Alfred held the paper with trembling hands. The letter was very clear, but he had to read it just one more time. It read:

"Dear Alfred Freedom Jones,

You have been chosen to participate in "Operation: Worldwide Education". This is a program that takes one student from their home country and sends them to a school with students of different countries. This is an excellent opportunity to test one's social skills and to gain knowledge about the beautiful world around you. You have been chosen because we believe that you are the best of the best. On Monday, August 5th, you will be pulled from class at exactly 10:48. From there, you will be directed to your school's office where one of our specialized workers will take you to the airport. Have fun and good luck with your new life.

Thanks and best regards,

Funimation Educational Center"

"This is a joke, right?" Alfred asked his principal, who shook his head in response.

"No, I'm afraid that this is very real, Mr. Jones. You should be delighted to be granted with such an opportunity," Mr. Phinizy, his math teacher, said with a smile.

"I've never been out of the state before!" Alfred complained.

"Even better! Some kids never even left America before. Now you have something to brag about!" his principal, Mr. Hagner, boasted.

"To who!? I'd leave all of my friends. Forever!" He whined.

"Ever heard of Facebook, Mr. Jones? I'm sure it could come in handy. Besides, you're not going alone. Your brother was chosen to go as well," Mr. Phinizy told him.

Alfred looked over to his twin brother. He was sitting in the seat next to him, looking at the floor as he twiddled his fingers. He always did that when he was nervous.

Alfred looked back at his math teacher. Mr. Phinizy was an African American man with thick, brown dreadlocks that stopped at his waist and black spectacles. He was Alfred's favorite teacher... Well, until today he was.

"They're giving you kids the royal treatment! Dorms, free transportation, the works!" Mr. Hagner informed them, "I'd take a dorm over a dirty, old orphanage any day of the week."

The brothers looked at their principal in shock. Even Mr. Phinizy looked disturbed by his comment.

Mr. Hagner realized that his wording was wrong. "Wh-What I mean is-"

"What he's saying is that this is a chance to start a new life," Mr. Phinizy corrected.

It was perfectly true, however. Alfred and Matthew were orphans. They were only four years old when they were dropped off at Saint Net's Orphanage.

Alfred sighed. He was about to protest when Matthew spoke up.

"This sounds like a good idea," he said softly.

"What? Matthew, you're on their side? The dark side!" Alfred gasped.

"I just think that this could be a good opportunity to finally be able to start my life the way I've always wanted it to be," he stated. Opportunity. Alfred was beginning to hate that word.

"Did I mention that you get your own dorm? Not just any dorm, but it's basically your own personal house. You can do anything you want with it," Mr. Phinizy persuaded.

His own house? No one could make him take a bath or clean his room or do the dishes. God, how he despised doing the dishes.

Mr. Phinizy was about to continue his coaxing when the bell had rung.

"I want you to think about this, boys," Mr. Hagner said, "You're

dismissed."

"What are you going to do?" Darwin asked. Darwin was Alfred's best friend. He had brown eyes, curly blonde hair, and freckles that covered his usually oily skin.

"I don't know," Alfred admitted.

Darwin and Molly, a girl that Alfred was rather fond of, were walking the brothers home.

"I think you should do it, Alfred. Just promise that you'll text me from time to time," Molly said, making the 14 year old boy nod.

"Of course!" Alfred told her. It didn't take long for them to arrive at Saint Net's. Darwin and Molly said their goodbyes and let the two boys go inside the orphanage.

"There you are. I was looking for you," Marie said. She was a short and stout

nun that worked at Saint Net's.

"We were talking to Mr. Hagner," Matthew murmured.

"Boys, as much as I enjoy having you two here, I advise you two to go on this journey," she said, making Alfred groan. They didn't say anything for the rest of the day. They mostly stayed in their room unless their presence was absolutely necessary.

"Alfred, I really want to go," said Matthew as he pulled out his sketchpad, "At this point, I don't care if you're coming or not."

Alfred stared at his brother in disbelief. "Fine. I'll go."

