06:05 AM

Sam jumped out of bed and pulled on the clothes he had picked out the night before.

It was the first semester of a brand-new year of high school, and there was no way he was going to be late.

As he pedaled toward school, his thoughts drifted back to the person he'd been before summer break started.

He'd been... different.

Less attractive. Less confident. Less athletic. Just... less.

But summer had changed him.

And now he wanted to prove himself.

When Sam finally locked up his bike and stepped into the school, he was immediately overwhelmed. The halls were packed with unfamiliar faces, voices bouncing off the walls, students rushing from one place to another as if they'd done it a thousand times before.

For everyone else, it probably felt like the same first day of school all over again.

For Sam, it was completely new.

He couldn't wait to get to his classes. To meet new people. To see what this year would become.

People were fascinating to him. Every person had a story, even if he didn't know it yet.

And he met plenty of new people before the bells rung, signaling the start of first block.

His first class was history.

It was boring.

The teacher was boring. The notes were boring. The room was boring. Boring, boring, boring.

There wasn't much to do besides stare at the clock and wait for the bell to ring yet again.

But his next class was different.

It was the one he'd been looking forward to all morning.

Orchestra.

Sam had always loved music.

It was more than something he listened to; it had become a part of him.

Whenever life became too much, he'd put on his headphones and disappear into a song.

He'd picked up the viola after his brother introduced the instrument to him, playing it for their family one evening. Sam hadn't known why he'd been so drawn to it.

He still didn't.

There was just something about music that felt magical.

It was comforting. Familiar.

It was a place he could go when he didn't know where else to be.

So naturally, he was really, really looking forward to orchestra.

But the moment he stepped through the classroom doors and into the practice room, something felt different.

Not bad.

Just... different.

There was something in the room that he couldn't quite put into words. An unspoken sense of potential, as if something was waiting for him there.

Something inside him.

Something he hadn't discovered yet.

And then he saw the people.

They were amazing.

Funny. Kind. Welcoming. The sort of people who seemed to make a room feel lighter just by being in it.

And, somehow, they wanted to be his friends.

Not because of how he looked.

Not because of what he could do.

Just because he was Sam.

They didn't seem to care about differences. Everyone was accepted. Everyone had a place.

Sam stood there for a moment, taking it all in.

Maybe, he thought, these people weren't so bad to be around after all.