Switched
Chapter One
Flashback
"Sakura!"
"Hai"
"Stop daydreaming, you're going to America tomorrow. I suggest you start realitizing."
"Yes Onii-chan..."
Sakura folded in the last top she was going take with her to America. Her school held this annual exchange with an American high school in California. Sakura's host sister and best friend Tomoyo and her family was waiting for her at the airport first thing in the morning.
End of flashback
Flashback
"Omgawshh Sakura-Chan!" Tomoyo gushed out as she ran ecstatically across the room to hold her beloved bestie.
Sakura almost toppled over as Tomoyo's greeting was so unexpected.
"Haha yea nice to see you too Tomo-Chan. How are you and how's the family?"
"You'd better ask them yourself!" she sang pointing to a slim figure on the far right dressed in an extravagant black silk dress reaching to the knees.
"Aunty" Sakura bowed as she stepped forward to greet Tomoyo's mum.
"Hello Sakura! Tomoyo's so excited about having you over for this year she hasn't slept for a week. So glad to see you're here at last." Tomoyo's mum smiled.
"now let me help you with your luggage. Uncle's waiting outside in the car for us."
And with that, she net down and reached for a suitcase. Tomoyo grabbed another and Sakura nervously clung onto the last remaining bag on the trolley. It was wheeled off by a random man wearing a uniform.
"Uncle"
"You sure have grown Sakura. How's dad and bro?"
"They're very well. Thank you so much for having me, I couldn't have come without your help"
"My pleasure Sakura"
End of flashback
Sakura's p.o.v
The house was situated near a beach. It's so awesome being surrounded by sea, sand, palm trees and clear blue sky. America was so different to the busy city traffic in Japan. Very different. I share a room with my crazy friend Tomoyo but aunty said I could move to the room next door anytime, just incase things get too noisy. School started for me next week. It was Friday and while Tomoyo was at school, aunty took a day off from work and drove me around the place and took me shopping. Everything was so...Americanised…
On Monday morning the sound of Tomoyo's alarm clock woke me and fell out of bed as soon as I heard it. She was already up and dressed. We talked for a while, about everything and nothing and then I got dressed too. I didn't want to be labled "slut" or "cheerleader" or "athletic" or "nerd" or "emo" or "Goth" or whatever other kind of style there was. I just wanted to be labeled "normal Jap girl from normal Jap society".
I put on the cutest top I had. It was a white halter singlet underneath and attached to it was a black Pami Pami cat, long t-shirt. It wasn't like a t-shirt at all because it stretched down further and had a sort of mini skirt like gathering at the end. On the bottom of that I wore a pair of black-ish jeans with frayed edges at the bottom and a pair of sandals with black denim and looked more like really low wedges. I always wear the heart locket necklace with a delicate chain around my neck as it was the will left to me from my mother. I can never part with it. I tied a grey pom-pom on each one of my two low pony-tails and a heart charm bracelet around my left wrist and trudged downstairs for breakfast.
Tomoyo whined over it all morning and about how much she wanted to borrow my clothes for the rest of the year. What she didn't know, was that I had bought clothes for her and when I told her, she almost sent the whole breakfast table toppling. We ate on the balcony as it was huge and sunny. It had a feeling of absolute freedom, a feeling I had never experienced in Japan yet I missed my father and brother so much.
Tomoyo and I took the bus to school. It was called Lake Ensfield High and was around 15minutes away from home. Tomoyo said hi to her friends and introduced me to most of them. They were warm and friendly, all with American accents.
After meeting the principal, he took me to my classroom. Tomoyo had already saved a seat next t her for me. I entered my first class. It was English. The class fell silent as I walked in. I felt my cheeks go pink as the principal introduced me and I felt every eye on me. The teacher was a tall, willowy woman, probably in her mid-thirties. I scanned the class room and saw one person look at me in a different way to what everyone else was. It wasn't Tomoyo. It wasn't her smiling eyes of more excitement, it wasn't the eyes of curiosity, and it wasn't the eyes of awe. It was the eyes that had a million things to tell you. They were the eyes that smile but look nervous at the same times. They were eyes that have a whole ocean of stories and secrets you could make out of. They were the eyes of a boy.