Ah, the impersonal, air-conditioned smell of the airport. Suma heads into JFK with her little brother attempting to help her with the baggage, and her parents trail behind. Suma would meet up with Elina, her Korean best friend, by the boarding gates. She needs to say goodbye to her family, too. Her dad gets in line with her to check in her multiple bags and carry-ons, both with a smooth emotionless face.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Make sure Ma takes care of herself."
He cracks a slow grin. "I'll try. You get your stubbornness from her, you know."
That was enough for Suma to hear. She and her dad were never really talkative and understood each other quite easily. Ma had never been in a great health condition, with her muscles and nerves locking up every once in a while, leaving her in great pain and a new prescription. She's doing ok, but she hates taking so many meds. Suma still worries about leaving her for two years for an exchange program, but Elina had convinced her and her parents, that it would be great for her future and all.
And here she is ready to say goodbye to Ma for two years, the Ma who wouldn't even let her go anywhere alone without a responsible adult. Ha! Guess she couldn't help agreeing with Elina, whom she saw as another daughter, well, one who was Korean.
Dad starts it off. "Suma, don't you dare forget Indian heritage when you're surrounded by all those Japanese people, hm? And oh, work out with Elina or something. You know how we Karunyas get when we just eat and eat, like the lovers of food we are."
Suma grabs her laughing Dad in a hug. "GAH, I'll miss you too Dad. Ma, get over here."
Ma's already a blubbering mess as she joins the hug. "WAH, you're only sixtee-"
"I'll be seventeen soon enough. August isn't far away."
"—SO YOUNG! Make sure you safe and don't go anywhere without Elina. Thank God you have all your classes together. And oh, feed yourself properly. I expect you to call me EVERYDAY young lady. Did you pack everything? Are you sure? And ugh, stay away from weird boys. Males are no good anywhere in the world."
"HEY!" Dad thankfully stops Ma's tirade, although probably for his own benefit. Suma just smiles and nods at her.
"Ok, Ma. I have to go now. I'll call you as soon as I can, ok?" She turns to her brother.
"Surya, I didn't forget about you. Come give your big sis a hug!~" As he reluctantly does so, she just had to add in, "Don't go chasing after girls or anything. I won't be there to whack them off when they get all obsessive, k?" He punches her in the arm and lets go of her.
Sura heads to the ticket-holders area only section and turns back once more to wave back. She hurries to meet up with Elina. She catches a glimpse of Elina dramatically waving at her at their boarding gate and grins with excitement. She's actually going to Japan with her best friend!
Elina and Sura eventually find their seats and at take-off, Elina stares out the window while Sura tries to calculate when she needs to fall asleep to adjust to the new timezone. Giving up, both of them end up staying up the entire time, binging on movies, shows and bland airplane food.
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They take a taxi provided by the school they were transferring into to their new apartment. It's only seven in the morning when they finally get settled in and ponder about their schedule for the rest of the day. And just as Suma tries to get their internet set up, "SUMA, let's go out for a run!"
"Ugh, let me laze around for a while, can't you?"
"We're not letting your maintained body just crumble. You might even be getting ABS!"
"How the fuck are you so active right now?" Elina gets her puppy face ready.
"DON'T give me that look. Let me just get my sweats out."
Taking a map with her, Suma starts her run with Elina, cussing her out under her breath. Elina laughs and pushes her harder. Suma makes her stop at a nearby market by the corner, insisting that they need more than air to survive even two days. Suma heads towards the essentials while Elina wanders among the candy aisles.
"POCKY! Fuck yes!" A brunette nearby just gives her a weird look, and Elina blushes and tries to explain in choppy Japanese.
"Ehh, sorry about that! My best friend and I just moved into the country and I just got so excited over Pocky since we don't have much of it in the US—"
Suma finally finds the source of the excited squeal and sighs when she sees Elina nervously blubbering to a girl in the aisle. "So sorry! I'm Suma Karunya, and this is my friend Elina Pan. We both just moved here today since we were accepted for an exchange with a private high school."
"Ouran Academy!" Elina had to jut in.
Surprisingly, the brunette begins to show signs of awkwardness and fidgets.
"Ha, it's alright. I actually go to Ouran too, but on a scholarship. I'm a first year. To be honest, I've seen weirder people at the Host Club. I'm Fujioka Haruhi, by the way."
"Don't mind our rough Japanese. Still learning the more difficult parts, hm? We're going to start as second years." Suma starts to lead them towards the checkout line, while Elina grabs another five boxes of Pocky. She lets Elina continue the conversation as she bags the groceries.
