The blaring sounds of my alarm clock woke me up from my, more than real, dream. “I don’t want to go to school.” I groaned, slamming my hand on the switch, making the alarm shut off.

“You have to. You’re taking a test today, aren’t you?” Amber stated when she passed my room on her way to our narrow stairway.

“Right.” I mumbled, slightly annoyed at her awareness. I unwillingly sat up in my bed, removing the covers from the bottom half of my body. School is a place where I’m invisible. I’m not necessarily popular, but I’m not the target of everyone’s tormenting. I have friends and acquaintances, although there’s an insufficient amount of some people that seem bothered by my existence.

My friends are people that help me get through everything. They’re mostly the reason why I gain the strength to prepare for school and put in so much effort in my school work.

My friends are people that I never thought I would be close to. I met Lee Taemin, a shy boy that kept his passion for dancing hidden from everyone, at a camp. Weeks after that, I bumped into Song Seunghyun at an amusement park while we were both waiting in line for an intense roller coaster. Months later, I saw Krystal hanging out with my sister one day. My sister went grocery shopping, leaving Krystal and I to talk for a couple hours. To my surprise, and Amber’s as well, we got closer.

I snapped out of my thoughts when Amber burst through my already open bedroom door. “You’re not up yet? It’s 7. I’m dropping you off in half an hour.” And with that, she left my room.

Like yesterday, I sloppily threw on random clothes I found lying in my room and brushed my hair hastily, just in time to rush downstairs and eat breakfast.

“Thanks umma.” I smiled up from my seat at my mom when she served me the usual. She gave me a warm smile back as she ran back upstairs to fetch my backpack and textbooks. Soon after I saw her disappear, she emerged from behind the walls once again.

By the time she was back, I was already nearly done with my food. “Thanks umma. I’m going to go now. I’ll see you after school. I love you!” I pulled my mom in a quick embrace, not sparing her any time to react. “Bye!” I called out to her once again as I closed the restaurant door behind me.

When I got to school, I sighed in disappointment. I studied the students that attended the same academy and shook my head. It consisted of girls who cared only about their looks and it was as if drama and gossip were the only things these girls knew. The guys seemed to have a mix. There were players who were the most common type you would see around the school. There were fighters who had the least friends, but also had around 5 “friends” that stood behind him to intimidate his prey. There were also the normal kids. They seemed to be athletic, smart, but occasionally had their rebellious moments. I seemed to fit into that ‘normal’ category.

I hustled through the half empty hallway, wondering why there were very few students. “It’s only 7:20?” I questioned aloud to myself. Punching in the code for my locker, I realized most of the kids were probably roaming the school; they were probably hanging with their friends at places like the yard or the rooftop.

I finally got the locker to open after many attempts. I placed my two textbooks into my locker, sliding it between the rest of my books. Noticing the time, I quickly snatched my notebook for my first period and journal, automatically pressing them against my chest.

Gaining stares from judgmental students here and there, I walked promptly upstairs to my classroom. “Hey Key!” I heard Taemin exclaim when I finally reached my destination.

“Hey.” I replied, nodding my head in his direction. “Where’s Seunghyun?” My eyes wandered around the room, thinking of the possible places where he could be.

“He went to his locker; should be back soon.” Taemin shrugged, sliding his backpack off his shoulders and onto the dusty floor. Before I could ask any more questions, the first bell rang. Taemin and I could both hear the loud chatter and footsteps of our peers outside the room. In a matter of seconds, the classroom was flooded with giggling girls and boisterous boys.

“Sup.” We looked up to find Seunghyun finally walking through that door, waving his hands excitedly. Quickly rushing toward us before the second bell rang, he revealed the tiny shape of our teacher entering the classroom shortly after him.

When he finally reached the both of us, I shushed him and nudged him toward his seat, nodding my head in the teacher’s direction. He acknowledged what I was secretly informing him and advanced toward his assigned seat.

Halfway through the period, I looked around the classroom, noticing the students’ blank stares and their pencils untouched. The incompetent students were held in the back. The teachers figured they wouldn’t pay even the slightest amount of attention in class anyway, so they wondered why even bother?

Getting sick of the paper airplanes flying passed my face, nearly touching me when the teacher wasn’t looking, I raised my hand abruptly. “Mrs. Choi!” I called out, slapping yet another plane that was getting tossed in my direction.

“Yes, Kibum?” She asked, oblivious to the chatter of the simple-minded students that didn’t bother to pay attention.

“Can I go to the restroom?” I lied through my teeth, wanting to get out of the presence of absentminded teachers and moronic people I’m ashamed to call my peers.

Her glasses slid down to the bridge of her nose as she stared down at me skeptically. “Hmm, alright…” She huffed, turning around once again as I jumped out of my seat. “Come back soon.” I heard her call out to me when I clutched the bathroom pass that was lying on her desk.

