Chapter One
"Seriously? There's no way that's gonna happen! Come on! I'm not even a student! Why should I have to wear that hideous thing? No. I refuse to wear it. Hell, I don't really even need to go to the silly school. I can get plenty of notes without ever setting foot in a place of education!" Already underthrilled about the prospect of her assigned project and dealing with people who spoke another language, the sight of the dreadful concoction of frilly, froufy, fluffy yellow chiffon and satin was the proverbial last straw on Noelle's back. She had accompanied her father on his business trip to Japan, foolishly thinking that she would be treated with the same freedom she enjoyed at home.
However, she hadn't counted on her mother's surviving hostility toward anything relating to her ex-husband. They had been divorced for over six years now, and the woman still refused to accept that she had lost responsibility and control over both her husband and daughter. Most of the time, she limited her forays into meddling to just the occaisonal phone call (read: twice a week, sometimes more), passively aggressive letters addressed to Noelle Hackenback (Hackenback was her mother's maiden name, Noelle and her father both answered to Cammerson), and the random surprise visits (she had the uncanny knack of showing up just when least expected; Noelle's first date, for example [not a pretty story—it ended on tears on his side, and a destroyed pair of shoes on hers. Her mother came out of it practically glowing, of course]).Okay, so perhaps she should have expected something from her mother, but this really was ridiculous, not to mention unfair.
Normal kids get to go on vacation to a foreign country and do fun things like sightsee and shop; I have to go to school. And as if that;s not bad enough, I have this stupid assignment that she somehow roped my teachers into agreeing with to do too! How am I ever supposed to have fun?! I would have been better off just staying home…at least then I wouldn't have to face that monstrosity.
Glaring maliciously at the insult in yellow before her, Noelle failed to notice that her father had already left the room, muttering that he didn't care what she did, as long as she didn't bring the police—or her mother's lawyer—down on him. No, all she could think of was how totally and completely unfair her life was. And the worst part? Not only was she going to haver to put up with being the stupid American amongst the over-active Japanese students, and they strange new kid, but the school she was being forced to attend and observe was one of the richest and most pretentious ones in the country. If there was one thing Noelle hated worse than unfairness, it was snobbery.
Why couldn't dad's friend work at one of the more normal schools?Why? I swear, I think the world hates me… In any event, there's no way I'm going to let that thing touch me. They'll either have to take me the way I am, or send me packing. (Not such a bad alternative, that.) Besides, I'm dessed perfectly reasonably for the twenty-first century. There is absolutely no need to even consider wearing such absurdity.
Turning immediately on her heel and pausing only a moment to grab her bag and jacket from the chair by the door and switch off the lights, Noelle quickly marched out of the apartment they were renting. As she rushed down the stairs (in her opinion, that was the only correct way to travel down a flight of stairs—gravity is there to provide amusement, right?) and made her way down to the train station, Noelle's mood lightened considerably. If she had to go do this insane task, the least she could do would be to make fun for herself.
The grades don't matter; my teachers back home probably don't even want to think about me, or any of their students right now. And again, what's the worst these people could do here? Expell me? Please! Then maybe I could enjoy my summer in peace! Let's show them just what they agreed to, letting an American girl into their sacred halls! No holds barred!
All the time spent riding the incredibly packed train to her temporary new school, Noelle imagined up ways to underride any expectations for her behavior there. The first thing to go was the Japanese. While it was true that she had a passable understanding of the language, the administrators didn't know this, and she now decided it would remain that way. Next was her studiousness. Predicting that she would most likely be placed with the lowest level classes, as she was just another stupid American, Noelle decided that, once again, they didn't know what kind of a student she was, and this way she could immediately bypass any possible expectations for intellectual excellence. And besides, someone with no knowledge of the Japanese language would find it hard to excell anyway.
The third and final decision on the train concerned how she interacted with others. Usually, Noelle was a moderately quiet person. Not because she was shy, so much as she found it was easier to get along witheveryone if she let others take on the roles of class characters. Indeed, she could argue with the best of them, and once she got going, she wouldn't cease her protestations until the other part admitted defeat. Thus for her following educational experiment, the young American lady chose to emphasize her louder, opinionated aspects, and allow herself to act however she felt like, for once.
Stepping off theplatform at last, and turning toward the gates separating the rest of the world from the obviously ostentatious high school, Noelle found that her hands and legs were skaing with excitement. Who knew that thumbing your nose at all society could be so invigorating? I can hardly wait to meet my new self!
With these last exultant thoughts, Noelle crossed the line, and entered into the world of Ouran Hich School, completely unsuspecting of what was to come.