Kyungsoo stared up at the large intimidating gates of his new school. It made the structure that it guarded look ten times larger, cold, and scary. The school yard was deserted. The morning breeze lightly rustled the leaves on the trees alongside the gates bordering the school. It made the place seem almost welcoming and inviting, but Kyungsoo noticed little things about the place that made him nervous.

The hinges of the gate were worn and rusted and strips of dried and aged white paint peeled along the hinges. Under the large tree obscuring the front door from his eyes, there were cigarette butts and empty soda cans. The tree itself looked like it had gotten a bad trim or someone had decided to attack it with a baseball bat. A large crow glared menacingly at him from one of its branches. When Kyungsoo took in a shaky breath, a strange burning smell coming from the right side of the school filled his nostrils. Kyungsoo scrunched his nose and bit his lip.

Were people smoking nearby? Did troublemakers go to this school? Was someone that wasn’t in his view planning to attack him if he entered the school’s boundaries?

Maybe he was being paranoid.

It was still very early in the day, so early no one that he could see was in the school yet. He was probably overreacting.

Kyungsoo was still unfamiliar with his new surroundings. He and his father had just moved in to the area a few days before. They took a few days to settle in and familiarize themselves with the neighbourhood and speak with their neighbours before Kyungsoo set off to his new school.

So there he was: cold beads of sweat rolling down his temples, knees knocking together as he tightly clutched the straps of his backpack.

He wasn’t planning to come this early, but the school administration had told him to come at least an hour before the morning stampede to sort out a few things since he was… different.

Kyungsoo’s father had sacrificed a lot just to get him in to this school; leaving the area he was born and raised in, letting go of something precious to him, and even giving up his job to find a new, better paying one. His father had spent most of the night preparing his lunch and making sure everything would be ready for Kyungsoo’s first day at his new school. Although he was in high school, he didn’t mind his father doing all of that for him. He knew everything he did was out of love.

He owed him to walk into this school by himself, Kyungsoo thought. He owed his father that and much more. So much more.

With that thought in mind, Kyungsoo shook his arms and took a deep breath before entering through the gates.

As he walked, he couldn’t help but notice a fresh set of footprints right next his own.

☆★

Tar in warm rays of the sun.
Ivy crawling and clinging closely to a wire fence.
Brick buildings standing, feet apart, looking over the streets.
Flowers shooting out their beautiful colors to passers-by.
As the wind blows their fragrance to noses all along the street, 
it also throws the stagnant smell of filthy garbage at their feet. 

RoseAnn V. Shawiak (Descriptive Poem)

Baekhyun smiled at the words of the poem he was reading. These kinds of writing styles were truly the best.

Like any other day, Baekhyun was in the library two hours before the first morning bell reading a book. No other students would come for another hour which was just the way he liked it. It was just him, the librarian and the words of a book to fill in the dead silence.

Baekhyun carefully slid the book across the aged, bumpy wooden table letting it rest beside his school bag. His delicate fingers traced the table as he reached for the next one, grazing his fingers across the cover feeling the smooth bumps under his fingertips.

Just as he set his thumbs on the side of the book feeling the smoothness of the paper on his skin, Baekhyun heard soft, careful steps approach him. They came to a stop in front of him on the other side of the table.

“Hello, good morning. Is there anything you need?” Baekhyun asked, eyes focusing on the area he heard the steps stop at. For a few moments there was no answer. “Hello? Is there a problem?” He heard the light sound of fingers brushing together, but still no verbal answer. “Who are you? Your footsteps don’t sound familiar.”

“My name is Do Kyungsoo,” the person said slowly. The voice was loud and unpracticed. It sounded as if he didn’t know how to control his volume, his tongue unsure where to go in order to produce clear words.

“Ah,” Baekhyun thought, “A new student.”

“I want to know... Where is the office? I am new and I got lost…” Kyungsoo continued on slowly as if afraid his words wouldn’t be understood.

Baekhyun softly smiled at the boy and held up a finger from him to wait a moment. He reached for his bag and grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper. His fingers tangled in with his pen as he wrote out his reply. “My name is Byun Baekhyun; it’s nice to meet you. I’ll show you where the office is.”

Pausing long enough for Kyungsoo to read, he grabbed Kyungsoo’s arm and lead him down the long corridor, his free hand skimming the wall.

He felt Kyungsoo’s smile as the two continued down the deserted hallway. Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile a bit brighter.