Hey guys! :D This is my first fanfic, and I'm quite pleased with how the first chapter turned out! It's going to be a long story (and I mean long) and I hope that you'll enjoy it! New Possibilities is about my OC Alyssa and her experiences in Ouran... with the Host Club, her journey is bound to be unpredictable!

Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC.

"Don't go," Emily sobbed. Her glasses-rimmed eyes were full of tears as I stepped towards the immigration counter. "I'm going to be so lonely here."

I smiled at her. "It'll only be three months, Em," I told her. "I'll be back and annoying you again before you know it."

She sniffed, and wiped her tears away on her long sleeve. "Don't forget me with all your new friends, okay?"

I scoffed. "I'll be lucky if they even know how to introduce themselves in English."

Emily laughed. She gave me a hug, and I accepted it. I'd probably feel like a total outcast in the next three months, and I was trying to hold on to the last shred of friendship I'd get for a while. Begrudgingly, I pulled away and hugged my parents too. They wiped away tears, and it hit me that I'd miss them terribly.

"Have fun, Alyssa," my mom said as she pulled me into another hug. My dad didn't say anything. He kissed my head gently before giving me a gentle push in the immigration counters' direction. "Enjoy yourself," he said gruffly.

I gazed back at them before trudging over to the immigration counters. I was still a little mad at my parents for not asking me earlier… but now, standing here about to fly to a whole other country and be alone for three months… I feel like breaking my cool façade and dragging them and Emily along with me. I'd never felt so alone.

Breathing in deeply, I passed immigration. I couldn't see my parents and Emily anymore when I looked back. I felt like crying, like a little lost child.

The next three months were going to be the WORST in my entire life.

Little did I know that I was totally, terribly wrong.

"What the heck?" I peered at the sign. The weird squiggles made absolutely NO sense to me. Flipping through my little tourist dictionary, I sighed. I really should've prepared better for this. Now I was stuck on the sidewalk, in the cold, totally and utterly lost.

Looking around for directions, I saw a subway information booth. I nearly jumped up in glee despite the fact I was so tired. The flight had really taken all of my energy, and dragging around three huge suitcases didn't exactly help. I literally ran over there, dragging my bags, startling the two officers inside.

"Uh… hi? Excuse me, but I'm kinda lost here?" I said, making hand gestures as I talked. The officers stared back at me queerly. "Lost?" one of them repeated in a weird accent.

"Yes! Me, lost. Uh… you, help me? Go to… Sakura Apartments." I felt like a total idiot.

One of the officers seemed to get it. "Ah," he said. He then picked the phone up and called a taxi. After muttering something incomprehensible in Japanese, he put the phone down and smiled back at me. "Taxi…coming."

I gave him an 'OK' sign. "Thanks," I breathed. For good measure, I added, "Arigato!" The officers smiled wider and gave me a thumbs up. I walked to the taxi stop as fast as I could with my bags and waited for my designated taxi.

The taxi arrived in no less than five minutes. The taxi driver helped me to stuff my bags into the car boot while I got in the backseat. He then plopped into the driver's seat and looked at me in the mirror. "Where are we going?" he asked in Japanese.

I stifled my squeal. I actually understood what he said! But then the realization that I didn't know how to reply to him dawned on me. "Uh… Sakura Apartments?" I feigned an awkward smile.

The driver smiled warmly at me. "Hai," he said before driving off. I gave a sigh of relief. He understood me! I could get used to this.

Staring at the numerous apartment blocks and flashy signs passing by, I nearly smiled. It was a nice change. Suddenly, I got hit by realization.

This place was going to be my home.

I, Alyssa Markham, with little to zero knowledge of Japanese, was going to live here, ALONE, and attend school on some fancy exchange program, for THREE WHOLE MONTHS.

And I could barely figure out how to order a burger at the airport's arrival hall's McDonalds.

Oh yeah. Three months is going to be a piece of cake alright.

What the heck was going through my parents' minds when they signed me up for this?

The wind was chilly, and brown leaves blanketed the sidewalk. Autumn was here, and Emily and I were strolling out of the neighborhood café, sipping on our takeaway coffee, enjoying the contrast of the warm coffee and the cool air.

"So, how do you think things will be like this year?" Emily asked, sipping her mocha. We were juniors, FINALLY. I was totally looking forward to my seventeenth birthday in mid March. Emily would have to wait until April, though.