"Can we call you Haruhi, or do you want an honorific at the end? Don't you dare use an honorific with us! It makes us feel awkward. And what happened to you hair, it seems a bit roughly cut? And where do you live? We live at the apartment complex around the corner."
Haruhi, surprisingly, just laughs. "You two really remind me of Kyouya-senpai and Tamaki-senpai. Let me just answer those questions in order. If it helps you adjust better here, then you don't have to use the honorific with me. And some idiot stuck gum in my hair, and I didn't feel like bothering with it and cut it myself. And if you're the new tenants, I live next door!"
Suma just stares at Haruhi. New people never got hang of Elina's rapid conversations that quickly. She might just have to make Haruhi an honorary friend right now.
Suma adds in, "Would you mind showing us around Ouran before school starts on Monday?"
"Sure, I'll be glad to."
The three of them head towards their destination, and since Haruhi chose to not buy anything, she offers to help them with their multiple items. Conversation is light as the two best friends talk about how they got notice of the exchange program and had immediately taken the entrance exams. Haruhi spills about the Host Club and how she has to pretend to be a boy to pay off the debt. The girls promise to keep her situation a secret and are happy they were able to make a new friend in Japan. With the last box of cereal in the fridge, Elina asked Haruhi if she wanted to go out for a run for them. Suma face-palmed.
"Haruhi, don't mind her. I interrupted our run for a NECESSARY GROCERY RUN, and she pretty adamant when it comes to fitness. Heh~"
"Erm, it's alright, I'm not much of an active person. You guys go on. See you at 7 in the morning on Monday. School starts at 9." Elina sighs at the blatant refusal, and drags Suma out to continue their run. They plan to do a 2-mile circuit around the neighborhood, and continue on.
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Having raced the last quarter, the two of them stop in front of their apartment building, Suma wheezing, and Elina panting. "Good job Suma! You're getting better!" Suma just gives her a middle-finger, struggling to catch her breath. She straightens up when a Mercedes pull up and a blonde shoots out to embrace them both, suffocating them further.
"ARE YOU TWO BEAUTIFUL GIRLS BEING CHASED BY A MAFIA BOSS FOR TURNING DOWN HIS ADVANCES? OH, YOU POOR LOVELIES, I'LL PROTECT YOU. DADDY WILL NEVER LET YOU GET HURT!"
Elina punches him in the gut and pulls Suma out of the stranger's grasp. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER AGAIN, YOU VILE CRETIN. WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
A pair of redheaded twins and a tall black-haired boy eventually get out of the car.
"Wow, you have a way with the ladies, don't you senpai?" One of the twins snickers, while the other curiously observes the new girls.
"MOMMY, MAKE THE DEVILS STOP!" The black-haired one just sighed in annoyance and stepped forward with a strained smile.
"I'm sorry for this idiot's misconceptions. I'm Ootori Kyouya. This idiot's Suoh Tamaki, and the twins are Hitachiin Hikaru and Kaoru. We were here to pick up a friend, and Tamaki, here, got a little excited when he thought you two were running away from something or someone. We'll be on our way, and sorry for the inconvenience."
Elina looks at Suma with a smirk, while Suma tries to make her shirt not stick so closely to her skin, "Eh, Suma, don't guys like it when they see girls all hot and sweaty?"
Suma snorts, "Maybe he's just sexually repressed." Elina laughs and leans over for a high-five with Suma.
Tamaki blushes furiously and looks everywhere but at them. The twins get a weird look on their faces as they come closer to the girls, "Tono's always like that, such a prude! It was a pleasure meeting you." Kyouya shows hints of a smirk as he led the others to an apartment door.
"Hey, Elina, isn't that Haruhi's door?"
"I guess those are the friends she mentioned that were in the Host Club."
"Hah, won't they be surprised when we show up at their school?"
"Duh, I wanna make them feel more awkward. They have such amusing reactions."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, YET. We can plan later."
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Preview of Chapter 2
Pink. Pink. PINK?!
Heyyyyyyyohhhhhh! Teehee. I wanted to get this idea of a fic out there. Approve or decline by reviewing, and I'll see if I can continue. I needs lots of motivation guys, LOTS!
Anyway, I need specific feedback on the following things.
1) Should I keep this in present-tense or it awkward to read?
2) Should I keep this in 3rd person omnicient/limited, or should I do first person (switching it between Suma and Elina)?
3) I kept the rating as M for possible future scenes, but now it's just for all the cursing that's bound to come. Is that ok with y'all?
4) The title is still iffy, so tell me any suggestions if you come up with something more suitable.
5) What pairing do you want to see? Some characters are just so unloved. DX
That's it for now, and review, follow, and favorite...otherwise this idiot isn't gonna haul ass to write this.
Love ya~