Full Sumary: When Irene found out her two friends were leaving her to go to Japan for a scholarship as Foreign Exchange Students, she was devastated. Not long after, however, she found out that she was being given one of the same kind for the most ridiculous of reasons. Unsure as to what the Chairman was thinking when he gave her that, or if he ever thought at all, she found herself being dragged along as the loyal friend she was. However, when she and Skylar get separated from Eliza due to her being a Night Class student, things start to get a bit hectic.
It gets even worse when they actually start interacting with the mysterious students, a simple mishap caused by a gust of wind knocking all the papers out of her hands. Accidents always happen, some good some bad, and as her friend constantly argues with the silver-haired prefect Irene is still trying to figure out if coming to Cross Academy was a mistake or not.
The thing about regrets is that, when you do have them, you aren't entirely sure how or when they'll happen. The thing about regrets is that you know it'll happen even before they'll happen, simply because your fear of the future and the unknown create so much anxiety within you, making you dread every living moment you spend alone thinking about decisions and when or if you'll have to make them. It's agonizing, especially for one who is so indecisive and uncertain, and it gets to the point where they fear being alone in general. A contradiction if you're an introvert, as you find peace in times when you spend a while alone, but wish to be around others who understood you. You want to be with friends.
And two of my friends were leaving for Japan, having gotten scholarships to an incredibly pricey academy where usually only the rich and the elite manage to get in. They were both honor roll, being exceedingly intelligent, and were leaving me by myself. Of course, I had other friends, but these two I was particularly close to. Eliza Ferret I had known since Middle School, having been friends with her for about five years now, and Skylar Rosemary I had known since my Sophomore year, which made us friends for about a year and a half now. It was amazing how clingy one could become.
I was dreading their departure, as they were leaving after the end of the first school trimester, and was moping to myself quietly at the lunch table when the Office used the intercom and called me. I panicked, freaking out as I wondered what was going on and if I had done anything wrong-going through my brain as to what I could have possibly done when I was the least non-trouble student there was. I could think of nothing, but I only grew more nervous when I entered the Office and they told me there a person on the phone that wanted to speak with me.
Did they call one of my parents? Was my first thought, lost and unsure as to why they felt a need to call my dad, mom, or even my step-mom. I doubted they had called for anything; they would have let me know beforehand if there was something I needed to know. So what?
I got my answer when I picked the phone up, reluctantly holding it to my ear as the world felt like it was ending all around me. My hands felt a bit sweaty, and even after I wiped them on my jeans they still felt a bit clammy. "H-Hello?" My voice sounded small when I started speaking, so I cleared my throat and spoke clearer. "Who is this?"
A man with the slightest bit of an accent responded. "Are you Irene Taylor?" I blinked, even more at a loss at what was happening but trying to pinpoint where his accent came from. It wasn't Filipino, I've heard that accent so many times because of my step-mom and her friends being of that ethnicity, not to mention one of the people I talk to here at my school, and it wasn't Korean or British. It sounded more... Realization dawned on me.
"Y-Yeah.."
"Wonderful!" The seriousness in the voice faded away almost instantly, a cheerful and bright tone overwhelming it. "My name is Kaien Cross, and I run the Academy your friends will be going to. The secretary or Vice-Principal of your school should have the documents about the offer..." He mentioned my friends with a strange tone of voice. I wondered how he even knew I was friends with them. I guessed one of them told him about me on the phone or something-they've been called up plenty of times. But what documents? "While your mathematical grades could use some work, your English and Language Arts grades are quite exceptional. There's also the matter of your friend-Miss Rosemary. You see, Cross Academy is divided up into two sectors-the Night Class, for the most elite and prestigious of our students, and the Day Class. Miss Skylar will not have a roommate due to the odd amount of numbers in the Day Class, and Eliza is absolutely unable to transfer from the Night Class to the Day Class; it wouldn't be good for her education, you see? And I know you three are quite close." He sounded so giddy as he said that. "So I was thinking of extending my offer... how would you like to come to Japan and transfer to Cross Academy as our third, and final, Foreign Exchange student?"
Wh... What? No. What? Isn't that entirely unprofessional? This whole offer-it makes no sense! My grades are average; I can't just transfer because of an odd number of students. I-I mean, it would be nice to go I guess, but... I only know bits of Japanese. My parents-Being a Foreign Exchange student is expensive business. "I... I don't have the money..." We're poor. Eliza and Skylar just barely managed to get the Scholarships-I can't get mine just because of something like this. ...Can I? "And I don't know if my parents will let me-"
"I've already taken care of that! You're being given a Scholarship as well, and I'm paying for the trip expenses. I've spoken with your parents; the office was quite kind in giving me their information. I'll be arriving in America to pick you and your friends up; please having everything ready in three weeks-we'll be departing on that Wednesday."
