If you had ridden up to the front of Renee Sato's school in a limousine and told her to get in on a day that was not prom night/weekend, homecoming, etc. she would have most likely looked at you weirdly, called the police, and/or flip you off. Unfortunately, she was in the said circumstances and couldn't even do any of the possible actions that were listed above. It was the last day of school in her sophomore year of high school and that very day she was to say good bye to everything that she knew and begin a new life on the other side of the globe.
Perhaps we should back tract and try to explain what on earth is going on to our heroine, Miss. Renee Sato. She is a short girl of 5ft 4 has brown eyes and hair and the latter is always tied into a low pony tail and 15 years old. Her attire consists of purple glasses and whatever she threw on that morning while half awake. She got decent grades, had friends, and precipitated in her school's clubs and sports. Put simply she was your average high schooler, and her world is about to turn upside down now back to the story.
She had been dreading this day for a full month after she received her email from her "family" about traveling to Japan for "a little while". Within the limo were two muscular men in black suits one driving and the other in the back seat with her.
"Um… how much time do I have to pack?" Renee awkwardly asked. Those two men did not look like people who took part in a conversation. Besides the chances of running way seemed pretty slim and having only one year of karate under your belt isn't going to help.
"You will have three hours to pack any personal items and say good bye to friends and family. Afterwards, you will be taken to the airport where a preparations are being arranged."
Sheesh I could be talking to a robot and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. "What! I'm given three hours to pack everything I have and say good bye? That takes almost three days."
"Necessities such as clothing will be tailored to your needs once we arrive in Japan. But by the looks of it, you don't look like someone who cares." The man spoke the last part in fluent Japanese. Renee only understood parts of it thanks to her mom speaking it all the time at home. By this time, they have arrived her house where Renee promptly rocketed out of the car and raced inside. If she was given only three hours to pack and say goodbye, she wasn't going to waste a second. On her way in she kissed her mom hello, gave her baby brother Ryan a hug, and ran into her room.
Personal items what could be described as personal items. Grabbing the suitcase that she prepared the day before she began to pack her diary, the extra-large photo album that contained all precious memories that she had since the day she was born, her stuffed animal collection, the laptop, iPad and iPod that she received as a Christmas/Birthday present from her step-father this year, and a few other random paraphernalia that could be considered as junk, but were irreplaceable to her. As the man in the car stated, necessities will be provided once she arrived in Japan. She began shoving the lucky pillow and favorite hoodie into the suitcase when her mom came into her room. She was a pretty woman with dark hair, almond eyes, and smile wrinkles. She was only in her early forties but time and stress had weathered the once beautiful features.
"I figured you'd be trying to shove everything into that suit case" she smiled. "Come here." In less than 5 minutes all the random items that Renee had stuffed were all neatly placed inside the suitcase. It was just then when Renee noticed that her mom had tears slowly dripping down her face, not knowing what to do, she gave her mother a hug. There wasn't much else she could do, she was off to live in Japan with a relative (who hated her) she only met twice in her entire life time for the rest of her life.
"I'm sorry sweetie, I wish there was another way" her mother whispered between tears. Not knowing what to say, Renee silently helped her mother up and together they headed towards the kitchen. They still had an hour and thirty minutes to go where Renee spent time texting her friends her final goodbyes, played with Ryan, and most importantly waited for her step-father to come home.
About thirty minutes later, the front door finally opened and Teddy Sato walked in. "Step-daddy's home" he cried out, but everyone could hear the pain in his voice. He gave his wife and step-daughter a hug and tried to see if he could get Ryan to make his first word Daddy. The little boy would only gurgle happily. It was clear that he was trying to make things as normal as possible.
"Well today is the big day, you ready?" he asked. Renee only smiled weakly and nodded. Talking would only cause her to break down in tears. "Well you better get going soon, because early is on time and on time is late. But before that, your mother and I have somethings to give you." The room turned coldly silent. The couple pressed two wrapped boxes into her hands. "Open them now, so we can see if you like them."
The first gift was a professional camera, she had wanted one for so long but never had the courage to ask. The second was a necklace, it had a wooden star and a thin chain. Neither of them were anything so fancy or expensive but Renee could only feel the waves of emotion hitting her. It took every ounce of energy to not start crying right there. She had to be strong. Her mother took the camera and placed it carefully into the suit case and placed the necklace around her neck. A comforting hug was given. "Be nice and make new friends, your fencing equipment and music instruments will be mailed to you so don't worry" her mother whispered quietly.
When Renee was released from her mother's hug, she turned around to give one to her step-father. "Take care yourself and do well in school okay kiddo? We will stay in touch" he told her. Just then, Ryan started getting fussy. Renee quickly scooped up her baby brother (okay half-brother) into her words and held him tight. "Be a good little boy and take care of Mommy and Daddy." She told him.
Ryan happily giggled and then opened his mouth, "Ren" he stated hugging his big sister.
Renee couldn't take anymore. She grabbed her suitcase, jacket, hat and a travel backpack that her mom held out to her. She held her family tightly, handed Ryan to her mother and walked towards the front door.
Stopping, she turned around "I going to miss you and I love you all so much" it was then her voice cracked. She whirled around and ran into the limousine. When it was driving out into the road, Renee finally allowed the tears to roll down her face.