"You're serious?"

"Yes, I, Alfred F. Jones, am going to go with you," he told his brother who smiled in return.

"Well, alright then! You better start packing your bags!... Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You have dish duty tonight," he said, earning a groan from his brother.

Alfred sat in the main office, clenching the strap to his duffel bag tightly. Sweat was beginning to drip off of his temple as he pondered this decision. He looked over at Mattie. He was drawing a maple leaf in his sketchpad. He didn't draw anything but maple leaves. How boring was that!?

"I heard that we'll be flying first class. That's pretty good, eh?" he whispered to Alfred, who trembled in response. He checked the time. 10:45!

"Um, ya know, we never said goodbye to our teachers."

"Oh yeah, you're right," Matthew gasped.

"Come on, let's go tell them that we're leaving," Alfred said, hauling his duffel bag over his shoulder. He grabbed Matthew's hand and pulled him into the hall. If they missed the bus or whatever, then they couldn't get picked up, right? Alfred was grinning from ear to ear.

"Um, Alfred, maybe we could just email them. Didn't the notice say the bus was coming exactly at 10:48?" Matthew asked with the tilt of his head. What if they came exactly at 10:48?

"Er, yeah, but Coach said he wanted to see us, because we are his favorite students." Mattie huffed in response. This story was beginning to become less believable by the second.

They skidded into the gymnasium. It was...barren. Nobody was in there, not even Coach Simmons.

"Alfred! Seriously, what's going on?!" Matthew questioned with the ferocity of a rabbit, which, as you can guess, is not a lot.

This wasn't working. He rose his finger as if he were about to speak and darted out of the gym via the emergency exit. He was running through the muddy fields with his bags in his arms. Why did he have to pack his whole room?! He couldn't look behind himself, but he knew by the distant yelling that Mattie was far behind. He just had to jump the fence, zip past the parking lot, and there was sweet freedom! Past the brambles and through the vines. He'd be safe there. Maybe he could hide for about a day or two, surviving off the land. Like a Boss! He was so busy fantasizing that he crashed into the fence.

"Argh." He rubbed his scratched up cheek. He couldn't even process the pain because the distant hollering was becoming less and less distant. "Crap!" He threw his bags over the fence and began to climb up. Almost. Almost! He almost made it over until he was pulled off. This wasn't done by Mattie though, because he was suspended in the air too. By...Mr. Phinizy?!

"What are you two doing? The bus could be here any second," he said to the boys who were squirming in his arms.

"It's his fault! You lied to me, you liar!" Matthew hissed, trying to give his brother a good punch or two.

Mr. Phinizy was about to ask what he meant by that when he heard a puff of exhaust. He turned around and spotted the Funimation bus that was driving away from the front of the school.

"No," Mattie whined.

Alfred did feel a bit guilty, but he knew that Matthew would get over it. It wasn't that important, right?

They were silent for a few minutes before Mr. Phinizy set them down real slow. "Follow me," he said as he started into the parking lot. "I'm taking you boys home."

Alfred's smile faded. Home. That was odd. He had called Saint Net's their home. It sure didn't feel like home. That couldn't be their home.

He walked to the dull, yellow car and pulled the door open. There was a cardboard box in it with several papers and a gold trophy. Some plaques too. He was about to do some further investigation until Mattie crawled in on the other side of the backseat, pushing the box to the middle of them, a border. Alfred sighed and crawled in on the other side of the box of mysteries.

Mr. Phinizy twisted the key and started up the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and began driving. Alfred kept his head down for the most part until he heard the pitter pattering of rain as it hit the window. How cliché. He slouched in his seat and patted his stomach not sure if he should look at Matthew or not. He sighed and flipped around since he had a free range of motion without his seatbelt. They were just driving to the orphanage and it wasn't that far. He laid his head against the car door.

"Mr. Phinizy, why are we driving so far?" Matthew asked with a rising feeling of trepidation. This was beginning to sound like one of those stories on the radio that the nuns would play in the afternoon. It was always drab and grey just like now. A man would offer you a ride home and next thing ya know, you were never heard from again…

"I'm taking you guys home. Your new home. And it's not in America anymore," he said nonchalantly.