At least give me a chance to speak! Why did he ask for my opinion when he already went ahead and signed me up!?
"O-Okay...?" I was unable to express my annoyance or uncomfortable I was with the situation, at a loss. "I-I don't know Japanese... or how to read Kanji... o-or manners."
"You'll do great! You'll be spending the time before the start of the second trimester learning how to speak and write. If worst comes to worst, we'll print out your homework and textbooks in English, though you will still be required to speak in order to communicate properly as not all our students know your language."
"Oh... Okay." That makes sense, I guess. Um... wait, why am I going along with this?
"Marvelous~ So I trust to see you, Miss Rosemary, and Miss Ferret at the airport on the decided day. Three weeks, that Wednesday. Do you have it memorized?"
"Uh, Yeah. Yeah. Three weeks on a Wednesday."
"Great. I'll be seeing you then." With that he hung up, and I was little standing there blankly in the office, just staring at the phone dumbfounded.
The next few days went by rather strangely, having to text and talk to both sides of my family in order to ask about the guy and why they agreed to let me go to Japan so easily despite how I've never left the house for anything except Band. Father was reluctant, but agreed, and Malaya-my step-mother-just complained because she thought I was going to keel over without anyone watching over me. "I know you! You'll forget to eat, or you won't go to sleep, and you say "I know, I know," Or "yeah, yeah" when I know better! Dress warmly while you're there-go to bed early!" She lectured me for being unable to take proper care of myself, and my birth mother was in tears as she didn't want her youngest to leave the country so soon after having been told her only son was going to live in Hawaii.
I'd be able to call them once a week, separately of course, as part of being a Foreign Exchange Student was to be able to branch off from your family in order to prepare yourself for the real world. I wonder how long it'll take for me to get homesick? Hm. Fun thought.
Skylar was ecstatic though- she and Eliza both had mentioned me to the Headmaster, or the Chairman for a different title, and somehow managed to convince him to let me go with them.
"Three Americans in a Japanese High School," I commented, musing the thought, "We're gonna make them all go insane."
Eliza snorted at that, while Skylar laughed loudly. I perked up suddenly, realizing- "Holy crap! We're gonna get to use chopsticks! On a daily basis! Dude, we get to eat with chopsticks!" This is going to be great. Eliza was greatly amused at my enthusiasm, watching as I waved my hands in the air, and Skylar started to get excited right along with me.
The next few days after that consisted of informing our friends and teachers about what was happening, my friend since childhood Andrew getting rather ticked off that I was leaving him alone in America while I went off to the birthland of anime, and Dorthy just made jokes and told us to look out for squids or octopi- and that Japan itself was completely different from what anime makes it look like.
We knew that, of course, not that Eliza even watched anime-I'm trying to get her into it though, and since we'll be living at the dorms 24/7 that should be easy even if Skylar and I are Day Class and Eliza Night Class. She's so lucky-she doesn't have to get up super early anymore. Lame~ So lame and unfair. The brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty just laughed and jokingly apologized, before saying she believed in us and had faith we would survive.
I said I wouldn't, as I was always on the verge of passing out in class anyway, and reminded her that back in Middle School I slept in all my classes whenever I had free time-when I wasn't drawing, of course.
More days passed and the teachers stopped giving us homework, and before long we had to get ready to leave. Wednesday came and we were all packed and ready at the airport, saying goodbye to our families and whatnot. My brother had to leave early due to work, but both my sisters and my parents managed to stay until we left.
Skylar said goodbye to her mother, brother, and little sister, and Eliza her little sister, father, mom, and step-dad. My mother kept crying, as did my eldest sister, and that caused me to get really emotional and feel really bad about what I was doing as the last time I had made my sister cry was back when I was still in Elementary school and she thought I had gotten kidnapped at the Farmer's Fair. Even when I try to avoid trouble I always ended up causing it...
I just wanted to stay with them, I really didn't want to go, but what was done was done and I boarded the plane with the strangely exuberant sandy blond chairman and my two friends.
He explained further about the school, some of the important rules and a few minor ones, and mentioned that they had "Prefects". A disciplinary committee. There were only two people, oddly, and they were both of his adopted children. A supposedly sweet, strong-willed girl named Yuuki Cross and a slightly bullheaded, but "secretly kind" as he put it, Zero Kiryuu. I asked why he didn't have the same last name as him and Kaien said that Zero preferred to keep his family name. I noticed he put the first names first instead of last, probably to keep up from getting confused until we actually got to Japan.
