Matters of the Heart

Young Love

It was a rather unusual orientation for the chirpy middle schoolers who had never had such an opportunity before. Their little souls cherished the arrangement nonetheless. It was going to be a new experience for all of them. Even though most of them did not have much friends, they still relished the fact that they got to camp under the vastly beautiful sky in an equally serene night in the forest. The Allegra Institute of Education for Middle and High Schoolers took its job very seriously and worked its best on refining the best in their students. So there in the clearing, dispersed were the lot of innocent middle schoolers –personification of fascinating dreams and aspirations – lounging around and trying to get their tents to set up under the supervision of responsible adults.

A little girl sat not too far from the crowd with a book in her hand, her ponytail swaying gently with the movement of her head as she examined the crowd around her. Eunha was a reserved child who felt anxious among large crowds and found refuge in the world of her books and silent observations. Though the day had been tiring for her with all the walking and loud chatter of her age mates, she found it fascinating that the large grounds of her future campus did not seem hostile at all. They offered welcoming warmth to everyone and for once in her lifetime, Eunha looked forward to new beginnings, trying not to let the anxiety of unknown get the better of her.

As much as the child anticipated the thrill of her new school and new life as a young tween, the probability of making new friends was still a lingering dread on her little mind. Eunha had never had to try at looking for friends, assuming she could bond with whoever sat by her seat in the classes. Growing slowly into the highs and lows of being a teenager struggling to get by with a social life, the perceptive girl had soon realized that it did not always work like that, and that the task of peopling actually required effort. It was all a headache -- the uncertainty of trying to befriend strangers -- and the dread of having to let them hang around if she found similar grounds with them. It seemed like a drag to her but she knew she had to try. All those loving lectures from her mom were not for nothing.

So there she sat on the log, distant from the lively and lightly glow of the campsite bustling with her peers and supervisors, trying to come up with ideas on how to approach the kids around. It was a struggle prospecting where to begin, depending which of them seemed less intimidating and friendly enough to share a tent with.

They were all 12 13 year olds but Eunha somewhat fell back on the age spectrum being one of the youngest: 11 year old, which was an added factor to her anxieties.

"Hey, why are you sitting there like a ghost come play with us." A puny boy not much older than Eunha asked her snapping her out of her anxious daze. He had an aura that screamed troublemaker and to the ever intuitive Eunha she absolutely did not want to linger even a little around the 'd' of danger on her very first day of middle school orientation. The frightened girl cleared her throat shaking her head and making her pony tail bounce in an adorable manner.

"I am fine here, thanks." Eunha was a shy girl but something both her parents found admirable about her was her confidence even from such a young age. Despite situations that would make any other kid in her place run, Eunha never faltered or cried; neither did her voice give away the anxiety she more often than not felt.

The boy tilted his head to the side with an uneasy twinkle taking up his features. "Hey Lilly I found us a little friend but she is refusing to play with us."

At the boy's call a group of kids emerged from their hiding spots into the clearing all having the same troublemaker aura around them.

"Hey mousey Daniel is only offering you a game, shouldn't you be respectful enough to accept his kindness?" An adorable little girl, who looked like the leader of the small group, spoke with confidence that Eunha wished she had to help with her social life.