"Are you sure that you're ready to go to school? Isaiah won't wake up for another 30 minutes, and he can give you a ride on your way to school." Bill asks me as he looks between me and my mom.

Mom's eyes meet mine and a small smile plays on her lips. Though the school starts at 8 in the morning, I've woken up around 4 am. I'm surprised my body clock has adjusted so fast. Honestly, I'm used to waking up early. Before, back in the Philippines, the school starts at 7 am and I'd be awake around the same time, 4-ish am. So it's not really a surprised that I woke up this early today just to go to school. I've searched the direction for the school, and it turns out, it's surprisingly a bit far. Maybe around 20 to 30 minutes of walking? It's not really a problem. I'm used to walking distance, too. There's something about walking, earphones plugged in, that's so satisfying. Your mind can wander to any places, and you'll find yourself thinking about almost everything. From how many people are there in the world to finding your one true soul mate. I like to think of stories that's going on just inside my head, like how I'm going to succeed here, or how I'm going to be a volleyball star in the future someday.

Mom grabs Bill's arm and smiles brightly at him.

"Honey, trust me, if there's a physical activity beside volleyball that Chad likes, it's walking." Mom chuckles at his priceless reaction – shocked – and grabs the Lock&Lock Tupperware that has my food for today. "He's used to walking. He walked every day to school, and he walks kilometers. Trust me. This is an easy task for him. As for waking up early, don't be surprised. That's his thing, too, and it's an everyday thing for him."

"Do you know where the school is, at least?" Bill hasn't recovered from being shocked. "I wish Isaiah would be as enthusiast as you when waking up. It's hard to wake that kid up. I asked him yesterday where he had gone, turned out he sent me a text message. I kind of... deleted it, I guess. Not the first time it happened." Bill chuckles at that.

"Google Maps." I tell him, holding my phone up. Bill sighs in relief. I decide to ignore his comment about his son. I'd meet him in school, I guess. "Thanks, mom, Bill."

I put the Tupperware in my backpack, and mom gives me a kiss on the cheek before I turn on my heels and start my little journey to the skill. There isn't much in my backpack, considering that books will be given to me once I get there. I may need to go to the helpdesk to ask for some help. The only things in there are notebooks and pens, and alcohol. I never fail to bring alcohol. Once I shut the front door behind me, I fish my phone out of my pocket and plug the earphones in. I open the music application and set it on shuffle, but not toggling the repeat button. Once I choose a song, it will still be on replay. I don't get why I set it on shuffle when I'm going to play the same song all over again. I shrug, starting to walk as Mike Posner's "The Way It Used To Be" starts playing.

I bop my head along the music, mumbling the lyrics. The sun is just about to rise, and the sky is a hue of light blue. Over the horizon, you can see the sun peaking already but not enough to paint the sky yellow. I adjust my backpack, tightening it a bit, and begin to snap my fingers along the beat. I'm more of a pop music kind of guy. Most of the people say my music taste is bad, but as long as Nicki Minaj can throw a subtle diss and shade through her music, or even if the light has come to give everything the darkness stole as what Ariana Grande said, I'm good. No one can tell me that my taste in music is bad. That, or they can literally fuck off my life.

Opening the Messenger application, I find that I have a couple of unread messages from Max and Sophie, greeting me good morning and telling me to let them know how Filipinos roll. I roll my eyes at their messages, but a small smile escapes my lips. Even though I'm literally thousands of miles away from them, they still keeping in touch with me. I respond to their message, telling them that I'll do my best here and that I'll let them know that Filipinos are the talented motherfuckers in the Asian region.

Five times the song has been replayed and I'm already in my destination. The school has a spacey parking lot area, and there isn't much cars parked in here. There's also a bicycle park area. A wide building stood tall, and there's a lettering engraved on the walls. Casco Bay High School. Wow, I wish I have brought a jacket. It's surprisingly cold here.

Not wasting any more time, I head inside the school. There isn't much students roaming across the hallway. Bulletin boards are on the side, pinned on the wall. I march towards there and take a look. There's a couple of news pinned on the wall, and there's a printed text that has an information for the tryouts for basketball and... volleyball. What a lucky day for me! There's a time indicated on the paper and where the tryout is going to be held. I quickly take a picture of it and send it to the group chat I have going on with my friends in the Philippines. Well, the group chat consists of me, Max, and Sophie only.

I tell them the good news, but they haven't seen my message yet, though they're clearly online. It's just 6 in the morning here, so it would be around... 7-ish pm there. I shrug. I take a couple of pictures of the hallway and then start roaming around the school.

