Hongbin's POV

The cab pulls up to a large, blocky building, completely made up of bricks.  In a way, it's set up reminds me of those old building blocks I used to play with, where no matter how hard to I tried to create something, those little square blocks seems to only want to form bigger square blocks.

At any rate, the Rovix Home for Boys certainly didn't look the way I imagined it would. Somehow, I had thought it would be some gloomy, castle-like place with spiral staircases and lookout towers. Instead, all I could think of was Lego blocks.

Better Lego than jail I suppose.

As the cab pulls to halt, the driver turn his head slightly, an unreadable expression on his face.

"All the best kid...really. Take care, alright?"

Not knowing what to make of that statement, I try to smile at him and say 'I will, thanks. You take care as well sir.' but instead my mouth kind of just twitches and I make a sort of muffled 'mhmph' sound before scrambling out of the taxi, slinging my bag across my shoulder, the speed with which I did it knocking me off balance for a bit before I steady myself against the side of the cab.

I take a deep breath, shutting the car door as politely as I can before heading down the walkway towards the gate where I noticed an old man standing in front of the entrance waiting for me.

"Ah, Mr. Hongbin, it's nice to finally meet you, I'm Park Juhong, the owner of Rovix Home for Boys."

He reached out a twisted and wrinkled hand towards me and I hesitantly took his hand, making sure to bow deeply at the same time.

After straightening up and turning back to face Juhong, a few moments of silence passed before he abruptly turned from me and headed through the gate, pausing just long enough for me to get my bearings and follow him.  It seemed Juhong was not a big fan of small talk, and for the time being, that was fine with me. Awkward, but fine.

Following closely behind him, he began to speak once more.

"Here at Rovix Home for Boys, we like to think we take a more modern approach toward education, allowing each student to have a personalized schedule which caters to their individual talents while still providing ample resources to mold each student into a well-rounded member of society."

He continued to speak about the curriculum here, barely looking back to see if I was still even there.  I couldn't help but tune him out a bit, as I became distracted looking around the halls of this school, because as far as I could tell, this place leaned much more heavily toward school than it did towards any kind of home. It also didn't escape my attention that I had yet to see any of the students yet. So far, the only other sign of life, besides Juhong, was the sound of someone playing piano echoing throughout the halls.

I sighed.

Almost immediately after, Juhong whirled around faster than I imagined possible.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hongbin, am I boring you? I had assumed you would have at least some kind of interest in learning about the place that is going to be your home and school for the next two years, but then again, I could just be mistaken."

I began shaking almost right away. I never was good at being scolded. I would always panic instantly.

Bowing my head, I managed to stutter, "I...no. No, I'm sorry. Sorry, I...this is just a lot all at once. I'm just a bit overwhelmed. I'll make sure to pay more attention."

Juhong's eyes softened ever so slightly, before nodding.

"I understand things are moving quickly right now. In my many years as headmaster here, however, I have learned that in the face of tragedy of such a caliber as yours, it is best to attain some level of normality and regulation as quickly as possible. Otherwise, all you will do is waste time lamenting over something that is now a part of the past."

All I could do was nod dumbly as a response, but that seemed to be enough for him.

We resumed walking, though now at an ever brisker pace as I made sure to pay close attention as Juhong lead me from classroom to classroom, spouting out teachers' names and class times I knew I would never remember. 

Eventually, and by eventually I mean finally, we got to the dorms on the uppermost level of the building. 

Juhong led me down a narrow corridor lined with doors on both sides. We stopped at the second to last door before he handed me a key he took out from his pocket.

"This is to be your room. Make yourself comfortable, as everyone else is still in class, so you'll have some time to yourself. Later on, I'm sure your roommates will introduce themselves to you-"

"Roommates?"

"Of course. You'll be sharing the room with three other students. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have. And make sure to meet with the student advisor. He lives just next door and he is sure to be able to help you with anything you might be unsure of. He'll also take you to your teacher advisor tomorrow morning to set up your class schedule."

I nodded dumbly, my thoughts travelling way too quickly for me to form any words.

"I'm sure you'll get used to everything very quickly, Hongbin. You show much promise and I'm sure you will flourish here. Good day."

With that, he turned and made his way down the stairs.

After spending the next 20 seconds wondering how a man as ancient as him could be so active, let alone run an entire orphanage, a sudden thought hit me, causing my heart to sink deep within my stomach.

I AM AN IDIOT.

I had forgotten all of my luggage, sans the bag I lugged around on my shoulder, in the trunk of the cab that was as good as gone by now.

Is this something I could talk that student advisor about? There's no way I'm going to go back to Juhong. Not right now.

But this is a school for GENIUSES. How dumb am I going to look going to a senior student that doesn't even know me, telling them I FORGOT all of my luggage in the trunk of a taxi and didn't even notice for a good hour of being here!?

Between me forgetting my luggage and the unwelcome surprise of having a roommate, no, THREE roommates, all of this was already becoming too much for me.

I fumbled with the lock on the door, before also struggling to get the door open, the doorknob sticking and creaking before I just leaned all of my body weight on the door, forcing it open so quickly I nearly toppled over.

Well....

This room was...depressing.

The floor was cold and the floorboards looked like they were just about rotten. The walls were completely bare. There was an overhead light that seemed like it was on it's last leg of life, with the tiny pathetic excuse for a window high up on the wall doing a better job of lighting the room.

The room was furnished symmetrically, with a small bunk bed resting in both far corners of the room, as well as a large wardrobe on both sides and two desks in the nearer corners of the room. And...well...that was it.

I don't know what I was really expecting, but it wasn't a room that looked so cramped and prison like.  Honestly, the room looked so uninhabited, I had no idea which bed or side of the room I belonged in. I simply dropped my bag next to the door and walked towards the window.

I wasn't actually able to see anything, as it was too high up. I was half tempted to swing one of the desk chairs over to see what kind of a view there was, but I didn't quite feel comfortable touching what I presumed was the other boys' stuff.

How was I supposed to "make myself comfortable" when I felt so alien here?

I stood there for a while, not knowing what to do, half praying that my future roommates would show up soon and just hoping we hit it off and they can make me feel more at home. At the same time, the other half of me dreaded their eventual return.  What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm too stupid to be here?

Well that's kind of obvious, because I AM. I couldn't really blame them if they think I'm stupid.

Eventually, I realized I was pacing around the tiny room. I also realized my legs were killing me.

Heaving a sigh that, should anyone else have heard it they would have laughed at how melodramatic it sounded, I pulled out the desk chair closest to me and gingerly sat as far on the edge of the chair as possible, waiting nervously for my roommates to arrive.