A Little Fall of Rain

Chapter 1: The Summer of 20XX

The cold wind blew as mother and I ascended the stairs. There were no lights, and every turn felt like we were in an isolated institution.

I paused and read the sign in front of me.

Level 2

Computer labs, speech rooms, science lab

"Hurry up, will you?" mother said as the second floor came into sight.

Before entering the last flight of stairs, she turned to me.

"Well, do your best out there!"

"Right," I muttered, unimpressed with the things I saw so far.

This is my dream school, but as of now, I don't feel the excitement I felt when I first saw one of its student diaries in our bodega. The pictures of the facilities in it made it look like the institution was something straight out of a fairy tale.

One of the pins on my bag fell, returning me back to reality.

"Ah."

My error 707 pin.

Mother ushered me to the registration area, and I immediately went to sign my name.

Seniors filled the list, but one person caught my attention.

A familiar freshman was already in the room.

I took one final look at my mother before entering the conference hall.

For the first time since I enrolled here, my feet froze.

It was only just now that I realized I was entering a totally different environment than before.

The air inside suddenly felt suffocating once I realized that. I even had to drag myself towards an empty seat while avoiding eye contact.

I looked at the new kid in the room aside from me and recalled she qualified for the nationals last year.

What was I thinking, enrolling in a summer class in journalism although I couldn't even win in the divisions? These people here must've won a couple of times before. My love for writing would not be enough to be a worthy member of this club.

The agonizing thoughts in my head continued until an elementary friend showed up, walking side by side with someone I assumed he made friends with along the way.

"Thank God you're here. I thought I was gonna die," I whispered as he sat down.

Kris laughed. "Whaddya talking about?" he asked as he leaned towards his other seatmate. "Oh, by the way, this is Castiel. Charming, ain't he?"

"It's nice to meet you!" the energetic Castiel greeted. I smiled as a response.

I glanced at the girl sitting alone in the front row, far away from us, and asked Kris, "Hey, isn't she..."

"What?!" Kris exclaimed. "Dude! That's the girl!"

"You're too loud."

"What girl?" Castiel leaned towards us, intrigued.

"There. That's Lea, our classmate's crush. Talked so much about her that the whole class knows who she is."

"Ya bet! Girl's a national competitor, blew him away at the sight of her beauty alone."

Kris paused and gestured us to look. I didn't. The same pin that fell earlier detached itself from my bag again. I picked it up as my seatmate spoke.

"I heard the lassie's also talented. What a gifted lady."