“Are you ok?” Do Kyungho (Kyungsoo’s father) asked a little too happily.

“Yes, I’m fine can I get going now? I don’t want to be late on my first day of school. I want my teachers to like me, and to do that I need a good first impression. Being punctual is always a good sign to them!” Kyungsoo urged while slipping on his backpack. He was prepared with a binder, notebook, and pencil for every class. Yes, he had a different pencil for every class, but he didn’t see it as too much, he saw it as not enough. There are so many (if not too many) things that can happen to pencils and cause them to no longer be of great use. The thought of potentially not being prepared scared Kyungsoo, he would NOT have it. The more material the merrier.

“Oh honey they couldn’t dislike you even if they tried! I mean look at you! You’re just so freaking adorable!” Do Sooyeon (Kyungsoo’s mother) exclaimed while reaching for his cheeks. “So cute!”

Kyungsoo was quick to slap her hands and dodge the incoming attack from his mother. “Please mom, I told you to stop doing that! I’m no longer a child! I’m a grown man who is a senior in high school. Show some respect!”

“Oh Kyunho isn’t he just the cutest!” She chirped while clapping her hands. “Also honey, remember that we’re in America now. Things aren’t the same as in Korea. I read on an online blog that kids here are super friendly!” She nodded as if she actually believed the words that were being emitted from , but she couldn’t actually believe that…right?

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow questioningly. “That doesn’t really make sense to me when you see all the shootings in the news and-“

“I also read,” his mother started while interrupting him, “That it’s really easy to make friends, especially with older kids. There is no reason for you to be shy here.”

“But I’m a senior.” Kyungsoo pointed out. “So why doesn’t making friends with older people mean anything, if I’m one of the oldest?”

“That’s beside the point. Just make sure you make a lot of friends. I want you to bring some of them over so I can make them some of my delicious homemade pie!”

“Babe CHILL!” Kyungsoo’s father said while laughing and wrapping an arm around her waist. “If you don’t I’ll have to punish you when Kyungsoo leaves…RAWR.” He said while motioning like a lion and winking suggestively.

Kyungsoo visibly gagged and turned around to leave. There is no way he wanted to see the beginning stages of his parent’s daily work-out session aka . He imagined apes running around in trees with the male trying hard to insert his baby-making stick into the female. Probably wasn’t the nicest thing to think of your parents as apes, but well Kyungsoo wasn’t the nicest person he guessed. And unfortunately for Kyungsoo (you could almost say it was karma), right before he could walk out the front door his father called for him to come back.

“Yes?” Kyungsoo replied hurriedly. He really just wanted to leave. Why did his annoying parents always have to prolong everything?

“Don’t forget I put a $50 bill in your wallet. If you don’t know how to spend American money then ask one of your friends to buy your lunch for you.”

“Why would I tell them I have a $50 bill? Doesn’t that seem kind of stupid? It’s like I’m asking to be jacked. And friends? It’s my first day…” Kyungsoo questioned. His parents were just so dense and out of touch with reality. The secondhand embarrassment was too much.

“Oh honey,” his mother cooed, “This is America. Things like that don’t happen here. It’s land of the free.”

“Mom do you realize that what you’re saying literally makes no sense- you know what? Ok! I’ll do everything you asked! I’m leaving now bye!” Kyungsoo said while quickly running out the front door before his parents could say anything else. He sighed in relief as he walked further away from the house to where the bus stop was supposed to be. No one came out calling for him which means he successfully finally got away from his challenged parents.

“This should be fun.” He whispered to himself as he waited with a few other students for the infamous yellow school buses he’s read about in American-based books.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Kyungsoo stepped off the bus, he was met with a swarm of students ranging from large to miniscule running about and some even accidentally bumping into him. He looked around and thanked the heavens that it seemed to be a high school dominated by Asians. He knew it was a high possibility being as the school was in an Asian community in San Francisco, but he still had a bit of doubt in the back of his mind. He wouldn’t call himself pessimistic, but he definitely wasn’t really optimistic either.

After taking in the demographic and the amount of people walking before him, he attempted to actually pay attention to detail to see just what kind of people he would be schooling with.

He looked to his left to see a couple of Asians sitting under a tree reading books. “They must be in a book club.” Kyungsoo hummed to himself. “I’m so joining.” He decided without a second thought. Reading was fundamental and exercised the brain, who didn’t love reading? Well, he knew a lot of people back home who didn’t enjoy reading actually, but that didn’t stop it from being one of his greatest pleasures.

After deciding he would join the book club (which is still an assumption, of course he has no idea if they are actually a book club), Kyungsoo looked to his right to see a couple guys playing a sport he assumed was ‘Football’ as Americans call it. To him that term meant kicking a ball on the ground, but America always had to be different much like their measuring system and weather system, two things he would have to learn to get used to.

He took in what they were wearing and decided that it was incredibly unsafe to be parading around and tackling each o