INTRODUCTION
Hi! I'm Bianca L/N!
I am fifteen years old and I came from Cambridge, England. And I must say, schools in Korea are tough to get through.
When I was ten, because of the crazy rules that my mum read about online before sending me to a school, we had to do schooling in an online course that allows you to work at your own pace. And it stayed that way until I was twelve in middle school.
Of course you had to wear a school uniform, which I was pretty much alright with. But there was another problem that me and my mum had. Actually, two problems.
My hair color was a brunette color, and literally, most students, and even the teachers blasted out my mom for dying my hair. Mum was so furious that she cut out a few strings of my hair, and brought some recent photos of me to the school's front office to prove that my hair color was clearly the real color! Why would I dye my hair?
And worst of all, it was while I was wearing my hair in two ponytails with pink ribbons, when the school vice principal asked what I was doing. I was on my own and I was on my phone. I knew I was not supposed to be on my phone so I quickly put it in my jacket's pocket. But then, a fellow student (if you can call her a "fellow") searched through my pockets to reach my phone. But it was not even in my front pockets.
The vice principal asked where I put my phone at, and I responded that I was talking to my mum, since we were on break. But then, the vice principal said that my mother was "stupid" for not letting me study at a "place of power". Whatever that means.
Now about my hair, the vice principal said that I was not allowed to have any accessories, including fancy hair ties. I asked why there was such a rule at a simple school. The student next to the vice principal said that it might "distract" the other students from their studies. That's just a bunch of B.S!
And so, they both gathered all the students into the assembly room, forced me on the podium platform, demonstrated how I "broke the rules", and literally yanked out my pink ribbons. And to top it all off, the student with the vice principal, in her strength, slapped my cheek SILLY. It hurt so hard that I actually cried hard in front of everybody!
Another problem. After that humiliating moment of my life, I remembered crying about it while I was sleeping. And I couldn't tell my mother about this. But I knew I was going to have to tell her after what happened the week after the whole fiasco over my pink ribbons.
I was wearing my BTS good-luck charms. But they aren't allowed in schools. When I turned thirteen, however, no one even bothered to say one single “happy birthday”. I was both sad and angry.
Anyways, while I was wearing my BTS jewelry, a boy student walked up to me and said, "You can't wear those to school, I'm glad that the teachers haven't caught you yet."
And then, he walked away. I was confused. I didn't seem to understand why jewelry wasn't allowed at a simple school. Not only did I feel disgusted and irritated, but I also fumed, because it was basically the school's fault, since we didn't know that even upper-grade schools had too-strict rules.
But then, when I was returning to my cubby to retrieve my BTS jewelry, I found that they were not there anymore! I looked underneath the papers that I shoved in there, and in and out of my shoes, and even in the little pocket in the inside of the door. But then, the same guy from the school…along with my homeroom teacher…stood right behind me!
I knew I was in a lot of trouble!
They brought me into the homeroom classroom and, along with some other students, they began to paddle me hard! So hard, I screamed hysterically. It was just painful! I can tell that the student patrol did not want to see that happen to any of their students. Luckily, my mum arrived just in time to confront what was going on. She yelled for a long time. And right when Summer was there, she pulled me out and it was back to homeschooling.
As you can tell, I grew up with a tough and violent education. And I was punished for the slightest things. I had hoped things wouldn't be as bad in high school. At least, during my freshman year, I had to do homeschooling online. My relief from that school passed on and everything was normal again.
Wish me luck in my Sophomore year!
*~*~*~*~*~*
Bianca L/N's high school life was like no other. Not only because it was in Korea, since the education was quite known for its uptight curriculum, but everything had to be in the highest of their expectations. Bianca knew she could top it all off. But unfortunately, everything she did, and everything that she tried just made it worse.
Have to make this right, somehow, she thought, I must please everyone in this school! But how?
Although she was without any inspiration, Bianca knew just what to do. She was pretty, enough to attract most of the boys in her school. But even that didn't work either. And it was also during the COVID-19 pandemic already. It was clear that Bianca was already in enough tremendous trouble, even if she was for the wrong reasons.
Fastforwarding to August 22, 2021, it was almost time for Bianca's sophomore year. She then got ready and looked out in front of the mirror. At first, she then frowned. She worried terribly about what would happen at the school. But then, she thought to herself that everything would be alright and smiled.
“I’m sure that everything will go right!” she said.
On the drive over, Bianca felt nervous. It was normal to feel the first day jitters, especially after a complete year of a pandemic and staying indoors for a long time. But when the pandemic passed Bianca and her single mother were overjoyed by the news.
“Excited, aren’t you?” asked Bianca’s mother.
Bianca, however, stayed quiet and nodded her head. She couldn’t dare speak a word, due to her extreme jittery feeling. But yet, she kept looking forward to her new year at school.