I downed my hazelnut coffee and thought about it. Last year wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. Freshman year was the worst. I shuddered at the memories of getting locked in a toilet cubicles by some horrible juniors. Thankfully, Emily got me out and we became attached at the hip. The fact that those juniors graduated last year was a total relief too.

"I don't know," I said, shrugging. "We'll just have to see."

Emily smiled. "Yeah." I walked with her all the way to her house, before saying goodbye and walking a few more blocks down to my own house. As I walked up the front porch, I saw a car in the garage. Weird. Dad was home already? That meant something important.

I walked in, and saw my dad and mom talking in the living room. My dad was holding a stack of papers. They looked up when I dropped my schoolbag on the couch. "Ah, great timing, Aly," my dad said. "There's something your mother and I have been wanting to tell you…"

I jumped to conclusions. "Please don't tell me I'm getting a baby brother. Or sister. Goodness, mom, you guys are a little too old for that right?"

My mom shook her head. "You're not getting a sibling, Aly. Having one hormone-raging teenager is enough." I decided not to argue that I wasn't a hormone-raging teenager, and kept my mouth shut.

My dad shuffled the stack of papers. "Alyssa," he said. My eyes widened. When he used my full first name, it was important. "Have you ever wanted to see the world?"

"Um, no." I was a boring kid.

My mom joined in. "But there are so many wonderful opportunities out there. You're a smart girl, Alyssa. Wouldn't you want to broaden your horizons?"

I opened my mouth to say something, then thought against it. Then I opened my mouth again. "Is this about college?" I asked them. "Mom, dad, thanks, but I don't think I'm going to go anywhere outside of America."

My parents exchanged a look. "You're wonderfully gifted in academics, Alyssa, even your principal told us that," my mom said. Wait, what? When did they see my principal? "But you are rather… lacking in social skills. Emily is a nice girl, but don't you think you should have more friends?"

My dad continued. "We're not talking about college just yet, Aly. But this does have something to do with academics, though not completely. Mr. Anderson gave you a wonderful opportunity. Due to your academics, they offered you this, but we accepted it because we thought…"

"…it might help you enjoy life more. To make more friends, have memories," my mom finished, with a hint of longing in her words.

My mind was trying to process what they said. "I don't get it."

My dad fumbled around in the stack of papers until he found a pink pamphlet. "Read this."

I took the pamphlet and skimmed its contents. Ouran Academy… prestigious school… well-performing students of high social status… exchange program –

"Wait. WHAT?" I dropped the pamphlet on the floor. "You don't mean – "

My parents looked at me. My dad had a solemn face, but my mom had a hopeful one. "Your principal's old friend is the chairman of the school. He saw your excellent academic record and offered you an exchange program for three months. If your performance in those three months is excellent, they might consider a full scholarship. And mind you, Ouran is extremely prestigious. All its students come from families with big companies and high social status. Offering a scholarship to a commoner is almost unheard of. In fact, there has only been one other case of a commoner getting an Ouran scholarship."

"Your academics might be the reason you got in, but the reason WE accepted it was to give you a chance at seeing different cultures, meeting new people, creating unforgettable memories," my mom told me softly.

"You mean you guys accepted it already?! Without asking me first?!" I exclaimed.

My mom touched my shoulder with an apologetic face. "We accepted it on your behalf because we knew if we asked you like this, you would give a flat-out NO. And that's not what we wanted to happen."

"But you could've at least asked, right?" I was shocked. True, if they had asked me I probably would've rejected the offer, but they should at least have the courtesy to ask, right? Especially if they were shipping me off to –

"Wait, where's this Ouran academy?" I asked while grabbing the pamphlet. I nearly screamed when I saw it.

"JAPAN?! You're shipping me off to JAPAN without even asking me?! I don't know any BIT of Japanese!"

My mom looked shocked at my outburst, whereas my dad kept his stonily cold face on. "It's understandable that you'd feel this way," he said. "But, it's for your own good. In the future, you might even be thankful we sent you there."

"NO, dad, NO. I'm not uprooting myself to go abroad for three freaking months in a place that barely speaks English! I have a life too, dad."

"But is your life here rewarding enough?" my dad suddenly spoke, in a way harsher tone than I'd heard him use before. "Would you like to grow up your entire life living in a tiny suburb all the while? I did that, Alyssa, and I regret not going abroad to see the world. I don't want you to make that mistake I made."

