“You have good sense,” Victoria said, and Lay sighed, kicking his feet into the dirt on the playground.

                “You tell me that every day,” Lay replied, and Victoria laughed musically.

                “Because it’s true. You do.” She pushed herself into the air, swinging back and forth as she watched Lay. “You don’t want to leave, do you?”

                “No,” Lay said. “I like it here. I’m awful at making friends.”

                “You’re not,” she cooed, still swinging as Lay stayed stationary on his swing. “Lay, you have lots of friends.”

                “They were all your friends first and you introduced them to me. I can’t make my own friends.”

                “Lay, listen to me,” Victoria said seriously, and she stopped swinging. “You have a great personality, you’re handsome—yes, you are, don’t shake your head at me—and you’re smart. How could anyone resist becoming friends with you? And you’re staying in the same dorm as these guys, right? You’ll get to know them so fast.”

                “I don’t know, Vic,” Lay mumbled, “it seems like it’s going to be hard. I have to speak Korean.”

                “And you’re great at speaking Korean. This is going to be good for you.”

                “That’s what everyone’s been telling me. But why? Is what I have right now not good enough? I like it just fine. I’m not having any problems.”

                “Of course you’re not,” Victoria said sympathetically, but Lay could hear the doubt in her voice, and he knew.

                “They told you about the depression, didn’t they?” he said quietly, and Victoria nodded, looking somber.

                “It’s dysthymia, Lay. It’s different.”

                “Not much,” he replied. “Now that I have it—”

                “Now that you’ve been diagnosed,” Victoria corrected him. “You’ve had it for years.”

                “So?”

                “So this new school should help you get over it.”

                “You don’t just get over dysthymia, Victoria,” Lay scoffed, but Victoria smiled.

                “I think you will. You’re strong, Lay. You have good sense.”

                “That doesn’t mean anything,” he responded, kicking the dirt again in frustration. Victoria faked a look of having taken offense.

                “You’re perceptive and you can make good decisions. You have good sense, and I’m going to keep saying that until you believe me.”

                “You’ll be saying it for a long time, then,” Lay chuckled, and Victoria grinned at him.

                “There’s the smile I’ve been waiting for!” she exclaimed. “Come on, let’s go have some food before you leave. You can’t get food in Korea like you can here.”

                Lay followed her as she bounced off. He trusted her, he really did. And if she thought he was going to get better, then maybe he would. Maybe.

                He stepped into the room where he was supposed to meet his dorm-mates. They all smiled at him as he entered, except for one slightly mean-looking kid. Nevertheless, the smiles somehow brightened Lay’s outlook as he smiled back at them.

                “We’re just waiting on one more,” a man who Lay assumed was their teacher said. “You can sit anywhere you’d like.”

                They all remained standing, determinedly avoiding the glare of the mean looking kid. Lay looked at him even though the others wouldn’t. He didn’t look mean after all; he looked lonely and cautious. And for the first time, Lay thought that he had no reason to be sad when this kid obviously needed cheering up.

                “Hey,” Lay said quietly, hoping to get the boy’s attention.

                “What?” he snarled, and everyone looked up nervously.

                A tall boy suddenly walked in looking confident, and Lay (and everyone else) watched him as he surveyed the room.

                “Ah,” their teacher began, “should we start now?” Lay figured he should sit, and so did the other boys. They took their chairs, and Lay found himself next to the tall boy, who glanced at him with a small smile.

                Maybe it wouldn’t be as hard as he thought.

                “Remember,” Victoria had said, “the key to making friends is to initiate conversation yourself. Don’t worry about what they think, just say hello, offer your friendship, and let it go from there.”

                Lay took a deep breath as he watched the other boys pair up for rooms. He was left with the tall boy who was called Kris, the mean looking kid called Tao, and another boy named Kai.

                He debated for a moment whether or not he should ask Tao to be his roommate, but he remembered what Victoria had said.

                “Put yourself first for once in your life,” she’d advised. “Don’t get into situations that could enable your dysthymia.”

                If rooming with another moody kid wasn’t enabling his dysthymia, he didn’t know what was. So he opted for Kris instead, hoping that with time, he’d be able to become friends with Tao.

                “Wanna room?” he asked quietly, and Kris smiled at him.

                “Sure,” he replied, and Lay was inexplicably happy. Maybe Victoria had been right.

                Getting along with the other boys was easy, and he had Victoria to thank. He was the most popular video game opponent in the dorm. He had a fan club of Chen and Chanyeol who would cheer him on during every match of Mortal Kombat against Xiumin, and he’d always win.  

                But more importantly, people found him easy to confide in, and people frequently sought him out for advice.

                Xiumin was having trouble in English, and he often asked Lay what he should be doing about it, since Lay was a good student. Chen was an insomniac who wondered what Lay did to fall asleep. Chanyeol often had Lay help him bake cakes.

                Kris had loosened up only around him and Tao. Lay wasn’t even sure he’d realized just how sharp he was with the other guys in the dorm. Lay was Kris’s best friend, who he counted on with all his might.

                Kris didn’t realize it, or maybe he did, but Lay was the one who’d enabled his relationship with Tao. And Tao was finally happy, for the time being.

                Lay was happy too, for the first time in years. He was truly happy. He didn’t mind the small (or sometimes seemingly massive) mishaps or misunderstandings in the house, because he understood what Victoria had said.

                “You’ll start to see the bright side in things. Your pessimism will go away. That’s when you’ll know that I was right.”

                And she was.

                “You’re back!” Victoria cried, hugging Lay tight. “Let me look at you.” She pushed him back, still gripping his arms, and looked him up and down. “You look great,” she beamed. “Do you remember me still?”

                “Of course I remember you. I never stopped thinking about you. I kept hearing your voice in the back of my head,” he laughed.

                “Your laugh sounds better than it used to,” she pointed out. “Lay, tell me. Was I right? Or was I right?”

                “You were right, Vic,” he grinned. “I think I’m over it.”

                “Are you?” she squealed. “Oh, Lay, you have to tell me everything, okay?”

                “Can I thank you first?” he asked. “You were right. It was good for me.”

                “And do you have good sense?” she asked teasingly. “Let me guess, people loved you. You made friends and everyone loved you.”

                “I have good sense,” he replied with a chuckle, walking off. Victoria laughed as she chased after him.

                “I’m happy you’re happy, Lay,” she said, sidling up next to him.

                “So am I,” he replied.