An Unexpected Gift
I have set this in NZ with Britt moving there as a teen and Santana being an exchange student from America. However, I thought about changing it to Britt's family moving overseas still but her deciding to go back to the States for University? Which is where she meets Santana. Please let me know if you read through this and don't like it but might consider reading it if I change that aspect? Thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.
Prologue
She had always been fascinated by people. The way they acted, the way they lied, their body language, the way some had bullied her, while others turned a blind eye. The way that academics came easy to some, while she had difficulty. Or the way she loved movement and dance, while others had two left feet and preferred to sit on their behinds. She was intrigued by other cultures, by the numerous religions, by social-classes and had always had difficulty understanding why some people did not have the same rights as others. She did not believe in labels, but wanted to know why some viewed them as so significant. All of this contributed to one of the reasons why she was now standing in front of the historic, ivory coloured Hall of Residence which would be her home for the next year while she began her university experience.
She had been living in New Zealand since she was 15 when her father received a job offer that was impossible to refuse. At first she had kicked up a fuss. The usually calm girl began to cause tantrums, once even declaring herself on a hunger strike (which only last a couple of hours), and even going as far as to run away (at least as far as her grandparents place a few blocks over) before eventually taking the time to listen to her parents and realising this opportunity could be rather fascinating after all. She had people she knew she would probably miss (at least a little bit), but no one she would necessarily call a friend. She had been tall and lanky, with those darn wide rimmed tan glasses she had to wear as she was not allowed contacts yet. She had not viewed herself as lonely - she liked her own company - but sometimes she could not help but wish she had just one close friend she could have had sleepovers with and tell all her secrets to like her younger sister did. Although when her parents said they were moving half way across the world she realised she was lucky not to have a best friend to be separated from as her sister was a mess. School life in New Zealand was not necessarily better than back home - here she was ridiculed once again for her height, for her unique way of thinking and for writing in rainbows rather than just plain biro - and being a foreigner with an unusual accent meant she could not be as inconspicuous as she had been able to achieve back home. At least they did not throw slushies here like they did back at McKinley, she had thought to herself one time. While she had never been on the unfortunate end of one, she knew it would have only been a matter of time.
Adjusting to life in the southern hemisphere was not easy. It took her some time to get used to the accent, and the seasons being all jumbled up round the wrong way. She had missed cheerleading, but at least she still got to wear a uniform every day so she did not have to choose an outfit five days a week. That would have been a nuisance. In the beginning her heart ached for her extended family, especially her father's parents, while her thoughts about her old classmates were always fleeting. Her new classmates were different, not in a positive or negative way necessarily, just different and it was strange being in an all-girls school - she had not even known they existed before – but her parents said it was the finest school in the area and she did not know any different. She got the chance to learn songs in a foreign language, to try fish and chips on the beach, and have barbeques at Christmas time. It was not all bad. She was disappointed, however, to find that when she graduated high school a couple of months ago she did not get to wear a cap and gown. She would have to wait another three years or so for that, but she was patient.
Now here she was, 18 years old, having first moved halfway around the world, and now moving half way around her new country to study sociology and anthropology. She did not know what she wanted to do with her life, but for now she just wanted to learn more about people, culture and society and perhaps make some proper friends at last.
"Britt?" she heard her mother say behind her, and she turned slightly to glance back at her. Her mother's eyes were shining with unshed tears, but the gentle smile on her face showed that while she was sad to be leaving her eldest daughter here, she was also incredibly proud of how far she had come. "You ready to go in and get settled?"
She nodded, and reached out to beckon her mother forward so they could link elbows, before adjusting her pack on her back while her father and younger sister grabbed the rest of her belongings out of their family jeep. With one last glance behind her she took a step forward, ready for this new and exciting stage of her life.
This is my first possible multi-chapter fic. My last fic only got a couple of reviews but then I found out it had had a couple hundred views so please let me know if I should continue this or not! If I don't..I probably won't continue it. Or maybe I will. I haven't really written much before.
Thanks :)