It all starts one Monday morning in Great Lakes City.
One kid who's 11 years old was waking up. Her name was Hoa Li.
Her home is on West 79th Street, which is within 2 blocks from the GLART, a train another familiar Asian girl and her friend take to school. After Hoa Li finished washing up, she was putting her clothes on.
Her room was painted yellow and orange. Hao's clothes were the same 2 colors. The second she got her clothes on, she went downstairs for a bit of breakfast.
Her 2 moms, Hong and Hao Li, were waiting for her. There was french toast with fruit punch ready to eat. Hoa entered the dining room.
"Morning moms," Hoa said to them.
"Morning sugar," Hong said to her.
"Ready for breakfast?" Hao asked.
"Sure," Hoa said to her 2 moms.
She sat down and began eating.
"Is something wrong, Hoa?" Hao asked.
"Why wouldn't there be anything wrong?" Hoa asked back.
Hong then answered, "because when you came down here, you didn't seem as excited. Plus, when you said you wanted breakfast, you kind of looked a little nervous."
"Because I am nervous," Hoa replied to her 2 moms.
She told them that ever since she was first diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, it's been hard for her to speak up in front of other people.
"I just get so anxious, I don't know what to do next. It's just so embarrassing."
Hoa's two moms hugged her to let her know it was going to be okay.
Before she could even think about stepping out of her house, she went back upstairs to make sure she had everything she needed for her first day of school.
"Notebooks? Check. Case full of pencils? Check. My backpack? Check. Knitting kit? Check."
She then said to the viewers, "I knit my own scarves and sweaters. It's a coping strategy I use when my Social Anxiety Disorder gets loose. I just love it."
She then went back to her checklist.
"Clothes? Check. Scarf? Check."
Hoa needed a bit more confidence before she could step outside, so she turned on a little Teen Pop music.
While dancing to the music, she said to the viewers, "who doesn't like this type of music?"
Hoa could feel the energy running right through her.
Hoa was gaining some strength and courage for her first day.
Here's the question that remains.
Will it be enough?
Around 7:27, Hoa stepped out of the house so she could start making her way to school.
"Have fun at school," Hong Li said to her.
"I'll try," Hoa said back to her 2 moms.
She was still a little nervous. She started making her way to the GLART train.
Hoa was starting school at Cesar Chavez Academy. Hoa knew it was going to be tough because she's the new kid on the block. However, I, the author of this story think it's normal to go through situations like this when you're a new student. What do you think?
As soon as she arrived on the platform, she thought to herself, "Great Lakes Area Rapid Transit. I might like this type of train if it'll get me to school on time. I wonder where I will go from here at 79th street?"
It was only 5 minutes later when the GLART Train arrived. She hopped on and tried to find a seat.
The train was a little packed as there were barely any seats. She started noticing her heart beating faster and sweat coming down her face. She wiped the sweat off before it got in her eyes.
"Cousin Hoa?" she winced. "Who could that be?" she thought.
Hoa turned to see her cousin, Hee-Young.
"Hey cousin," Hoa said to her.
The 2 ladies hugged it out.
"What brings you out here?" Hee-Young asked.
Hoa answered, "I'm trying to find my way to school. It's my first day in Great Lakes City."
Hee-Young said to Hoa, "here's a map of the city. Maybe this can help."
Hoa thanked Hee-Young by hugging her.
The moment she arrived at Cesar Chavez Academy, she went inside to find an empty locker.
While putting her jacket and scarf inside, 2 background students came over.
One of them asked, "is that your scarf?"
Hoa, while unleashing a big amount of blush, answered "yeah. Wanna feel it?"
The 2 students laughed.
"Orange?" one of them asked. "Are you nuts?"
The other one said to her, "If you ask us, orange is a stupid color. Next time, bring a color other than orange you nutty kid."
The 2 students walked off laughing.
Hoa was starting to lose control of her heartbeat and sweat. She knew it was going to be tough, but took a deep breath and tried to relax.
"It's just the first day," she said to herself. "You're in control."
She then walked off to homeroom, the first class of the day.