“I’m fine, really,” she said, “I’m just nervous. I just don’t want anything to end up like what happened when I was in middle school.”
Her mother then patted Bianca’s shoulder. She remembered what had happened during her school days at the Seoul International Junior High (or SIJH). It was quite traumatic and horrific, even for her to think about. And she felt bad about how egregiously Bianca was treated after she supposedly broke a few of the school rules.
“Don’t worry, my darling,” she said, “If anything happens, just let me know and we can work something out. I’m sure this school will be much better.”
Bianca nodded and let the drive continue to pour out her thoughts. She then had a sudden thought about Kim Taehyung from the famous pop group BTS. Her mother thought of them as infinite role models for any of their fans that they inspire. Bianca would never tell anyone how much she actually adored them.
One day I will, she thought.
Both Mother and Daughter arrived at the most prestigious, and lively school (hopefully) Independence Academy. The school president Mrs. Kim quickly came out to greet the new girl.
“Well, then, here we are!” she said in a lively tone, “You must be Joy and Bianca!”
“Mrs. Kim,” said Mother, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, as we chatted through Email.”
“Oh, yes,” said Mrs. Kim, “And my condolences for what had happened at the SIJH. Trust me, we do not have any of those crazy rules. Although, bullying, smoking or vaping and such are still prohibited in this school.”
“Glad to hear,” said Mother, “And as such, those insane and unnecessary rules had driven us into hysterics and had us homeschooling for over a year. And my daughter had really horrible jitters about coming here, so we had to make sure we would find a school that would be less…strict and more lighthearted.”
“Well, you have come to the right school,” said Mrs. Kim, beginning the walk inside, “We are under Genovian law, so those unnecessary rules are wiped out from our society.”
“Except smoking, vaping and others?” asked Bianca in a soft tone.
“Yup!” replied Mrs. Kim, “I know it’s easy for you to follow, since I’m sure you know that it’s completely unhealthy and could give you cancer.”
“Yes, Mrs. Kim, I know. My dad died from cancer. But he did not smoke at all!”
“It’s true,” said Mother, “My husband died from an unexplainable and unexpectable bout of cancer. It was in the lung. The treatment that we paid for only helped a little. And then, he died while we were on our way to the hospital, to go and check on him. Both of us were devastated.”
“I see,” said Mrs. Kim, “Well, my condolences.”
She was then led to Classroom 318. And when Mrs. Kim opened the door, Bianca saw a handsome young man that was teaching the class. Bianca felt a bit uncomfortable.
What if he takes advantage of me, she thought.
After waiting outside the classroom for quite some time, Mrs. Kim walked out and said, “It’s time!”
“What is happening?” Bianca asked.
“You’re going to class,” said Mother, “And it looks like we came at the right time! We are right on time!”
Bianca’s nerves worsened. She knew that it was either going back to the insane school that she had to go through, or this more lighthearted and calmer school. But Bianca had no other choice. And so, she hugged her mother goodbye and walked in the classroom with Mrs. Kim.
*~*~*~*~*~*
“Class,” said Mrs. Kim, “We have a new student! This is Bianca L/N! I want you all to make her feel welcome and safe. She was just at our rival school, and they did the exact opposite.”
“Hi, Bianca!” said the whole class with glee.
“Welcome Bianca,” said the teacher, advancing to both Bianca and Mrs. Kim, “I am Kim Namjoon. But the students address me as Mr. Joon. It’s up to you, though.”
“Well–”
“I know, I know. You might be thinking that I am too young to be a teacher. But really, I have a high IQ. And it is enough for me to actually teach this class. And this is pretty much a good job for me so far. When I retire, I will find at least one thing to do in my life.”
“Uh…”
“Oh…did I go too far?”
The class laughed when Kim Namjoon woke up from his fantasy. He then laughed nervously.
“Too far?” he asked in a whisper.
“Yup!” Bianca replied.
The bell suddenly rang and the students replied to the bell, thanking Namjoon’s lesson and bidding him farewell.
But then, Mrs. Kim quickly stopped Bianca and said, “I will have one of the students show you all around the school. It may be tricky, since you are brand new, but I’m sure you will adjust very soon.”
“I’m sure I can manage just fine.” replied Bianca.
But Bianca already had trouble fitting in. When it was lunchtime, however, the students looked her way and they began to whisper things. This made Bianca insecure about herself and wanted things to calm down. But when word about the incidents in SIJH occurred, the students only felt shocked.
When she sat down, she thought of those very incidents that had happened. And she was only twelve/thirteen! To her, it was tragic the beginning of a Korean Drama. A very tragic beginning.
Suddenly, a girl then sat down in front of Bianca. She was young and had ponytails at each side. She was also a lot lively and hyper. Whereas Bianca, she was still worried and depressed a lot.
“Bianca, yes?” asked the girl.