Alfred nearly died.

"W-Wow, Mr. Phinizy! That's really amazing! Are you coming with us?" Matthew stuttered, his eyes welling up with tears. Why?

"I sure am," he smiled before turning towards Alfred. "You're looking at your new math teacher. Isn't that swell, Mr. Jones?" he asked with a smirk.

He felt uncomfortable. He was so sick and drowsy; he couldn't think straight. He laid back and shut his eyes. He needed to escape. Just for a little while…

"Mr. Jones."

Alfred opened his eyes. They were at the airport, no, in the airport. Rain was hitting the ground in the form of bullets. He looked up to see Mr. Phinizy looking over him. Matthew was turned away from him but was sneaking little glances from time to time.

"You were snoring, Mr. Jones." Alfred sighed and sat up. Now, he could see the full picture. They were in a lobby like setting, the terminal to be exact, in some cozy chairs with their bags by their feet. There were several stores and restaurants, reminding the American boy of how hungry he really was. He licked his lips before hearing a soft slapping noise. He turned around to see the rain hitting the glass walls of the building. Perfect. Grey skies and depression.

There was a blinking light and next thing he knew, Alfred was walking to his doom.

"We're going in first class! Can you believe it?" Mattie gasped. He had been awfully talkative today. Well in his eyes, he had every right to be. This was his chance to fly, to soar. He could be anything he wanted to be now. He was going to be the kid who everyone knew. He didn't want to be invisible. He didn't want to be a ghost. He was an artist! A poet! This was his time to shine. It was his time for the first time of his life.

They walked the jet bridge in a single file line, hauling their bags, which were quite heavy. Inside the first class sections were cozy seating that resembled lofts in a way. They allowed two people to sit across from each other. Mr. Phinizy gave them a salute and went to find his own seat. It was about three rows behind them. Alfred pulled back the table and sat inside, a sigh leaving his mouth. It was comfortable. Really comfortable. That relieved him a little. He opened his eyes to see that Matthew's were fixed onto him.

"Al...I don't want to be mad at you. What you did was really bad, but…I forgive you. Do you understand?"

Alfred sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry," Alfred mumbled, making his brother smile, "Now, can we please eat? I'm soo hungry." As if he had said some magic words, a flight attendant came. "Excuse me, sir, would you like a menu?" she asked with a sweet smile and soft eyes.

Alfred was mesmerized. It was as if for once he was important. He was the big deal! He nodded his head and the woman disappeared behind a silk curtain. She came back with two glossy, brown menus and handed them to the brothers.

Alfred allowed his mouth to salivate as he looked at it.

"Al, they have breakfast and it's not even breakfast time!" Matthew awed.

"I know. This is amazing. Um. I-I'll have the waffles. Mattie, I already know you want the pancakes."

The woman chuckled. "Would you like maple syrup with that?"

"YES!" Matthew yelled suddenly before regaining control of himself. "I mean yes, please."

The woman nodded and pushed her cart off. When she came back, she had two porcelain plates. One was topped off with a beautiful stack of hotcakes while the other had a stack of waffles. Both stacks had two little slabs of butter. On the side was a tall bottle that was filled with a rich, amber liquid. She placed their plates in front of them and bid them farewell.

Matthew placed his napkin in his lap while Alfred tied his around his neck. They began to eat their food and talk like old friends, which they actually were.

With the combination of rain and the soft chatter that was spread across first class, it made sense that after their meals, they went right to sleep.

"Mat."

Matthew blinked open his tired eyes. "What?"

"It's time to go," Mr. Phinizy wheezed. The weight of all their combined bags was not good on his back.

Alfred was standing next to his teacher with a look of uncertainty. Instead of giving him an okay, he just took his bag and Mattie's. They walked through the Jet Bridge and stopped by one of the windows. Alfred pressed his fingers on the glass. The sun was streaming through and it felt so good on his skin. They weren't in America. That was for sure. What countries was this?