“Finally.” I whispered quietly enough so no one could hear me. Slipping the pass into the front pocket of my uniform, I climbed the steps of the stairs, listening to my footsteps echo through the empty halls. “I don’t want to go to the bathroom.” I groaned to myself. I’ll just walk by Jonghyun’s classroom. I’ll just see if he’s there, the sudden thought popped into my head, and I excitedly agreed to it.

Jonghyun’s POV:

I fumbled with my fingers as I attempted to successfully tie the knot around the chair of the kid that sits in front of me. “Ugh.” I groaned, hesitantly looking up from time to time to see if I was being watched.

Carefully, I leaned forward and slipped the string around his belt loops, trying my best to stay unnoticed. When I got that string attached, I shifted in my seat to get a good view of the other seat to add more strings.

This went on until I successfully hitched the string onto 3 more tables. “Onew?” I heard the teacher call the kid that sat in front of me to present his project. I immediately leaned back in my chair, trying my best to look collected.

As soon as Onew stood up from his seat with his folder and walked forward, the tables that were attached to his belt loop started to follow him. Under all the laughter that erupted in the classroom, we could hear the screeching of the tables rub against the floor. “Who did this?!” The teacher yelled, examining the room for guilty and remorseful faces. “You.” She glares, wiggling her finger at me.

“Me?” She nods furiously with a fake smile on her face. Instead of getting a lecture that I assumed would happen, she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me outside.

“Arms to your side.” I did as I was told, rolling my eyes at her. “Higher!” She yelled, causing some teachers to come out of their classrooms and check what the commotion was about. My teacher shot them menacing glares, intimidating them.

“One leg up.” She stated, glancing back at the classroom to make sure the students weren’t frolicking around. It was until she walked back inside when I realized the formation she put me in was in the shape of a flamingo.

“Damn that teacher.” I cursed her under my breath, hoping for that moment I was invisible to everyone. The door closed, leaving me alone and embarrassed in the empty hallway.

I looked down, hopping on my foot when I was about to topple over. Suddenly, I remembered the ipod I placed inside my pocket that morning. I cautiously looked over at the window and viewed the classroom, making sure the teacher was nowhere near and I was practically gone from their sight.

Just as I was pulling out my ipod, I noticed someone coming from the end of the hallway. A guy with dark brown hair entered the still corridor. Acknowledging his presence, I plugged in my earphones.

He looked at me with a baffled expression. “Uhm…” He started, stumbling with his words that were unable to come out.

“Shh.” I winked at him as I put my index finger on my lips. I placed the ipod in between my lips, placing my arms back out to my side. The boy looked at me with a smile on his face. My eyes soon closed as I overwhelmed myself with my music. Forgetting the boy’s presence, I began to dance, still in the flamingo position. I opened my left eye slightly when I noticed the boy leaving; stealing glances back at me here and there.

Key’s POV:

I peeked behind me several times as I walked away from him. I couldn’t suppress my stifled laughter as I stared at his dancing figure. My cheeks flushed red and my heart was beating faster. I probably looked like an idiot with that goofy smile on my face.
Feeling satisfied with what I just encountered, I sauntered back into the classroom with the smile still plastered on my face. “Here you go.” I sang, placing the bathroom pass back on the desk.

Right when I was about to sit down, the bell rang, dismissing the class. “Was I out for that long?” I asked Taemin as I grabbed my backpack off the floor.

Taemin simply shrugged as he followed both Seunghyun and I outside. “So, I’ll see you guys later.” Taemin announced. We turned around to find him already halfway down the other end of the hallway.

Without Seunghyun noticing, I slowly slipped away from his residence. I walked along the side of the building, glancing outside the window. With much luck, I spotted Jonghyun across from me with his friend walking toward his next class. I smiled at him, hoping he would somehow notice me.

I followed him secretly, trying my best not to be obvious. The way I'm describing it makes it seem like I'm a stalker, which is highly unlikely. Jonghyun's presence can make everyone beam with joy and I'm not exaggerating at that. Even looking at him from a far distance can put a foolish grin on my face, making me parade around like a total idiot. Soon enough, when Jonghyun was out of sight and into his classroom, I sighed happily and nearly skipped toward my next class unable to pay attention.

The rest of the day dreaded on and on, like it was never going to end.

Thankfully, school ended, but I had to stay after school for band practice. "Key, can you pass these drinks out to the class?" My teacher asked, holding out a tray filled with soda.

"Yes m'am." I nodded and took the tray from her hands. We were staying on the bleachers that day, watching the soccer players practice for their big game. My lips twitched into a small smile when I realized Jonghyun was playing on the field too. But he's not on the team... why is he there? I questioned silently to myself.