Within 15 minutes of walking, I've seen the gym, where the tryouts for basketball and volleyball are going to be held, the classrooms, the restrooms, the laboratory rooms, the theater stage, and the library. I'm surprised everything is clean and well-organized here. In the Philippines, we don't have such things as the laboratory rooms or the theater stage. Well, some of it, but you could count it with your fingers. So it awes me to see those exist. I've only seen them in the American movies I've watched.

Checking my phone for any messages from my friends, I accidentally bump up with someone and I let out a groan. I look up to see a 6-foot tall guy looking at me, his eyes burning at me that makes me shiver.

"I'm sorry..." I scratch the back of my neck, awkwardness lingering in the air. My eyes don't meet his.

"You're the new kid... Isaiah's stepbrother?" 6-foot tall guy says, his voice deep. He must have seen the surprised reaction on my face as he throws a smirk at me. "Dude, almost everybody knows. You're the topic of the week. The school is just small, and news travel faster."

"The school is just... small? Are you sure about that?" I ask him, turning around and looking at every corner of the school. This seems pretty big to me. It isn't even big like Pateros Catholic High School, the one I attended back in the Philippines. "Because this school is huge for me. And yes, I'm the stepbrother of Isaiah. I haven't met him yet though."

"Typical Isaiah." He groans, rolling his eyes at the mere mention of his name. I wonder if he doesn't like Isaiah at all. Isaiah sounds like a nice guy. "Are you lost?"

"Kind of," I admit shyly, looking at my phone for distraction. "I've seen where almost everything is, but I can't quite pin where the helpdesk area is so I can get my schedule. This place isn't small, I tell you."

I earn a laugh from him, shaking his head in amusement. "Dude, it's just in the front entrance. You haven't seen it?"

"Oh," I must have been caught up with that tryout announcement that I haven't noticed it.

The 6-foot tall guy laughs again. "My name's Dylan. What's yours?"

"Chad." I tell him my name. He offers his hand and I gladly take it, shaking his hand. He offers to walk me there as he has nothing better to do. He just woke up early and decided to be in school early. "Thank you. You really don't need to walk me there. It's fine. Thanks for your help."

"No, seriously, it's alright, dude." He muses, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looks straight ahead. "You know, I should tell you, Isaiah is a prick. Don't mingle with him too much. He probably doesn't want to meet you. That guy has been an only child and now he has an instant brother. Be careful around him. I'm just telling you."

"Is he... that bad?" I ask him, waiting for his answer.

He shrugs. "To be honest, we're kind of rivals. Because he's a prick. A total piece of shit. Did you know he fucking seduced my girlfriend? Girlfriends are off-limits, right? Imagine! I still hate him for it. I'm telling you, if you want to survive, back off Isaiah. He only has Kyle and the basketball team as his friends. Outside the circle, none."

"So he's that... bad? Is that a thing here in America?"

He must have been shocked at my question that he stares at me incredulously as if I've grown another head. A small smile tugs on his lips. Dylan shakes his head, amused written on his face as he looks at me. I feel embarrassed asking him that. Of course it's not a thing in America. There are asshole everywhere, and I feel dumb asking that question to him.

"No, it's not a thing in America, it's just there's a bunch of assholes everywhere."

"Agree, but I'm living with Isaiah. Isn't that going to be harder for me?"

"Yep," he pops the last letter, nodding his head. "But you're Asian, and Asians are tough. Isn't that right? What are you anyway, Vietnamese?"

"Filipino."

"Oh, okay." He hums in response. "There are Chinese students here, and so far, you're the only Filipino guy studying here. Breaking the record, aren't we?"

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"

"It's not." He crosses his arms across his chest. "This school is diverse. Sometimes, there's marching for diversity and equality. Good choice of school, by the way. But, bad choice of students. For example, Isaiah."

"He can't be that bad." I tell him hopefully.

He shrugs. "You'll find out sooner or later. But be careful. There's the helpdesk." He points out the helpdesk where a lady in her mid-thirties are organizing files, her dark hair pulled up into a bun. She's wearing a floral dress, and her face is covered in light make-up that suits her face. "That's Ms. Black-Ray. Just tell her your name and she'll put up the record and print out your schedule. See you around, Chad."

"Thanks, Dylan!" I wave him goodbye and head straight to the helpdesk.

Her eyes meet mine as I approach. She puts the file to the side of her computer monitor and takes a good look at me. Her scrutinizing gaze makes me uncomfortable, but I still walk towards her direction. Once I'm within reach, she asks me my name, pulls up my information on her computer, and prints out my schedule for the entire semester. She makes a comment about having a few Asian people studying here, but her comment seems like she's interested or something. I just shrug it off.

"You're way too early, is that how Asian rolls?"

"Yes, that's how we roll." I answer her politely, smiling. She shrugs and begins punching keys on her keyboard as she looks intently on the monitor of her computer.

