Erika stared out the window as the plane landed safely in London. Her new life was about to start and she had no idea whatsoever what was going to happen. All she knew was…. Koki wasn't there for her anymore and neither was Yoji. She had to learn to fend for herself from now on. Even though she had moved out of Koki's house a while ago and transferred back to her old school she still missed Koki and the prospect of becoming his wife. But she was hoping that her decision about coming to England was going to change all that. She was trying to take Tanpopo's advice of standing on her own and learning to live. She felt that perhaps Tanpopo was right but that doesn't mean she liked the girl. Erika still felt desperation and anger when she thought of Tanpopo. But a little, tiny, minuscule part of her was grateful to Tanpopo and wanted to be her friend. As Erika tried to push these thoughts from her head she felt the tears brimming up in her eyes again. Frustrated, she pulled on the handle of her suitcase trying to get it out from the overhead compartment. "There were maids for this kind of thing back in Japan," she thought as she pulled and pulled.
"Need help?"
Erika turned around and came face to face with a gorgeous boy with spiky blond hair and enormous green eyes. They were so closed that their noses were almost touching. Erika stared into his eyes and pondered for a moment. "He was clearly European so why was he speaking Japanese so fluently with absolutely no accent?" She suddenly blushed and jumped back saying politely "Oh yes please! It would be of great help"
The boy grinned mischievously at her and said "Can I have a smile?"
"What! A smile?" exclaimed Erika thinking that this boy was completely out of his mind.
"C'mon just smile! I've noticed you throughout the whole trip and you've has this grim, worried but determined look on your face. Now, having all those emotions mixed on your face at once is not a very good look and worrying isn't exactly a nice feeling is it! You're pretty, so act like you know you're pretty! Act confident! Just smile and I'll grab your suitcase. C'mon just do it! We're blocking people's way outta here."
Erika looked around them. It was true, they were blocking the aisle. There was only one thing she could do. She smiled a small smile at the boy and then looked at him expectantly. As promised, he lifted her suitcase out of the overhead compartment and set it in front of her. He beckoned her to go first. "Ladies first" he said gallantly.
Erika took her suitcase wordlessly and walked down the aisle. She tilted her head backward and turned slightly to the side to see if the boy had followed her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that he had let all the other passengers go first and was apologizing for blocking their way. Before she knew what she was doing. She had backed in between the seats and was allowing all the people behind her to pass through first. She wanted to talk to this boy, be his friend. Maybe even have a friend in London. It could be a start to her new life.