My eyes slightly opened, indicating the awakening of my soul from a deep slumber as the pitter-patter sound of rain fell upon our car hood. I watched in silence as the droplets slid down our car window, enclosing it within a deep, warm embrace, and my heart filled with instant peace.

A soft smile fell upon my lips and I rolled my window down to get in a breath of the petrichor emanating from the sudden fresh air in the midst of nature.

A small warning to remain careful came from my mom and dad, who drove the car even slower now as he avoided both any chance of harm to me and any chance of a possible skid in the muddy road, and I responded with a fairly reassuring dismissal.

That reassurance, however, only sat with me for a minute or so until a childish whim came over me and I set upon my job of mustering up the most innocent puppy dog eyes. An eternal weakness to my parents, the face worked almost instantly and I was soon allowed, very hesitantly, to put my hands out in the rain.

My hands immediately shot outside upon approval and my grin grew wider as the water droplets touched my hand, splashing all across it. Some of it even made its way into the car.

My heart was still not completely satisfied and fluttered in disobedience as I sneakily tried to put my face out too. The second the rain hit my face, I experienced the true meaning of tranquility. For after so long, I felt in harmony with nature. 

At that moment, all my thoughts evaporated just as fast as they had come, and a mind free of unconscious thoughts and worries felt nothing less than a prize I had been long yearning.

Of course, my apparent idiocy was only to last so long and my parents finally caught me in my act, scolding me for acting so carelessly. "That isn't safe, Clare. And you're definitely going to get a cold anytime soon," she paused as she turned around her seat to look at me. "Oh, my, my. Look at the car too! All the water's in! Clare, shut the window at once."

I sulked, jutting my bottom lip out, but my parents did not fall for it a second time and up the window went. I glanced down at the seat and tilted my head, acknowledging that my mom was, indeed, right about the rain inside the car.

Oops. 

I took a deep breath in and stared at the ongoing weather as I witnessed the carefree and calm energy the droplets dispersed. I'd loved rain for as long as I'd remembered. Right from jumping into puddles to dancing and twirling in the rain with my little dress as sickness fell upon me, there were too many memories I had attached to the natural phenomenon. 

God, there was so much energy in me. 

Now, with the burden of growing up, it felt like it was expected of me to bring out the somberness as a sign of maturity.

I didn't like that.

I wanted for my nature and personality to be the way I shaped it, not society. I didn't want my existence and individuality to fit in a certain box. I wanted my idea of balance to showcase itself. I wanted myself to have a fresh start, away from the burdening drama back in my hometown, and let myself breathe again. 

This rain had come as a blessing. As a sign. As hope. That I would find myself again.

And maybe it was just this unconscious semblance that had made me even more desperate to indulge into it. 

"How many hours to go?" I asked again, my lips chipping off from each other as dry skin clumped together. 

"Actually, we've only another twenty minutes to go," dad responded, looking at me through the rearview mirror. "We're in the city already."

For the first time, I looked through the blurry vision created by the rain and attempted to refocus on what was behind. I watched as tiny villas and restaurants passed by, the sign of life slowly resurfacing from relatively dead roads. 

The rest of the journey was hardly noticeable and I felt the car slow down to a stop as the engine was killed, and the car was backed into a parking spot. 

"So, this is it?" I questioned, staring up to my dad's face as our evident height difference would allow. 

"Yep, this is it," he replied, as he shut his door, and extended the umbrella to fit us both properly while my mom carried her own little purple umbrella, scurrying behind us. "Do you want to have a look around the campus before your big day tomorrow? Or meet the principal? Or anything like that?"

"Um. . .I'll look at the campus once. Maybe gaining that sense of familiarity would help me adjust better?"

He gave me a smile. "Okay, then. I'm going to the principal's office to discuss any kind of paperwork. You find your way around and give me a call when your done." He gave a pointed look to my umbrella. "And don't get a cold. Keep that over your head."

A light chuckle resonated from the two of us and he retreated towards the building as I went towards the outdoor basketball court. 

Excitement filled my veins as I saw kids around my age, staying back afterschool to play some ball. Whilst the ground was covered with a shelter above, water had still managed to seep into the playing ground. Clearly, however, that did not matter to the kids who ran away with their overjoyed faces towards a nearing hoop. 

Ah, the passion of a sport. 

I loved it. 

I was only still walking off a distance, trying to observe the outsides when a wind hit me strongly, pulling upon my umbrella with a force I could not compete with. My eyes searched the nearest spot of shelter, narrowing down to a tree and I made a run for it before my dad's precious black, god-gifted umbrella slipped right through my fingers.

I settled down on the tree placing the umbrella between my knees to ensure it would not fly off and attempted to pat my hair down which were caught in a distraught mess due to the windy rain. 

The moment I knew I was completely screwed was when I felt a sneeze come upon me. 

Mom was going to kill me. She'd warned me about the cold too. 

I just couldn't imagine anything worse than getting sick right before going to a new school. So much for an amazing first day of school. 

The sneezes were just on a roll after that. I lost count after the fourth one and my cold cheeks turned red in embarrassment.

Just when I let out my final sneeze and looked over my elbow, I saw a guy's head popped out of the other side of the tree staring at me with a look of incredibility. The second our eyes met, however, he retreated just as fast as he could and I was left in utter shock.

With my mouth hanging as I realized someone just witnessed my disaster, I tried to calm my thoughts that were sure I ruined any chance of a smooth, sailing time in school. I gulped in worry and shut my eyes trying to think of the positives. 

Right, positives. I could make him a friend? 

Oh my god. I could totally make him a friend! I'd even have someone for comfort tomorrow!

I mustered up the courage and took in a deep, deep breath-- that I wished he did not hear-- and let it out. I could do this. 

Making friends. Easy peasy. 

I practiced saying hello in my head a couple of times before I just ran by instinct, popping my head in a very similar manner to his. When our eyes met this time, out went any idea of a civilized conversation that started with a hello. 

And I squeaked out an awkward, "Hey."