He squinted past the light and caught sight of the Funimation bus.

"We better get a move on boys. We don't want to miss the bus again," Mr. Phinizy said softly as he looked at the new world around them.

Matthew tugged on Alfred's shirt and pulled him into the airport. Alfred's nose picked up the scent of french toast.

"Phin, can we take a detour?"

Mr. Phinizy looked a little irritated. "And miss this bus? No siree." Alfred believed that he was just mad because he gave him that amazing nickname. "I'm sure they'll have breakfast at the place."

"But what if it's not good? I don't know what food taste like here."

Mr. Phinizy furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you do any research about this program."

"Dude, if you hadn't stopped me, I was going to run away and live in the forest like a lost boy." Mattie seemed irritated by that comment.

"Now is not the time, Mr. Jones. Now, can we please go to the elevator?"

Alfred nodded and they went into a rather spacious elevator. Wait, scratch that. About 6 million people squeezed in at that very moment.

"Mr. Phinizy! I can't breathe!" Matthew squeaked.

"J-Just a little longer," the teacher said. He was squished against the side, making his glasses hang sideways on his face.

The elevator ride was an evil three minutes for all of them. When everyone finally exited the elevator, Alfred could breathe and see the light of day for himself. With Mr. Phinizy's guidance, the boys climbed onto the bus. It was empty aside from the driver. They sat in the back and moved over so Mr. Phinizy could sit besides them. He didn't.

"You're not coming with?"

He shook his head. "I know you guys will do the best thing."

Alfred and Matthew gasped as the teacher went back towards the doors.

"Well, boys. I'll see you there," he said before climbing down. The doors shut and the vehicle wheeled off. They looked out the back window to see a pale kid running towards the bus holding a little yellow thing. The bus really didn't wait for anyone.

They turned back around. They were really alone now. Well, at least they had each other. That's all they would ever have.

The ride wasn't as long as they had expected, and soon the bus screeched to a stop in front of a big building that didn't resemble a school at all. There were people in business clothes coming out.

Alfred gulped. "Come on, Mat." He grabbed his bag and slowly exited the bus, full of worry. The bus driver barely acknowledged their presence. He just nodded and looked forward like a robot. When they got out, they were greeted by a man. "Hello. Can I help you, boys?"

"Um, hi. I'm Alfred and this is Mattie. I think we're lost. We're supposed to be at school or something?"

The man's eyes sparkled. He looked at Al. "You're the representative of America and I'm certain that your brother is for Canada."

Matthew nodded softly. "Are you the principal?"

The man smiled softly. "Well, I suppose you can say that. I'm the lead director and the maker of this program. You can call me Mr. Himaruya."

Alfred nodded though he had no idea how to spell that. "Thanks, Mr. Himaruya. So, where's the school?" He asked as he looked around.

Mr. Himaruya pointed to the work building behind him. "This is it. I know that this doesn't look like your average school, but we have everything here. A cafeteria and classrooms; we even have a workout room with many ellipticals and weights for your physical education. Speaking of which, you both must be starved from your trip. I'll take your bags. You boys go inside," he urged.

Alfred gulped. He pulled Matthew inside because resisting was futile at this point. They were here and even if they left, they had nowhere to go. Mr. Phinizy was nowhere to be found and this place was located in….lord knows where. He waited for no further instructions before pushing inside. The place seemed like it was infinite. Inside were several little sections like a mall. He was about to back out when Mattie pointed to a kid with blond hair.

"Maybe we should ask for directions."

"That's creepy. We should just follow him," Alfred suggested, putting on his serious face.

"I-What? That's creepy!"

"NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS!" He whispered-screamed. Before Matthew could protest any further, Alfred dragged him away to follow the mystery boy. He went down a corridor before heading into a room.

"Here we go!" And with no warning at all, Alfred kicked the door open. He didn't know why he did this. Maybe to look cool? Well, he thought he looked cool. Obviously nobody else did. Yeah, nobody! There was like a million kids in this place! Well, not a million, but an awful lot. They all stared at him.

