt off, perhaps it was just his anxiety boiling up, but the rain finally slowed once it was time for lunch. Wonpil rose from his desk, grabbed his backpack, and headed to the cafeteria. He spent at least ten minutes looking for a place to sit after purchasing his food, and ultimately decided to occupy a small table near the janitors closet. No one was around. He put his headphones in, listening to some ballads as his eyes darted from person to person, identifing the older students and their cliques almost instantly. A group of popular girls and their boyfriends on his left, some sports teams behind him, a table full of people studying for tests not too far off, and a gathering of giddy first years huddled together bu the main entrance. It seemed so fake, all of it. Was high school really like the movies? There had to be something better than this. He picked at his food and made his way back to class before lunch was over, reuming his position gazing out the window. The rain had subsided, but the gray sky remained. His en made way into his hand, scribbling doen some words by the stick figures he had made earlier. 

  " My first day of school, and I havent spoken a word. My anxiety won't seem to go away, and the stupid sky seems to be taunting me. Those gray clouds won't go away. Maybe its just my luck to have such a weird first day." 

  Wonpil was shy, scared, and anxious, so his mind seemed to drag onto the negative side, but he couldn't help it. He developed anxiety early in his life, and he had many reasons why. It kept him away from people, and it kept his head down. His worst fear was confrontation, so he kept his mouth shut. The remainder of the day was just as slow and dull, the wind howling outside. He struggled to pay attention at all, more concerned with how others would react to him when he had to speak, or worse, look someone in the eye. He stayed silent, almost frozen in his chair untill class was dismissed that afternoon. He was sure to be the last one out, keeping his head down as he headed home. The cool air welcomed him once again, the gloomy sky almost mocking him as he slumped himself onto the bus. 

  "What a great first day.... really. No one spoke to me, thank god.. but what happens when I need to talk? What happens when peope come up to me? God, why can't I be normal?" He added another note to his journal from earlier, adding some rain clouds and the date for full effect. He changed the song on his phone and sighed, leaning his head against the window, watching the rain drops streak across the glass. "Tomorrow is a new day, Wonpil.. You can't be so scared. You cant..." He began to write again. " How can I be so scared of people, but want to make friends so bad? " An inner turmoil, he knew it wouldn't go away on its own, but actually trying to fight it was no easy task. He closed his journal and got off at his stop, rain falling down again as he made his way home. He stopped and looked up to the sky, speaking aloud. 

  "Please, let me have the strength to try..." He pleaded, he didn;t know to who, to what, or if he'd get a reply, but it was worth a try. Dropplets landed on his skin as he spoke, leaving his umbrella closed by his side. 

  With that he headed inside, slumping down onto his bed with a smile. There were so many things he wanted to do, so many people he wanted to meet, so many clubs he wanted to join. It seemed so fun, so freeing. He wanted to be able to express himself, but he was so scared of being rejected. He really was a happy person, but there was jsut so much going on inside. He didn;t know how to controll his fears, or his anxieties. Everytime he spoke to a person he froze, only expecting insults. All he wanted was a friend. A friend to be close to, to talk to, to cry on. He needed someoen like that, someone he had never had before. He hugged a pillow to his chest, hiding his face in it for a few moments. 

  "Tomorrow is a new day..." He repeated to himself a few times, slowly taking off his glasses. 

  He got ready for bed after eating a small dinner, sliding into the sheets with a smll smile. "Today was a little gray, but thtas okay...right? Not evryone has good days. Mine was just a bit..off. Maybe I just need to try harder.. nit be so scared. I need to look up more, maybe talk a little... actually try." He murmured to himself as he gazed out the window ywt again, drifting off to sleep soon after. Rain continued to trickle down against the glass, washing away the day as it passed.