“Yeah,” said Bianca, “I just moved here in Seoul, South Korea when I was about ten years old. Didn’t learn the language, but I wanted to go to school. But the thing is, the rules were too much for me and my mum to follow, so we did homeschooling. When I was twelve, however, my mum changed her mind and sent me to a prestigious school down the street from our house.”
“Is that the school that treated you horribly?”
Bianca quickly nodded her head. She then looked down and felt sad. The girl that sat with her felt her sympathy. She knew how she felt about the Korean education system.
“My older cousin went there, and he said that at least a few students were caught breaking the rules. Then again, he still regrets catching them.”
“Did he mention the incident of the girl with the pink fancy hair ribbons and the BTS jewelry?”
“That was you?!”
“Yup! I was the girl that was caught wearing the stuff that that school goes nuts over.”
The younger girl stood up and said, “I’m Huening Bahiyyih! I’m already a freshman! First day of High School was exciting enough for me! How about you?”
Bianca stammered, “It was exciting…but then at the same time…it was nerve-wracking for me. But now I’m at a school where nothing gets too insane and the rules are pretty decent.”
“Me too.”
The bell rang. It was time for the next class. Bianca was still nervous. Huening Bahiyyih was not going to let their new friendship end just like that! Bahiyyih then stood by Bianca.
“Come on, friend,” she said, “Mr. Joon will be excited to see you again. Besides, no one really works on stuff when the new year begins. But in September, the real work happens.”
Bianca nodded.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Bianca stood still. She could not help but space out during Namjoon’s lecture. The thought from the other school terrified her. But she was in a new school. One that had been westernized by the country Genovia.
Independence Academy got its name after Saturday classes were no longer established in the country. It was to signify the importance of following your dreams and holding tight to your wishes, and that everyone could respect them, though and through. Independence Academy means a place where anyone can belong, like an archive.
Namjoon noticed that Bianca was spacing out quickly. He did not want to bore out his students. Especially Bianca.
And so, he said, “Class, instead of today’s lesson, I want to demonstrate something.”
He then pulled out a beach ball, put some numbers on each side, and gave the first pass to Bianca. Luckily, she caught it in time.
“Now say a number out loud.” instructed Namjoon.
Bianca sputtered, “Six…teen?”
She then passed the ball to the next student.
“Plus three!” he shouted.
He then passed it to the next student, who was Bahiyyih.
She said, “Equals…nineteen!”
Bahiyyih then threw the ball back to Namjoon. Namjoon smiled.
“So, Bianca,” he said, “This is something that my seventh grade teacher would do, when I went to school in the States. It would help us out a lot when we had to study for our math finals. I thought maybe this would be fun to close out for the day.”
“School’s already over?” asked a confused Bianca.
“We get out at 2:15,” said Bahiyyih, “On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we get out at 1:30.”
“Interesting!”
“It is!” said Namjoon, “When I first came here, I thought it was tough and competitive and had all of those crazy routines that students constantly go through. But then, I found out that it was an international school, so it’s more flexible and filled with creativity.”
Amazing!
The bell rang; it was home time. But Bianca still did not believe the bell schedule. When she was walking out of the school, she saw Mrs. Kim with her mother. They both smiled. Bianca felt confused.
“Bianca!” shouted Mother, “Did you have a good day today?”
“Yeah, I think so.” replied Bianca, nodding her head.
But she was still confused. So confused that she could not process what happened during her time there. The rules were not crazy, there were little expectations, and it was a calm and easy atmosphere.
“It was quite simple and there was a lot of creativity! And there were no crazy expectations. And everyone was so nice to me!” Bianca exclaimed.
“Have you met Bahiyyih yet? She is really nice and is and just started here.” asked Mrs. Kim.
“Is she the new freshman?”
“Yes!” exclaimed Mrs. Kim.
“Well,” said Mother, “We have to get going! No homework, correct?”
“Oh, no!” said Mrs. Kim, “There is no homework in this school. Unless we have to study for a final or exam, which only happens at every end of the quarter, then we will send them a study guide for each subject here. I’m sure your daughter will do exceptionally well!”
On the car ride home, Mother had asked Bianca, “What did you think?”
Bianca struggled to answer. She was still in the process of envisioning the first day of a new school. A school where everyone belongs. A school that is carefree, but still a little strict. That was what Bianca wanted! She wanted to have a carefree life, but at least set a few boundaries, as if she wanted to know what was right and what was wrong in the best way possible.
“I thought it was a nice experience,” said Bianca, “It’s much calmer and a lot freer than the other one. At least it’s enough for me to get around.”
Mother smiled. She knew she had found the right place for her daughter to go and have fun while learning about every little thing in her life. Not only was the day great for Bianca, but the school had better quality than SIJH.
She then patted her shoulder and said, “Let’s make sure that tomorrow is an even better day. Okay?”
Bianca nodded, thinking, I think I’m going to like this school…I can feel it!