"U-Um…." He began to squish against the frame of the door as if getting skinnier would make him disappear. That worked for models, right?

Matthew looked out from behind him. "I-I think they're having breakfast. This is basically the cafeteria, right?"

Alfred puffed up his cheeks. "MPH!" He took Matthew by the hand, and walked around the areas. The eyes were still on him. No surprise there…

In the front of the very spacious mess hall was a long line of tables in a straight line. There were several portable stoves with big, silver tins on top of them. In front of the stoves were paper cards. The first one read: 'Afghanistan: Afghan Apple Walnut Roat'. It was a like a little round cake thing. It looked pretty good, but was he even allowed to eat this? He was unsure so he moved down the line.

'Barbados: Bajan Sweet Bread'. Barbados? Rihanna was from Barbados! Work, work, work, work, work, work. He smiled and lifted up the top of the tin to be greeted by a sweet smell. Inside the tin were some loafs of bread with fruit in them. They looked delicious! He looked at the other tin because each country had about 3. 'Barbados: Flying Fish'. He was about to dig into that when Matthew came from under the table. Alfred hadn't noticed that there were mini fridges underneath the white table cloth that had all sorts of drinks and condiments inside. He shut the fridge that was painted blue and gold and had a black trident on it, and held up a little bottle. "M...Mauby?"

"Sweet, bro. Hey! I wonder what they got for The United States of Americaaa?" He guessed the snackages would be under 'U' since it wasn't in the A's.

Matthew shrugged. "Maybe…..." His violet eyes drifted over to the C's.

Alfred was running down the line, chanting, "USA! USA! USA!" before skidding to a stop. He practically ripped off the top to the tray, and sent it flying through the air behind him, receiving a loud and irritated, "Aiyyaa!"

Inside the first pot was oatmeal. The second was french toast! The third was scrambled eggs! With cheese! And talk about bacon! There were stacks of it. Stacks! He could basically drown in it!

He looked down to the left of the tables. "MATTHEW, LOOK AT ALL OF THIS!"

"I KNOW!" Mattie screamed back, though, it sounded more like a regular volume. "THEY HAVE PANCAKES!"

"AHHHH!" Alfred screamed.

"AHHHH!" Matthew said.

"AHHHH!" They screamed in unison.

Alfred began to grab as many porcelain plates and bowls as he could from behind the tins. From there, he began to stack and stack and stack.

When he was done, his plate looked like he emptied the tins all over it, which he kind of did in a way...

He balanced his plate in one hand, and reached into the red, white, and blue fridge that was covered in stars. There were some water bottles. No. Who drinks water for breakfast? Some juice boxes. Meh, they were too small for his liking. They were about as big as his hand, but he wanted something bigger! Smoothies? Those were ok-Whoa. They couldn't have!

"AHAHAHAH!" Alfred laughed heroically as he held a bottle of soda triumphantly. He walked towards Matthew with his breakfast and a stupid grin. Nearly all of the eyes were on him. He plopped down next to Mattie, that smile still on his face.

Matthew looked at his plate with surprise. Usually he never questioned his brother's eating habits. "Soda for breakfast?"

"I know right?! Isn't it great?! And look at this bottle. Vintage!" Using the side of the table, he popped off the top and chugged down the soda, letting out a fearsome burp.

"Gross, dude," Matthew remarked as he began to drizzle syrup on his pancakes.

Alfred rolled his eyes and began to scarf down his food. He hadn't eaten this good since…..That time he had breakfast on the plane! He was shoveling some over sweetened oatmeal in his mouth when he looked up. There were so many eyes on him. Some eyes were amused while some were irked. One pair of emerald eyes really caught his attention. They were staring at him, in disgust. They belonged to the blonde kid they were stalking following. The second pair were blue and belonged to a kid with long, flowy hair. He was tugging on the first kid with one hand and pointing to Alfred with the second. He was laughing. Alfred looked away, embarrassed. Or maybe ashamed. It was one of the two…

BRIIIIIING! Went the bell, and kids began to toss their food in the trash. Even though Alfred could have still eaten his eggs, he just tossed them away.

