It had only been the second week of school, and Shin was already making a name for himself—for all the wrong reasons.
He got into a fight with a 7th grader. And lost. Badly.
The story spread fast. Apparently, he had stepped in to defend a new friend—another refugee who barely spoke Korean. A noble cause, sure, but middle school wasn't exactly forgiving. Shin got beat up and suspended for three days.
When he finally came back, I visited him at his house.
"Shin, why did you even get into that fight?" I asked.
He shrugged, leaning back in his chair like a war hero recovering from battle. "They were being mean to my friend. He's a refugee like us. He doesn't even know how to speak Korean well. Someone had to step up."
I sighed. "Yeah, good job, but I also heard you got your ass kicked."
Shin scowled. "That's not the point."
I shook my head. "Look, just don't go picking fights. You might actually get expelled and end up in some other school."
Shin grumbled, "Yeah, yeah, I'll try not to."
Right then, Leana knocked on his door and strolled in like she owned the place. Arms crossed, eyebrow raised, she wasted no time.
"I heard you got into a fight with the big kids, huh, Shin?"
Shin, still sore from his loss, just grunted, "Because they were assholes, duh."
Leana smirked. "You should've done it quietly."
I sat back and watched them go back and forth, shaking my head with a smile. Shin was reckless, Leana was sharp, and somehow, we balanced each other out.
Middle school was definitely going to be interesting.