I fell asleep for most of the ride, deciding that was the best course of action to get rid of my anxiety of being so high up in the air, and woke up only to use the bathroom or snack on some the treats the air hostess gave away. I had a few dollars in my wallet, father insisting I bring it, and I was hungry. Skylar was munching hungrily on a burrito and a couple crackers. Eliza was napping away, drinking a red liquid I deemed as kool-aid or fruit punch. Wait, wasn't fruit punch kool-aid?
I thought about it as we landed, and carefully shook her awake. "Eliza-darling, wake up. We're here." And thank god... The view was lovely, but my mind would not stop playing scenarios of crashes and death and even odder scenarios of me falling out the window. How that would happen I did not know, but my brain made it seem possible. The brunette groaned, groggily opening her eyes, and blinked a few times before hissing and covering her eyes. It was rather bright out, so I understood her reaction.
I yawned, "I know, right? Hurts." I stretched loudly then, Chairman Cross getting up out of his seat and standing, flinching when his back popped.
"I'm growing too old... " We managed to make our way through the hordes of people, barely keeping together, and the blond shouted, "Over there! Grab the suitcases!" We scrambled over, me following behind Eliza and Skylar awkwardly as if I were their shadows, and tentatively made my way through the people to grab my bright blue suitcase and my red duffel bag. Kaien let out a sigh of relief when he saw we got everything. "Wonderful!"
A thought hit me, making me confused. Why would he waste money to arrive at America to pick us up, just to get back on the plane directly after? He was barely there a few days. This guy was ridiculous-that, or he just liked spending money. Probably both. "Ow!" A person bumped into me, causing me to cry out and stumble, nearly collapsing after tripping over my suitcases. I made an irritable noise, flinching a little at the cut that had formed on the side of my hand from the sharpness of the suitcase's corner.
Eliza blinked, alarm flashing across her face, and Skylar was asking if I was okay when Kaien suddenly whipped out a band-aid. "It's best to keep them on you while you're here," He informed, just confusing me further. I figured that being a rich school, they didn't want a commoner's blood on anything. Then I berated myself silently for such a rude thought. I have no right to judge.
"You might have to get her a whole box then," Eliza told him, smiling, "She's always hurting herself."
"It's not my fault I'm clumsy!" I defended, acting like I was hurt by her words, before straightening my back and saying dramatically with a hand against my chest, "Besides, I'll need more than one box; just buy me a whole cabinet full." She laughed, and Skylar snorted as she munched on a cookie that she bought on the plane. "A-Anyway," I continued, choking a bit on my words as I took notice of just how out of placewe were. My chest tightened, heart aching quite a bit as I recalled home. I shouldn't even be here-not really. "Uh, w-where are we heading? D-Directly to the school or-?"
"Yup. I've called a good friend of mine to come pick us up. He's a bit rough, but he's really nice. You'll see! It's been so long since I've spoke to him too..." Kaien looked thoughtful, rubbing his chin, before waving it off. "He sounded a little grumpy when I called him, but it should be fine! Let's go! We need to get you started on those lessons immediately!"
Again, I found myself questioning him. This wasn't just some elaborate kidnapping trap, was it? I decided that if it was I'd find a way to get Skylar and Eliza out, even if it meant I ended up remaining stuck. I'm not good at much, but I make a brilliant target and distraction. Loud, annoying, never shuts up... yeah. If it comes down to it, I'll tackle the guy and/or his friend. That should give just enough time for the girls to get a head start on running.
I eyed the "Headmaster" suspiciously the whole time, nervous and uncomfortable about this whole thing, my paranoia going on overdrive; it became even worse when we left the airport and got to the parking lot, where a sleek-ish black car was located. I didn't pay much attention to the types of cars, so I couldn't tell you what kind or version it was. It was just a black car to me. As Kaien opened the doors for us after we threw our things in the truck we got in, a man with wavy black hair and grumpy blue eyes grumbled at us.
"I'm not your stupid taxi service," He grouched, "I had to drive all the way here from where I was posted just to drive your lazy ass back to the Academy. Couldn't you have gotten one of your precious "students" to do it? I'm busy!"
"Now, now, Touga, no need to be so harsh! Just look at the three new cute students I picked up from America!"
"You're a creepy old man, you know that?"
Kaien's eyes watered up and tears streamed down his face, the male's shoulders shaking as he whined, "You're so cruel~! I'm still young!"
