Leo stood at the bottom of the wide stone steps, looking up at the massive brick building. To a fifth grader like Leo, Jefferson High School didn't look like a school. It looked like a fortress from a movie. Today was "Future Hawks Day," and the older students were showing the younger kids around the campus.

Leo clutched his backpack straps. His older sister, Maya, was a freshman there. She always talked about how long it took to get from her locker to her math class. Leo wondered if he would need a map and a compass just to find the cafeteria. The building had three floors and hallways that seemed to go on forever.

When the doors opened, a wave of noise and energy hit him. Students were rushing everywhere. They seemed so tall, like giants in hoodies and sneakers. Leo followed the tour guide, a cheerful senior named Sarah, down a long hallway lined with bright blue lockers. He noticed that the lockers here were much taller than the cubbies at his elementary school.

"It looks confusing now," Sarah said, noticing Leo's wide eyes. "But after a week, you'll know these halls like the back of your hand. It's just like a big puzzle that you learn to put together."

The tour stopped at the science wing. Through a glass window, Leo saw students wearing safety goggles. They were hovering over bubbling beakers and colorful liquids. In the music room nearby, the thumping bass of the jazz band made the floor vibrate under his feet. Leo’s fear started to turn into curiosity.

They finally reached the gymnasium, which was large enough to fit three of Leo’s elementary school gyms inside. Maya was there, wearing her school jersey. She waved him over with a big smile.

"What do you think, Leo?" she asked. "Ready to be a Hawk?"

Leo looked around at the buzzing hallways and the excited faces. It was definitely bigger and faster than his current school, but it wasn't a scary fortress anymore. It was a place full of new things to try.

"I think I’m going to need bigger sneakers," Leo joked. "But I think I'm ready."