"Um, hey, w-wanna go follow a kid?" Matthew asked jokingly. He had noticed Alfred's sudden mood change and figured something might be wrong. Alfred nodded, and when Matthew took his hand they went looking for a student to follow. It was obvious who they chose.

They followed this English kid to his classroom and took their seats. Many students gave the twins some looks, probably because they were new.

That's when the door bursted open. A kid with silver hair and a humongous grin strutted into the room with his arms folded across his chest in a triumphant matter. He looked like he had just won an 8 year war against Austria or something, even though this was super unlikely. "Hello, everyone! I, the one you have all been waiting for, has arrived."

"Mein gott," a student with a strong German accent hissed. "Brother, the first bell has almost rung und here you are, just coming to class!?" The annoying really pale German kid seemed amused.

"First off, it's called being fashionably late before you're actually late und second, I'm here aren't I? Quit your whining, West."

Alfred awed. He couldn't believe that someone could be so full of themselves. Or that pale. Was this kid a vampire or something? Like, his eyes were red and everything...

The kid, who he guessed was named West, was about to argue when a different kid slammed his book on his desk. He had brown hair that had a little curl and something on his chin. What, was that chocolate? Someone should tell him to wipe his face. "Gilbert Beilschmidt! Might I remind you that you were kicked out of this program?! The country that you swear you belong to is not a country anymore! In fact, your country has not been as actual country since 1947!" Chocolate face yelled.

Now, Alfred was about to laugh and ask the vampire kid if he needed ice for that burn, but Edward was already a step ahead of him. "Kesesesese," Dracula laughed. "Right, but oh so wrong, Roderich. And when I say that, I mean you are not right at all!" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wrinkled envelope. "THIS is my letter of allowing-me-to-comeness. Right here und in my hand. It has the Funimation stamp und everything!"

Now it was time for chocolate drop to look stupid as they all stared at the envelope. Before anyone else could say anything, the bell rang. A woman walked into the classroom with dark brown hair that was blonde at the bottom, making a gorgeous ombre. It was curled down to the middle of her back and had two thick curls, one on each side of her head, that sat nicely over her tan top that had small, black flower designs. She grabbed a red marker and began to write something on the whiteboard. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Mrs. Lobo, but…." She stood away from the board to showcase some curvy letters, "You all can me, Mrs. Venezuela!" She clasped her hands together with a genuine smile. "I will be your English teacher for the rest of your High School year."

Fore some reason, everyone began to clap, so Alfred clapped as well.

Gilbert's red eyes darted around the room nervously.

"Gilbert," the teacher said, making a shudder roll down his back, "Find your seat please."

He nodded quickly and took a seat right by Matthew.

"Now that that is out of the way, I have a fun assignment for everyone. We are going to do a pair and share. Everyone will rotate their desk until they are across from someone. From that point on, we will rotate. Everyone will get a chance to talk about their country," she explained. "Now, let's get to it."

Under the watchful eye of Mrs. Venezuela, everyone began to turn their desks. Alfred sat down and to his shock and surprise, a boy sat down right in front of him. He had dark olive skin, and shiny caramel brown eyes. He didn't look happy at all.

"Ready?" Mrs. Venezuela smiled. "You may begin!"

Alfred tensed, staring into the eyes of this boy, who had yet to blink. Perhaps he could start off with some friendly conversation! "H-Hi! I'm Alfred, what's your-"

"You Americans are retarded, little shits."

A/N: And there is the first chapter! This took me 2 years to write, but I can assure you that future updates won't take that long. Now, I wanted to say that Mrs. Venezuela's design came from ask-aph-fruk at tumblr. Their content is A+. Honestly. In addition to that, Modifyers chapter 2 I believe will be coming soon and chapter 4 of DHMIS is coming up fast. If you enjoy these, consider following me Skswackyblog on tumblr for art, questions, and quality content. Bye bye now!