I shrunk into my own little shell. My dad looked fuming mad, and my mom was cowering a little. I sighed. "Sorry mom, dad. I was just… taken aback."

My mom smiled. "We understand. Next time we'll ask first, ok? But this time… you're going to have to face it. It's fixed already, dear."

I nodded begrudgingly. My dad had calmed down too, and he had an apologetic look on his face too. "Look, Aly," he said. "We're sorry. But I hope that you'll take this opportunity to explore yourself."

I breathed out. "When am I leaving?"

"After the new year," my dad said. "The term starts early January."

I looked at the ground. How was I going to tell Em? How could my parents just send me off like that?

I wouldn't enjoy it there. Not one bit.

I turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door. I flipped on the light switch, wincing a little as the brash light hit my eyes. Dragging my suitcases in, I locked the door behind me and proceeded to look around.

It was a small apartment unit, but I was living on my own. I didn't need like five bathrooms or anything. There was a small kitchen joined to the living area, a bathroom and a bedroom. There were basic kitchenware and cutlery in the kitchen, and I was delighted to see some instant noodles in the shelves. I was downright STARVING. The living area was nice, with tatami mats covering the floor, a small TV and radio, and a low table. There were some slippers, and I slipped them on, shuffling around the unit. The bathroom was clean, and the bedroom had a study table, a bookshelf, a closet and a single bed. It was rather cramped, but I appreciated it. It was clean and I had it all to myself.

After shoving my luggage into my room to unpack later, I made myself some instant noodles and turned on the TV. Flipping through the channels, I finally found a channel that wasn't playing a game show/in Japanese. At least they still have Hallmark here. Slurping on my noodles, I noticed a pink paper and another pink pamphlet resting under the low table. I picked them up.

The pamphlet was exactly the same as the one my dad had shown me, so I put that aside. I had spent tons of hours poring over that pink thing back home. Thinking of home made me feel a little homesick. I shoved that thought away and looked at the paper. It was a notice.

To Miss Alyssa Markham:

Welcome to Ouran Academy! We are pleased to have you join our school. The school term officially starts on the 4th of January, but it is at the chairman's request that you come before school hours to arrange some matters and have a school tour. The chairman has asked that you meet him at his office by 7AM. Please be punctual.

At this, I groaned. I had to wake up so early tomorrow? Seven in the freaking morning. School only starts at eight thirty! I grumbled, and continued reading.

We hope that your apartment unit is of standard to you. Should you have any complaints, do let the chairman know. The school prides itself on giving exemplary service.

I nearly snorted. The person who wrote the notice must sure love this school. However, a school that provided free lodging that was well equipped for its exchange program students… not bad.

If you have any questions, do call us. Should you get lost in the school, there is a map in the pamphlet provided. And, lastly, we wish you a pleasant schooling experience in Ouran Academy!

I folded the paper. Hopefully everyone in the academy was prestigious enough to know English. No wait, that's a bad thing. What if everyone's all stuck up? Oh goodness, I didn't need another bunch of backstabbing bitches in this school.

I wondered about the other exception my dad told me about. The other scholarship student. Maybe we could get along well. I then realized I was getting really nervous about this. I wanna go home.

I finished the noodles, tossed the empty cup in the bin, flicked the TV off, and trudged to my room. I then started unpacking, and in one hour I had managed to get everything done. I felt so proud.

I yawned. It had been a super long day. Changing into my pajamas, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before climbing into bed. The covers were warm, and I felt myself getting sleepy as I made myself comfortable on the fluffy pillow. Suddenly, I gazed over at my study table. There was a place on the wall that was empty, and I didn't know but that irked me. I had to get some photos to fill that space.

I pondered in bed. What would my new life be like? New friends, new teachers, new crushes… I blushed a little at that. I never thought about falling in love here. Not that I thought it'd happen, though. I was just plain Alyssa. No one ever sent me a second glance.

Now's not the time to wonder about love, I scolded myself. I was beginning to think if I'd ever make any new friends here. Well, friends maybe, but friends for life? Unlikely. I scoffed at my unrealistic hopes and fell asleep dreaming of my new life in Ouran Academy.

Did a bit of research online for this. Alyssa's exchange program lasts for the spring semester in Japan, which is from January to March. Hopefully my research is right. 8D