The man named Touga just huffed and glanced at the rearview mirror, looking back at us. I quickly squeezed into the middle seat, allowing Eliza and Skyler to have the doors incase we needed to make a quick escape. Brain, just stop. Nothing's going to happen. We're... fine. We're just fine. I inhaled deeply, letting out a sigh, before draping my head against Eliza's shoulder. I wasn't sure if it was because I was tired or just uncomfortable with the change of scenery, but my imagination was just going ludicrously wild.
If I had looked, I would have seen Touga's eyes narrow at Eliza, the normally calm and relaxed girl eying him coolly. His eyes then flickered to me, knitting his eyebrows together, before gazing at Skyler who just smiled at the window, knowing what it most likely was he was thinking.
It was going to be so weird not seeing Eliza... her classes are all going to be during the night, which meant she'd be sleeping all day. We wouldn't even be able to text each other and respond instantly. I'd probably say something about sneaking in the dorms to see her, but I knew I never would actually do that if it meant getting in trouble. At least I would still have Skyler. 24/7 as roommates... this'll be interesting.
A true test of friendship I suppose. I smiled a little at the thought, finding it quite funny, before hugging Eliza's arm. How's all this going to play out? I frowned, eyes closed. Were we just going to be reading dictionaries and books on how to speak the language? What's even going to become of us in the future? We don't know what the people are like. What if they're all cruel?
I hate bullies.
We arrived not long after, maybe a two hour drive at most, before Touga stopped the car and gave the chairman a hard glare. "Now get out."
"Can I get a hug?"
"No."
"But Touga~!" He whined, reaching out and trying to grab onto his friend, but the male simply dodged and pushed him back by his head, forcefully kicking him out of the door and slamming it shut before he could enter. Kaien was crying again, hands and face pressed against the window in mourning as he gazed longingly at his friend. He must really want that hug. I understand that. "Why don't you love me~?"
Touga promptly ignored him, giving us a similar stare as he looked at us through the mirror. "Same goes to you three; get out."
We didn't complain, though I think Skylar muttered something about grumpy old men, of which I commented he was at least late thirties. She said that wasn't the point, and I shrugged and told her I knew that.
The Academy was gargantuan. Not huge, not giant, but colossal. I don't think I've ever seen a building as big as that before. It reminded me a lot of some kind of medieval castle, something that actually made me quite happy and the artist in me squeal silently with joy, or a building based off the gothic art style. It was so freaking cool... I just stared in awe, taking in the sight, and it took Skylar shaking me by the shoulder to snap me out of it and hurriedly follow after her, Eliza, and Kaien.
Bells suddenly rang out when we were halfway to the main doors and you could see people rushing out of the buildings, boys and girls varying from fifteen to about eighteen or nineteen walking and/or running out of the dorms that we were heading into. The first thing I noticed, however, was their outfits.
Uniforms. Skirts for girls, pants for males. Sexist, but fashionable. They were black, the blazers being decorated with white stripes that went down the sides of the sleeves and across the chest of the blazers. They wore what looked like a white button up underneath, accompanied by-depending the gender-a crimson bow or tie. Most of the girls wore thigh-highs alongside their skirt, some calf-length socks. I mentally pat myself on the back for grabbing leggings when I packed my clothes.
I'd prefer pants, but if it meant I was going to get in trouble I'd stick with the skirt.
Kaien led us through the dorm, greeting multiple students cheerfully and bidding them what I assumed to be "good morning" in Japanese, as I had at least heard that word used enough times from all the anime I watched. The students looked shocked to see him there, and even more surprised to see us-three random Americans. It was probably rare to get one, but three transfer students? Shocking. But soon enough he led us to a dormroom-inside was a simple dresser, closet, a desk, and two beds. The walls were cream colored and the floor a blue-gray carpet. There was also a door that I assumed led to a bathroom. "This is where you and Miss Taylor will be staying during your last two years here," He explained to Skyler and me, "Please make yourselves at home. There are books in the desk over there that should help you get started on learning the language."
"Why didn't he make us learn before having us come here?" was my question.
"Miss Ferret," Chairman Cross began again, looking at our sleepy blue-eyed friend. His smile seemed to grow even wider when he saw how I was clinging to her arm after I set my suitcase and duffel bag down. "Please, follow me. I'll guide you to the Night Class Dorms."
With that said, I reluctantly released my friend for what was probably going to be the last time and watched her follow him out of the room. Silence filled the air, and as I shifted from foot-to-foot thinking of what to say Skyler broke the ice with a simple and blunt, "I'm hungry."
Startled, and finally feeling the nausea from not eating too often on the plane, I just burst out laughing at the spontaneousness of the comment.