I was late for the first day of high school.

 

So apparently, my alarm clock had rung at the correct time (7:00 A.M.) but I had completely slept through it and woke up at 8:00.

 

How the hell does that even happen?

 

I mean, I even took extra measures to ensure that I would wake up on time. I’d set three alarms at different intervals on my phone, too.

 

But I woke up to find that my phone was on silent the whole time.

 

my life.

 

Anyways, I was forced to skip brushing my teeth and eating breakfast and get ready and all that so I just got dressed and ran down the street at full speed. I live only two blocks away from the school I go to, so I guess that’s good for days like these.

 

Eventually, I made it into school seven minutes late.

 

I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or worried.

 

Since I realized everyone had (most likely) already gone to their new classrooms already, I went to the office to ask for my new room. I didn't want to go through the awkward trouble of going to my old teacher and seeing a group of children whom I despised in her room with all the faces just turned to me; the center of attention who was just trying to ask for a room number.

 

“Um, excuse me,” I asked the unfamiliar lady sitting at the desk. She was definitely new; I didn’t recognize her.

 

“Yes, sweetheart?” she looked up at me and smiled politely.

 

Okay, I don’t even care who this is. Did she just frickin’ call me sweetheart?

 

“My name is Lu Han, I was in room 205 in the eighth grade last year. I’d like to know what my new room number is,” I said, attempting to suppress my temper.

 

“Okay. Just a minute,” She began typing into her (rather old-, I just had to mention that) computer.

 

“You’re in room 304; Mr. Kim.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

. Mr. Kim. I heard he was rough. Real rough. Like, last year, he gave a forty-word vocabulary list each week and expected everyone to memorize the spellings and definitions of them by the the end of said week.

 

Another year, he’d given everyone a 150-question test each week on what he’d taught them.

 

Not only that, he changes things up every year so people won’t be able to look at or cheat off of the tenth graders who’d had him before and done his work.

 

Seriously, I was literally about to piss my pants just imagining what a hell of a year this year is going to be. And by that, I mean a burning hell of eternal torture in Mr. Kim’s room this year.

 

So, holding my and bladder in, I run upstairs to find the room. Past the first floor, past the middle school floor, and to the high school floor.

 

I’d actually never been on the high school floor before. When I stepped foot into the hall, everything seemed rather different and peculiar. Actually, pretty much only the color of the lockers were different, but it still seemed so unfamiliar and strange to me.

 

Or maybe it was because there was no one else besides me in the hallways.

 

Cough.

 

Anyway, I walked down the hall until I spotted room 304. My hands trembled slightly as I approached the doorknob in preparation for getting a lecturing/yelling-at for being late.

 

I slowly stepped into the bizarre room that was almost completely unalike my old room in eighth grade.

 

First of all, the desks were facing a different direction from last year. The room was bigger, definitely, and there weren’t as many colorful (of which what I thought was slightly childish) decorations besides a giant world map poster thing on the wall, which I don't think would technically be counted as one. There were, however, a lot of vocabulary words around the room. Like A LOT. I’m talking about like at least forty.

 

At least forty.

 

Gulp.

 

Well, you could at least definitely tell that this guy taught history and reading.

 

So continuing, I walked into the room in the middle of Mr. Kim taking roll. He looked up at me and I prepared myself for the worst.

 

God save me now.

 

“Hiya,” he says, smiling. “You’re a little late, aren’t you?” he laughed. “It’s okay, I’ll let it slide this time, since it’s the first day. Go ahead and take a seat.” He pointed to the single empty desk in the entire room.

 

I’m not quite sure what just happened but I do believe I am still alive so I do as Mr. Teacher says and sit in the desk.

 

“Look who decided to show up,” I heard someone chuckle in the desk behind me. I recognized the voice as the great dickhead Jongin and ignore him.

 

I examined my surrounding of students, and I find a total of nine different faces.

 

Nine.

 

Only nine.

 

Looks like this year is going to be great with my fellow middle schoolers.

 

Sigh.

 

“You’re Mr. Lu, right? Lu Han?”

 

“Huh?” I snap back into reality and realize Mr. Teacher is asking me a question. “Oh, um, yeah.”

 

Then I make one huge realization:

 

He didn’t mistake me for a girl.

 

He didn’t mistake me for a girl.

 

He didn’t mistake me for a girl.

 

Thank God. Oh dear God thank. Thank very God dear.

 

I sighed in relief.

 

“Anyways,” Mr. Teacher continued, “I’m Mr. Kim. I’ll be your homeroom teacher and also your geometry and science teacher.”

 

Wow, what a plot twist.

 

“I decided to change things up a bit this year.”

 

No doubt.

 

“I apologize for the lack of decorations, I had to take them down since they were all reading and history related, and this year I’m doing geometry and science, as I mentioned.”

 

Oh.

 

Hmm.

 

You know, I realized Mr. Teacher, er--Mr. Kim doesn’t seem all that bad actually. He’s actually pretty nice.

 

So yeah, he introduced himself and whatnot, told us about himself, gave us all our locker numbers, gave us all the beginning-of-the-year forms and crap for our parents to fill out and sign for homework, blah blah blah.

 

And right before I knew it the period ended.

 

So those were all just stupid rumors then.

 

Wow.

 

I leave the room along with the crowd of students that came charging out rapidly as if someone was giving out free candy in the hallways (I didn’t see what all the rush was about).

 

But, the second I entered that hall I could just practically smell the smell of people making fun of me.

 

Or, hear, rather.

 

As I approached and opened my locker, I found some random boy walking up to me that I didn’t recognize. He was taller than me and his hair was dyed brown. One of the new kids.

 

The guy looked ing high.

 

“Hi,” he said, “I’m Oh Sehun.”

 

“Hey,” I replied emotionlessly, not even glancing at him. Somehow I felt as if this guy was here to annoy the out of me. What’s he doing trying to talk to me anyway? Rather than that, where did he even come from?

 

“You’re Han, right? Lu Han?” he grinned. “Hehe, you’re gay, aren’t you?”

 

Wow, straight to the point, huh?

 

I immediately slammed my locker shut. I replied with a stern, “No,” and quickly left.

 

He started giggling.

 

“Don’t deny it, Hannie~!” he sang teasingly and proceeded to crack up laughing behind me.

 

It’s no doubt.

 

This little just became number one on my People to Kick In the Balls list.

 

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SPECIAL THANK TO MY FRIEND DEERXIALU FOR THIS GR9 POSTER LIKE

ALSO SPECIAL THANK TO U FOR READING THIS GHEI STORY AND ACTUALLY ENJOYING IT ILU <333

VERY MUCH KAMSAMNIDA Y'ALL ;U;