"Are you sure you're a guy?"

"I heard you were a transgender..." 

"No way, I heard he was gay!"

"'She' isn't a guy and I'm 100% sure."

"AHH. SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" 

My body flew awake and I started to yell and thrash. I heard the door open and something threw itself onto me.

"My son, it's okay. Please, calm down." 

Anger soon turned into despair and I cried into my blankets. I felt the comforting touch my back and a coo saying that everything was alright, but it wasn't. I slowly got changed and walked downstairs. Breakfast was silent.

"Son," my mother started, "Are you sure you don't want to change schools?" 

"It's really fine mom," I replied, "It would be the same even if I did change schools." 

It was a lie. It would be so different if I changed schools. I would have friends to talk to. People I could actually confide in. A place where I could call my second home; however, I knew my family's condition was horrible. My father died when I was a young boy, leaving my mother to care for the household. My sister ran away with her boyfriend and would come back from time to time just to ask for money... I didn't want to bother my mom.

"Mom, I am going to be late. Don't worry about me and focus on your work," I said as I took her hand into mine and gently it. 

I managed to smile and walked to the door. As I left the house, I could imagine the worried face my mom was making as I left. The road to the school was quiet, thankfully. 

"Meow~" 

"Hm?"

"Meow~" 

The school could wait. I searched around for a cat and I spotted a black cat from the corner of my eye.

"What a cute boy, or girl. Who would abandon such a beauty... I only have water for now, but I'll come back later." 

I reached into my bag to pull out a water bottle and slowly fed it to the cat. 

"I can't take you to school, but can you stay here for me?" 

The cat meowed back in response and I smiled back. I waved goodbye to it and ran to school. 

-----

"Mr. Kim, you are late." 

"Shouldn't it be Ms. Kim?" a boy whispered.

I ignored the comment and replied, "Sorry Mrs. Yang, but I bumped into something unprecedented." 

"This is your first tardy, please go and take your seat. 

"Yes, Mrs. Yang." 

I walked to my table and realized there was some kind of substance on it. I heard laughter from the people next to me. 

"A nice nail polished table for our pretty Jinhwan," one snickered. 

It was impossible to do work on the table in the current condition... Nonetheless, I sat down, but a sharp pain ran through my body the moment I made contact with the chair. A thumbtack. 

"Oops, sorry, I guess you weren't as sharp after all," another whispered.

"Hey. What is the commotion in the back?!" Mrs. Yang yelled. 

"Jinhwan was playing around with a thumbtack and he poked himself," one of the boys blurted. 

"Mr. Kim, haven't I told you not to play around during class? I have repeated myself multiple times." 

"But Mrs. Yang, it wasn't me it w-." 

"Jinhwan is trying to blame other people for his own doing Mrs. Yang!" 

"Yeah, Jinhwan is lying!" 

"Mr. Kim, I always thought you were a modle student... Go out to the hallway and stand there for the remainder of the class..." 

"B-." I stopped myself, "Yes, Mrs. Yang." 

As I walked out to the hallway, I could hear the snickering and laughters....