All of the new college students were gathered in the school’s main hall. The headmaster, Lee Soo Man, wanted to speak with them, to explain how the first few days were going to pan out. He stepped up to the podium at the front of the hall, up on the stage so that everyone had a clear view of him, and brushed his fringe to the side, pressing it down to look presentable and respectable, as the headmaster’s hair should. Clearing his throat, he bellowed out a loud “thank you” to try and get the attention of the chattering pupils. It took about a minute but, eventually, the room fell into a muted state of near-silence, one or two of the teens still whispering to the people next to them.

“I know you’re all excited about being here, seeing your friends or making some new ones, but I need to speak with you all and explain the layout of today and tomorrow. So, if you would all please pay close attention to this speech, I would greatly appreciate it. I wouldn’t want any of you to end up getting lost and confused on the first day. There’s plenty of time for that when your actual lessons begin.”

A few students sniggered to themselves but, other than that, there was little to no response to the headmaster’s lame attempt at joking with the crowd.

He cleared his throat again, a little quieter this time, and shuffled the small stack of papers he had placed directly in front of him. Glancing down for a second and then back up at the sea of faces staring back at him, he began to talk again.

“Okay,” he started, finding the words he was looking for, “We, the teachers and I, have decided that it would be best to give you a couple of days to get to know one another. We have a lot of new faces this year who have joined us for the two years of college that I bet you’re all desperate to begin. Making new friends and acquaintances is an essential part of life and we believe that it’s vital to allow some student bonding time before scheduled lesson time begins. That is why we have put aside the next two days for everyone to complete a series of fun-filled team-building exercises around the school. It will allow you to explore the school, for those of you who haven’t been here before, and for you all to get to know your classmates and fellow students.”

A hushed hiss bounced off the walls as many of the pupils whispered a slow “yes” at the news of no lessons for the next two days. Others sat silently with smiles on their faces. Some, however, seemed to hate the idea. Social interaction wasn’t their thing, apparently. Or maybe they were just tired.

“The plan of action for the day is to get you all separated into your form groups, your homeroom classes, if you will, and make sure everyone who is meant to be here actually is. Your form tutors will take a register and then send all of you down to the sports hall for the first exercise. Today is going to be a little bit hectic because we’re going to have all of you in the same place for the majority of it but please bear with us while we get things sorted. We’ll give you more information about today’s team-building exercises later but I assure you that it’ll be a lot of fun so enjoy it.”

He took a moment to shuffle his papers, sending one to the back and adjusting them so that he could see the scribbled notes before him.

“As for tomorrow, we’ll be doing more team-building but we’ll be in our form groups rather than a whole year group, getting to know the people we’ll be spending a lot of time with. Plus, smaller groups mean less stress so it’s good for everyone.”
Some of the teachers, scattered loosely around the hall, smirked at that last comment. It turned out that, the year before, they’d tried to fill both days with whole-year activities. It didn’t too well at all. It ended with six or seven pupils having to go to their first aid room, along with one of the younger, trainee teachers. The staff had learnt their lesson and planned it differently for this upcoming year.

“Now, I think that’s all I need to say right now. I’ll explain more on how this year will pan out in the assembly tomorrow but, for the time being, let’s get everyone sorted into their form groups. I think we’ll start with 12A,” he put his notes down and looked around the room for 12A’s form tutor, “If you’re in 12A, could you please-”

He paused, eyes still scanning the hall. A light-haired male of average height waved his hand, catching the attention of the headmaster.

“Oh, there you are!” he laughed, “Okay, if you’re in form group 12A, please go and gather with Mr. Park in the top left corner of the assembly hall. Thank you.”
Approximately twenty five students stood up from their chairs, awkwardly shuffling across their line to get out and join Mr. Park. After a moment, the remaining students started to chatter again, beginning with a short whisper and rising in volume until it was too loud for the headmaster to be heard.
“Thank you, everyone,” the headmaster boomed from the front, grasping the attention of the outstanding seated pupils, “If you are in form 12B, please go up to the top right of the hall to meet Miss Liu.”

Another cluster of pupils stood, stumbled out and walked over to the smiling young woman waiting in the corner for them.

“Now, form 12C, could you come out to the side over here,” Lee Soo Man instructed, arm outstretched to his left, pointing towards the large empty space that was usually used for small music rehearsals, “I’m afraid that Miss Kim is running a bit late today so you’ll have to wait for a little while until she arrives. Don’t worry though. I’m sure she’ll be along very shortly.”

Some of the students in form group 12C groaned, emphasising the fact that they were pupils who had attended the high school before this and had grown accustomed to Miss Kim and her frequent late arrivals. Regardless, the whole class, both new and old, made their way over to the side to wait for their form tutor to arrive.

“Now, that just leaves 12D, am I right?” the headmaster smiled, “You have the pleasure of me as your form tutor!”

It took just a second for each and every pair of eyes to snap open wide at the announcement, a few mouths hanging open in shock.

“I’m only kidding,” the man on the stage chuckled, waving a hand to dismiss the idea, “You’re actually with Mr. Lee. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun! You can come up to the front and meet your teacher now.”

The sound of their metal chair legs scraping across the recently polished wooden floor filled the hall, the final class moving to their designated area. The students spaced themselves out in front of the stage, a few of the boys leaning back against it and a couple of the girls even jumping up to sit on the edge, dangling their legs below them as they tried to pull their skirts down a little to cover their bare or stocking-clad legs.

Just as the headmaster opened his mouth to speak once again, a young woman dressed in a tightly fitted shirt and a simple black pencil skirt came rushing down the hall, holding a large folder in one arm, her other hand grasping her suit jacket tightly.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, the buses were a nightmare!” she wailed, her long ochre hair a tangled mess around her face. She tried to straighten it out with the hand holding the jacket, not having much success.

“That’s quite alright Miss Kim. We were just about to lead the students down to their form rooms for registration. Your pupils for this year are over to the side,” the headmaster announced, gesturing over to his left once more, a look of slight irritation visible on his usually cheerful features.

She bowed to him, looking embarrassed, and walked over to her class, bowing again to them. They bowed back respectfully, even those who had groaned upon hearing of her unsurprising lateness.

“Right,” the headmaster began, straightening his tie and glancing around the room, “I think that we’re just about ready now. If the form tutors could please lead their classes to their form rooms, registers will be taken and then we shall reconvene in the sports hall very soon. Thank you very much, everyone. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

He picked up his stack of papers and left his podium, walking off stage behind the curtains and using the back exit to get out. The commotion started again as the excited students began to talk amongst themselves, the four crowds following after their teachers as quite a slow pace.

Once out of the doors, the groups split off and went in separate directions, heading to their new form rooms. 12A were heading to a history room, 12B were off to the dance studio, 12C; to a writing classroom and 12D were moving towards the psychology block.