Summary: Usually when you are called to the office, it's because you've done something bad. I thought I had. I thought maybe they finally caught me cheating on the English project from two weeks ago or for copying my friend's homework in math class. Or maybe that I was in trouble for failing two class. I kind of wish it has been one of those two.. I never expected the news I got.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

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In Trouble: Chapter One

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It was your average Monday at school. Kids were gathered together talking about what they did this weekend. The teacher was going on about some new lesson, but none of us paid attention to words coming out of his mouth. I sat in the back corner, furthest from the teacher. It's not that I'm anti-social, quite the opposite, but I'm just not a Monday kind of girl.

My only real friend here at this school, Nobara Ibaragi, is talking to me about something, but I'm tuning her out. I can't stop thinking about the past weekend and the fight my parents and I got into. They want me to start thinking about what I wanna do after I graduate and I'm only sixteen years old; a junior. I still have a year and a half till that time comes.

The classroom door opens and in walks the school's principal looking as serious as ever. The teacher stops talking for the first time today and smiles at the older man. I turn my attention away from the two, talking in whispers. The whole class in trying to listen.

My thoughts are broken when I hear an echo of 'awe's as a student's name is called. I look around to see who was named out of curiosity. I'm confused to see them all starring at me. "Mikan Sakura." The principal calls. My face pales, turning to face Nobara. She mouths something to me, probably to help my nerves. Why is he calling for me? Did someone rat me out about copying Nobara's math homework? Or about plagiarizing that English essay? I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Or maybe this is about me failing those two classes?

I nervously stand up and follow the man out of the classroom. He doesn't speak a work, so I follow in silence. We get to her office, and he sits me down. He doesn't say anything yet. I sit in the chair, fidgeting with my hands. I can feel them clamming up.

He looks upset and serious at the same time. He keeps looking from his watch to me to the door to me again, but every time his eyes fall on me, he has this sympathetic look in his eyes.

A couple awkward minutes pass by and the door opens. In walks a middle-aged man. He has long dirty blonde hair and big blue eyes, similar to my father. Actually, everything about this man seems kind of familiar, but I can't put a name on his face. "Thank you for coming, Mister Yukihara." I raise an eyebrow. That was my father's name before he changed it.

"What's going on here?" I said quietly.

The man turns to me, a sincere smile on his lips. "Oh, Mikan, how you have grown." He's talking like he knows me. "I'm sorry." He said throwing me an apologetic smile. "You probably don't remember me. I'm Kazuma Yukihara, your father's older brother."

My eyes widened. I remember him now. I only met him maybe once when I was about five years old. My father is Izumi Sakura, previously Yukihara. He changed his name after he left the Yukihara family, wanting nothing to do with them. I was never told about it besides the fact that I wasn't allowed to that side of the family again. Yet, here was my uncle Kazu as he liked me to call him when I was younger, standing in front of me at my school.

I narrow my eyes on him. "What are you doing here?"

He frowns at my harsh tone. "Mikan, hun," he starts, "I know I am probably the last person you want to here from judging by the look on your face, but I have some news." I don't respond; I just wait for him to continue. "Some bad news." He said softly. "It's about your parents-" My eyes widen with worry. "They were in a crash this morning."

My heart dropped into my stomach. I felt the tears forming in my eyes. No. It couldn't be true. I choked back a sob to speak, "Are-are they...okay?" I asked nervous for the answer.

He didn't respond right away and I knew. "I'm so sorry, Mikan." He whispered, putting his hand on my shoulder. "They were hit by another car. Your parents died on impact." I couldn't hold it in any longer, the tears waterfalled down my cheeks. "They left you a will, your parents." I sniffled and wiped my tears off my cheeks. "Everything they own goes to you and no one else. The house, the money, the cars, the company, all of it.. when you turn eighteen."

My parents' company. My dad ran an editing business. He was very popular, and my mother was one of his many authors. She too was very well known. "What do I do till then?"

"It states in their will that you till live with your closest living relative." He explains. We lock eyes, "So you'll be moving in with me."

"You mean I cannot stay in my own house?"

He makes a face. "I cannot leave my job to come here, so no."

My home. He wants me to leave my home. "But what about school?"

"You will be changing schools."

And leaving my best friend? How can he expect me to lose my best friend and my parents in the same day? "But I love it here. I love my friends. I don't want to go." I must sound like a little kid. "I can live by myself at my house."

He squeezes my shoulder reassuringly. "I promise to take good care of you." And with that, I know I'm not going to win.

And I was right. There was nothing I could do. I wasn't allowed to live by myself until I was seventeen, but I couldn't claim ownage over my parents' house till I was eighteen, so there was no where else to go. Nobara said she would happily take me in, but that wasn't in my parents' will either.