*

Isaiah wakes up begrudgingly, already hating the day. He knows it's going to be long and tiring. Today, they have basketball tryouts and as the captain of the basketball team, he needs to be there. Since two members have left the group, they need three people, the other one acting as a backup. That's what Coach James has said to them.

The alarm just rings, prompting Isaiah to shut it with annoyance. He went home late last night, and when he got home, his dad and Sarah were still awake. They were watching television and talking about my stepbrother. I learned that his name is actually Chad, not Jack. Apparently, he needed a lot of adjustment considering that he spent his entire school days in the Philippines. And apart that he's the only Filipino studying in the school, I doubt he'd be friends with the Chinese people studying there. They speak good English, trust me, but they are a couple of assholes. They are math freaks, and they think they are the superior when it comes to that subject. Well, nobody gives a damn. Except Brianna Williams, a top student. She's been in a constant fight with them, and while nobody cares about whatever they have going on, it's amusing to see them bicker with each other.

The clock reads 6:30, and the school won't start at 8 AM so he has an hour and a half to prepare. Rolling up the bed, he hisses when his feet make contact with the cold ground floor. While he's used to the weather in Portland, Maine, his feet aren't with the cold ground every morning. His dad has bought him comfy slippers to use, but he always forgets where he puts them. Thus, he has to suffer every morning to find it.

Without wasting any more time, as much as he hates it, he goes to the bathroom only to find the pair of slippers there. He sighs. He has endured the trip to the bathroom, his feet touching the cold ground that sent shivers down his spine. He rolls his eyes to himself. Of course he'd leave it here. He turns on the shower, sets it to hot, and strips to his birthday suit. After a couple of seconds, as the water turns hot, he slips into the shower and cleans himself.

After playing with Kyle yesterday, he didn't bother to clean himself when he got home. Instead, he went straight to bed and ignored all the protest inside his head. He likes getting into long baths, and whenever he feels dirty, he will take a bath. But last night was an exception. He was just so tired, both physically and mentally, so he didn't bother getting into the shower.

Today, as much as hate it's going to be, has to be productive. He needs to fill up his schedule, with no room for anything. With a sole reason of not socializing and meeting his new stepbrother. He knows his dad is expecting him to take his new "stepbrother" to school with him, considering he's new in the area, or in USA. But he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to mingle with him. He doesn't want to know him. He doesn't want anything to do with him at all. It's so unlike him to have these thoughts, but like he said, he's been used to being an only child that he didn't expect to have a brother or a sister. He isn't used to having his dad having divided attention towards him.

Once he's done showering, he immediately dries himself and brush his teeth, making sure to gurgle mouthwash before he gets out of the bathroom.

He decides to wear a black shirt over a red-and-white stripe polo, unbuttoned. He knows those type of dress really works on him. It gives him the boy-next-door vibe, and girls love it. Even guys, or gays. He wears jeans and his newly-bought Converse shoes. He looks at himself in the mirror, disheveling his hair that really looks good on him. He flashes a smile and heads downstairs after tidying himself up.

Sarah and Bill are already downstairs. He greets them good morning. He earns a hug and a kiss from Sarah, which feels good. It's been so long since he feels a motherly gesture towards him, and he surely loves it. He hugs Sarah back.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Sarah." Isaiah tells her and Sarah smiles brightly.

"I've prepared food. I hope you like it. It's a Filipino dish, it's called menudo." As much as he wants to decline, he can't help but accept Sarah's offer. "It's better with rice." She beams at him and Isaiah nods his head, going to the kitchen.

Sarah prepares him a plate and pushes the menudo and rice towards him. He doesn't really eat rice, but since Sarah has prepared it, he better have a taste. He doesn't want to disappoint his dad's happiness. He scoops a spoonful of rice, and tops it with the orange menudo sauce. He tastes it, and after a few seconds, it's not really bad. He likes it. Sarah brightens up and tells him to eat more before going to school.

Isaiah's eyes roam around, looking for a specific boy his age, but he fails to see his new stepbrother, which makes him wonder where he's been.

"If you're looking for Chad, he's gone to school already 30 minutes ago." Bill tells him.

"What? But school won't start til' 8." He seems shocked to learn that his stepbrother woke up early and went to school very early. Is that an Asian thing? Bill shrugs. Isaiah continues to eat. It's surprisingly really good. Apparently Sarah is a great cook herself. Chad is very lucky to have a mother like her.

Once he's done eating, he grins widely and thanks Sarah for cooking such a delicious meal in the morning. Isaiah can't help but to think that today isn't going to be bad as much as he expected. Though he still doesn't want to cross a path with his new stepbrother. There's no way he'll get along with it.