2nd Bound - School

To say she was nervous, that was an understatement.

She anxiously looked everywhere, not exactly knowing what she should say or even how to act. She was in a foreign country, in a new school, with a whole bunch of people that she didn't know from nowhere sitting just across from where she was standing.

She was not the only asian person in that classroom, and it somehow, comforted her. It was weird to have all those people around, though. She counted the three asian girls sitting on the back; two were sitting up in a pair, and the other one was alone, on her own. She was writing down some notes from her book down to a paper sheet.

Chae Rin's first thought about that girl was that she surely was an A grade student.

Sure, their classmates probably were amazed to see an asian with dyed blonde hair. Not everyone would dare to try that out, even someone native from the US. Light blonde wasn't a color that suited any person; only few could actually rock the tone perfectly.

" Class, this is Lee Chae Rin. Your new classmate. "

The whole classroom went silent.

She used to be so cheerful, why was she feeling so nervous right in that moment ?

" H-Hello, " She muttered awkwardly, not even knowing what she should say for a second, " My name is Lee Chae Rin. I'm 16 years old and-yeah, you can call me Chae if you want to. It's easier to pronounce, " She said, speaking the best English she could. 

Her eyes diverted around the class, finding some warm gazes; as well some cold stares.

Pshh, another chinese.

Damn, why do they come here ?

She's not that bad, guys.

She smiled shyly and looked around once more; and couldn't hide her slight surprise as she saw the girl from before staring at her attently. She was petite, probably smaller than her; but very thin. Her long, shiny brown locks fell down her shoulders. back and chest gracefully. She looked at her, her brown eyes staring intensely at the blonde.

Chae Rin gulped.

" Well, Chae Rin, "The teacher announced, smiling, " You can sit over there, next to Sandara. She's Korean as well. "

It was with more surprise for the girl that Chae Rin approached her, walking towards the end of the classroom with her Eastpak bag hanging over her right shoulder. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she sat down to the girl, putting the bag straps above of the chair's back; she didn't want to interrupt her studies.

" So, let's continue with our History lesson right where we left it yesterday... "

Chae Rin turned slightly around, opening up her bag and taking her Geography book out of it, along with a notebook and her pencil case. She put them above of the table, perfectly aligned; a detail that couldn't be missed by her classmate.

" OCD ? "

Chae Rin looked at her classmate, astonished at her remark. It's true that she had Obssessive Compulsive Disorder, but she wasn't the kind of person that told such thing to everyone she met or saw.

" ... How did you... ? "

" My brother, " The girl muttered, looking back at the book, and kept writing down some notes. Chae Rin frowned a little and opened her notebook, flipping through the pages carefully; before paying full attention to the teacher.

-::-::-

" How was your first day of high school in America, Chae Rin ? "

She looked at her older brother and sighed, cutting her grilled chicken , lettuce, spinachs and tomato sandwich in half with a knife, parting it away with her chubby fingers delicately.

" It went fine, oppa. "

Chae Rin had to admit she had set up her expectations too high. Since America was this free-minded, open country, she actually felt like she would be warmly received there. But no, race prejudices were big, and odds were against her. Nearly half of the class spent their hours peeking at her and commenting what she did during the whole schooling journey.

Which bothered Chae Rin.

She didn't like it when people picked up her flaws; she wanted to be flawless.

Her biggest flaw, for her, was her health. As she couldn't change that factor, no matter how much she tried, she just decided to do her best in everything she could apply for; studies, work... She just wanted to be perfect in everything. She wanted to show people that was able to make it. She wanted to show them that she was Lee Chae Rin, and that she could go against the odds and still win. She wanted to show them how much she was worth it. How much she appreciated life, even though hers could be extremely short.

But then, people started to pick up the bad things about her, and she just hated it.

Her brother gave her a side glance, looking quite worried as he munched on his lasagna quietly.

" You don't sound really excited. "

" Only because the first day went good it doesn't mean I'm extremely excited to go back to school tomorrow, oppa, " She said, before taking a bit of her sandwich.

" Lee Chae Rin... "

" Chae Rin ah ! "

She looked to her side, and glanced at her mother, as the middle-aged woman went outside their veranda, going straight to where her daughter and her son were enjoying their dinner, as the waves roared in the background and the stars shone brightly in the dark sky.

" Eomma, what's wrong ? " She asked worriedly, staring at her mother. 

Her mother shook her head and sighed, looking at her older daughter with a soft smile, " I just came to tell you, you have an appointment with your cardiologist tomorrow. Be sure to take your medicines today in schedule and take them tomorrow to the doctor so that we can show him what you've taking lately. "

" Do we take the epinephrine* as well ? "

" No, I don't think that's necessary. I think they'll do you an electrocardiagram** before and after a cardiac stress test***-"

" Running in that threadmill ? Again ? "

Her mother sighed, staring sadly at her daughter as the younger female looked down, breathing out a sigh of nervousism and tiredness.

" Chae Rin ah... "

It wasn't the first time she did a stress test and, honestly, she didn't want to do them anymore. She knew she couldn't handle even the first 4 minutes before the first tachycardia symptoms showed obviously. 

"... It's okay, " The blonde said, collecting up her things hurriedly, " I'll do it, nervermind. "

*Epinephrine, also known as Adrenaline, is a hormone and aneurotransmitter used as a drug to treat cardiac arrest and other cardiac dysrhythmias resulting in diminished or absent cardiac output. 

**Electrocardiogram is a non-evasive method such used to record the heart's rythm via its electrical activity.

***Cardiac Stress Test is a test used to measure the heart's ability to resist stress applied by external environment. Most of the times, it consists in doing an Electrocardiogram at the same time the patient is running on a threadmill.