For a week, Kazu stayed at my house while I had to pack up my room and whatever else I wanted to leave for my uncle's place which was apparently only an hour away. Nobara and I spent the whole week together, her promising to come visit whenever she could and I agreeing to the same thing. She's a great best friend – always there for me. If I didn't have her that whole week, I don't know what I would have done.

Being at home without my parents was just so weird. I cried every night, wishing that I would wake up from this horrible nightmare. It wasn't until Friday at the funeral that I realized this was really happening. Luckily, I had Nobara there to hold my hand the whole time.

I don't know why my father hated Kazu, but I know he had his reasons. My father never talked about it and it looked like Kazu wasn't going to either. Kazu seemed nice enough though; taking me in under his wing and caring for me for a couple years.

We left on Sunday. Only my room had changed. I left everything where it was minus my clothes, my pillows, and my blankets. On our way out, I made sure to grab the family portrait on top of my dresser before heading downstairs. I stopped half way down, hearing Kazu talking to someone. "She looks just like you, Yuka." My eyes widened slightly when I realized it was my parents he was talking to. "She has Izumi's personality though. I could tell from the moment I met her. I want you to know, Izumi, that no matter what happened to us those years ago, I will take care of Mikan. I won't anyone cause harm to her. I love her because she is yours, Izumi." He got quieter. "I miss you, brother."

I figured he was done, and I didn't know if I could hear more, so I walked into the room. I pretended to have not heard a word. When I get into the room, I see that he was standing in front of the fireplace mantel with all of our family pictures on it. He must have been talking to one of those.

He smiles at me with a half smile. I try and smile back, reassuring him that I am okay, but it comes out crooked and fake. "Ready to go?" He asks me, looking at my suite case.

I hesitate, looking around the house. All of the furniture if left in it's place, but I can't help but feel the house is empty. I wonder when the next time I will be here is. Two years from now? Or sooner than that? Maybe when I came to see Nobara, I could stop by and clean the place up.

I already said goodbye to Nobara, so I was good on that part.

I turn to Kazu and nod.

I didn't end up seeing Kazu's home. Turns out his home is in Central Towne, a place very close to where I'd be staying. The whole car ride we talk, or rather Kazu talks and I listen, about his job and his home. He sort of has two homes; his home for the summer and his year round work home. He runs a private boarding school for mainly rich kids. I didn't expect him to be rich seeing as my family was just average. His home is only a ten minute drive away from the school.

The school is called Alice Academy, which I have actually heard of. It was apparently started by my great grandfather, and he named it Alice Academy after his wife, Alice Yukihara.

This academy for the well-off kids would be where I attend for the next year and a half. I am going to somehow fit in with all these kids now. Great. How was I, an average girl who cannot even pass English or trigonometry, expect to fit in with some of the most prestige kids in Japan?

I was used to moving and having to make new friends, I had moved quite a few times before settling into my last house freshman year. My parents had promised that would be my last time moving until after graduation. They never saw this coming.

Alice Academy was lovely. Hadn't expected the school to be this big. On campus, there was an elementary, middle, and high school building; a dinning hall; separate boys and girls' dormitories, each three stories tall; a library; and the main office building. The whole campus was covered by a ten foot bricked fence with a metal gate door. Apparently, students were allowed to leave the campus on weekends only, and that was if they behaved well.

I convinced Kazu to not tell anyone about me being his niece, at least not yet. I didn't want to be treated nicely just because my uncle ran that place. He then tried to give me a room in the main office building where he and the other teachers slept to be closer to him, but I gladly accepted sleeping in the girls' dormitory. I would even be getting a roommate, though Kazu tried to talk me out of that too. I just thought that it was better I not be alone at this point in time.

And with the whole Kazu trying to give me everything, it doesn't help that I already feel spoiled enough as it is, so accepting special treatment wouldn't help. I mean, he's been my guardian a week, and he's already treating me like his own child. But that's good, right? I mean, he took me in. I could be an orphan, but my uncle saved me. He doesn't know how much he's helped in the last week.

I was happy to learn to I'd be getting a uniform. No one could judge me for not wearing up to date clothes like them. The uniforms weren't bad at all, and they only had to be worn during school hours. As a junior in high school I got: a yellow and black plaid skirt; a white buttoned-up, quarter-sleeved shirt; and a yellow ribbon around the collar of my shirt. Boy had similar uniforms with long black pants, the same shirts but not fitted, and a tie of his color. High school students like myself got yellow, middle schoolers got blue, and elementary students wore red.

After getting my uniform straight, Kazu walked me around campus. I got a few strange looks from people, but Kazu didn't seem to notice. The girls' dorm was our last stop. The lobby was like one giant entertainment center with couches, televisions, vending machines, and much more. And that was only part of the first floor. I am on the third floor, the top floor. My roommate it named Hotaru Imai. I can only hope she is nice. Kazu says she's quiet.