song recommendation~ 설마 no way - Siha
 

The first day of school always . In Chanyeol’s case, it seemed to even more because it was his first day at a new school. Perhaps, his fears would have been mildly assuaged if Chanyeol blended in like an average 10th grader, however, the 16 year old was blessed with a large stature and freakishly big ears. To sum up, Chanyeol stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Bullies weren’t a common thing at his old school. The kids knew how to behave themselves and Chanyeol admired that. The most he’d ever gotten was a comment from the teacher saying that he should be a model, although looking back, Chanyeol realised that it was a rather flattering compliment. Of course, there was the occasional “What’s the weather up like there?” or “You play basketball?” but Chanyeol always dismissed those silly questions. They didn’t harm him in any way to begin with. 

As Chanyeol awkwardly strided into the school gates, he nervously looked around to spot any eyes on him. They all appeared to be greeting their friends or busy on their gadgets. Relieved, Chanyeol sighed dejectedly and continued to walk until he reached the main hall. It wasn’t like Chanyeol hated school. He was neutral about the whole thing. In fact, he was probably neutral about everything. When his family had visited the building, his mother had asked him a question and all he did was shrug and mumble yes. The next thing he knew, he was already buying the school’s uniform.

The school was reputable. The facilities and buildings were far superior to his old one’s by a mile, yet Chanyeol weirdly missed the damp smell and the peeling paint on the walls.  The run down and withered buildings had grown on him. 

The entrance to the main hall was fortunately, easy to find and Chanyeol found himself nervously roaming the area. The boy had never moved schools before so the whole experience was new to him. Firstly, there was the issue of finding friends and people to sit with on breaks. Secondly, there was also the issue of figuring out who ruled the social hierachy at school and knowing who to avoid or to befriend. Most importantly, Chanyeol’s biggest concern was finding a nice, quiet and concealed place to relax and take a nap. He ruled out the library as a no-no because apparently, people actually liked to be at the library here. 

Finding his homeroom class wasn’t too difficult either. Unlike his old school, the usual paper and sticky tape concoction for the class name was replaced by a smart looking sticker at the top with the name ‘10-A’. Everything was so different and it was all finally beginning to sink in for Chanyeol now. His headphones still in, Chanyeol found a nice spot at the back to sit down in, hopeful that no one would try to take it from him later on. There was 20 minutes until the bell rang and the giant decided that he’d make the most of his time by fitting in an extra nap. 

When Chanyeol woke up, he found a disfigured face looming over him. After lifting his head and rubbing his eyes for a few seconds, Chanyeol realised that the presumably daunting face was actually a pretty face. 

“Well.. can I help you?” Chanyeol croaked, voice still hoarse from the sheer intensity of his short nap. 

“How come I haven’t seen you before?” The boy inquired, in a voice that Chanyeol hadn’t expected. 

“Because I’m new..?” Chanyeol said, sounding as if he’d asked a question instead. The taller laughed softly. Chanyeol didn’t think he’d be noticed this soon.

“New? For real? How come no one told us?” The boy asked again, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his palms, looking at Chanyeol like he was some sort of ethereal being.

“Dunno. Maybe you weren’t paying attention.” 

“Well I know for a fact that I was paying attention because I don’t miss anything that comes around these halls and-“ 

“Byun Baekhyun, if you would kindly turn around and refrain from chatting, I would like to introduce our new student,” said a new voice, and Chanyeol realised that it was the teacher from up the front. 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and muttered a quick “fine,” but not before he gave Chanyeol a cheeky smirk and a more-than-friendly wink. He turned around and sank in his seat, arms crossed and yawning. 

“As I was saying, let’s all please give Chanyeol a warm welcome. It’s his first day today and I’m sure you’d all want to be greeted nicely if it were yours,” she spoke again. 

Mrs Ko as it seemed, was the type of teacher that could distinguish between the time to play and conversate and when to stop and learn. Chanyeol knew that a good teacher should be a good mix of both, not too much of one. He smiled warmly at her, thanking her for her nice words. She acknowledged him in response, sending a smile his way too. 

“Can I get a volunteer to show Chanyeol around