I walked around the bleachers, not acknowledging my classmates at all. They grabbed their drinks as I passed by, all of us watching the guys kick around the soccer ball. "Jonghyun!" We suddenly all heard a girl voice coming from the entrance.
  
Everyone turned their head, immediately disappointed at who they saw. There was a girl standing there in an unfamiliar uniform. I guess she doesn't go to our school. The girl was unmistakenly beautiful. It was something even I can't deny although it made me fill with jealousy. 

Behind me, you can hear girls groaning and sighing with disatisfaction. They pointed to the girl, murmuring amongst themselves. "I'll be back!" Jonghyun called out, running to the mystery woman. 

"That's the girl Jonghyun's dating, I think!" "Who does that girl think she is? Flirting with Jonghyun, ugh..." "Do you think they like each other?" These were 3 questions that were being asked several times behind me. 

"No way!" I unconsciously thought aloud. My eyes widened when I let my sudden outburst process in my memory. I turned around back to my classmates. "Sorry." I bowed politely, automatically embarrassed. I pivoted back around to see Jonghyun wrap his left arm around the girl's shoulders. I gasped silently as I regretfully watched them walking away happily together. Why would I regret watching them walk away together? Because there's just a sting when I fantasize about Jonghyun being with someone else other than me. I'm being so dramatic. 

The class, mostly consisted of squeamish and devotee fangirls, started to 'aw' in defeat. They all groaned sadly as their eyes stayed glued onto the happy 'couple' walking away.

That night, I laid in my bed, thinking about the incident that happened earlier that day. From my bed, I looked across from me, staring deep at my self conscious frame. "Hmph." I huffed sadly as I failed my attempts to look 'decent'. "This is never going to work." I thought aloud to myself.

"Uncle!" I heard my sister call out from downstairs. "Hi uncle!" I quickly jumped out of bed when I realized my uncle came back from America. Is my dad with him? I thought excitedly. 

When I got downstairs, my hopes were crushed and it was just him standing there at the door. "Hi uncle!" I smiled, putting a big smile on my face. 

"You guys have gotten so big!" He suddenly exclaimed, examining both Amber and I from head to toe. 

My mom strolled out of the kitchen, wearing flour that stained her clothes and cheeks. "We missed you!" She yelled, running toward my chubby uncle. 

Amber pulled him toward the restaurant as I pulled a seat out for him to sit on. "Thank you." He smiled, bowing slightly before he rested his bottom on the cushion. 

"Where's dad?" I asked, hesitantly. My heart ached for him. I haven't seen him in years. Nowadays it's hard to remember what he even looked like. My uncle shot me a warm smile, his eyes filled with sorrow. 

"He's still in America." Amber and I looked at each other, knowing how the other was feeling. "But I have a picture for you guys." He continued, grinning at the both of us as he held out a picture that contained our father. 

"Dad..." I breathed, noticing how different he seemed to have looked. Amber immediately snatched the photo out from my shaking hands, taking them into her own. 

"I have a surprise for you too. Your mom already knows." My uncle looked at us, his eyes showing excitement. We both looked at our mom who also shared that foolish smile. She nodded slowly, her grin made it obvious that she was exploding with anticipation. 

"Tell them!" My mom exclaimed, getting impatient with the silence. 

I nervously tapped on the table with the tips of my fingers, awaiting the news. "So? What is it?" I asked, my sister nodding in agreement. She closed her hand to a fist; something she does when she's anxious. 

"I have a ticket to America for you to meet with your dad!" My eyes widened and my small smile turned into a huge grin, the tips of my mouth reaching the corners of my eyes. "But you guys have to be one of the people that score at the TOP," emphasis on top, "on the state test you're taking in a month."

Upon hearing this, I gulped like a fish out of water. "Key? Get top in the school? Yeah right!" Amber yelled out beside me. "He has one of the worse grades out there!" I shut my eyes, gritting my teeth. Although what she said made me want to burn a hole through her, I couldn't deny the fact that it was true. 

"I'll get that ticket..." I said, gazing at the picture of my dad. I heard several scoffs coming from my right; I automatically knew who they were coming from. 

"No you won't!" Amber screamed in my ears, snatching the paper from my hand and breaking me out if my trance. 

I sat back in my chair, daydreaming about the day that I go to America and finally reuniting with my father. "I'll see you dad." I whispered to myself with a small smile. “No matter what it takes… I’ll fly to America to see you.” A smile crept up on my face as I sighed in happiness.

“If you want to win that ticket to America, you should start studying.” I jumped, startled by my mom’s voice. I turned to her as she gave me a weird look, wondering why I jumped.

“Right…” I said, picking myself up off the chair and heading upstairs, trudging into my room. 

In the description of my story, it said Key was a nerd, but I changed it. 
Thanks for reading my story and sorry for the long wait <3 
Saranghae~ continue supporting me and this story!