FORWARD:
Even Girls Can Be Hosts was a fanfic I wrote and published TEN YEARS AGO! I absolutely loved writing this fic and received a lot of positive feedback on my ideas, but reading it back 10 years later there are so many things I would do differently. However, as i still love the underlying plot and had so many ideas for where this series would go i have decided to start from scratch and hope to reach a totally new generation of Ouran fans! So without further ado here is the new and improved first chapter of Even Girls Can Be Hosts!
CHAPTER ONE: New Arrival
It wouldn't have been enough to just send me to a boarding school out of state?
I thought to myself as I waited impatiently for my grandmother at arrivals at Haneda Airport, tapping my doc martens against the beaten down carpet as I sunk deeper and deeper into my seat. She was a measly fifteen minutes late, which felt like a century to a New Yorker who was used to the daily hustle and bustle of city life. Every second there mattered. Someone was always in a rush to go someplace and I loved it, the sense of pure urgency that I already missed after sixteen hours. How was I going to survive living in Tokyo for a whole year?
I blamed everything on my older brother, George. He was the reason I had been exiled across the globe to live with our stone faced Japanese Grandmother. Well, him and the party that resulted in five broken lamps, four calls to the police, three teenagers puking their guts out on our lawn, two shattered windows and one very pissed off mother. George was the one who thought it was a genius idea to throw a Spring Break kegger while our mom was out of town at a conference. But because somehow both of us are always involved when there's trouble, she decided it was time to seperate my brother and I for the rest of the school year "and possibly forever" she threatened.
George got to stay in Brooklyn and finish his senior year there while I was forced to leave two semesters into the school year to start tenth grade all over again on another continent. "You'll already know the material which will make up for your lack of knowledge in Japanese class" my mom had tried to argue, despite knowing better than anyone that my grades were going to be okay. I wouldn't have been accepted into Ouran Academy so last minute if that wasn't the case. Though my grandparents' social standing had a lot to do with it, it would have been harder to sway the Academy into letting in an American two weeks before school started if my academic record was down the toilet.
Despite being incredibly bitter about the entire situation, I was really going to miss my family back in New York. Sitting alone in a foreign, non English speaking country was really highlighting that fact. I was already so lost trying to read the signs that I almost didn't notice my name in block letters plastered across a poster board. My eyes darted up to the man in uniform holding it, looking around frantically like he was just as foreign as I was. Of course my grandmother would send a driver, why pick up your only granddaughter from the airport yourself when you haven't seen her in five years?
"Adeline Hozumi?" The anxious man asked as I started toward him, suitcase in tow.
"Hai!" I piped up. My mom had taught me at least that much. "Uh, Konnichiwa! Watashi wa… uhh…" I fumbled trying to remember the beginners Japanese I learned from the waitress at my favourite sushi place on the strip. To my horror he let out a chortle and shook his head.
"Don't worry Hozumi-San, I speak fluent English.
I let out a sigh of relief and beamed brightly.
"Was it that obvious that I was struggling?" I laughed.
He shook his head with a smile and reached out his hand.
"Not at all. I'm Haruto, your Grandmother's driver. But you can call me Harry"
I reached out and took his hand and shook it a little less femininely than I had intended. "Nice to meet you, Harry."
The drive from Haneda to Bunkyo was only thirty minutes, but I savoured every second as I knew the moment I saw my grandmother I would be wishing I was still sitting in that airport alone. It's not that I hated my Grandmother Ichika, she just didn't have that Grandma's touch. Our Mimi Lynn was the epitome of what you expect from a grandma; hand knit sweaters for Christmas, fresh baked cookies every time we came to visit, those obnoxious cards that sang for all of our birthdays. It was hard to place those two in the same basket. The fact that my grandmother never accepted my parents marriage also put a damper on things.
As the car pulled up to my grandmother's mansion I could barely keep my jaw off the floor. I had been there every few years since I was a baby but somehow it never ceased to amaze me. Four stories tall with an elegant front garden and a gate at the entrance, it felt as if we were visiting royalty rather than entering my new home for the next twelve months. Or forever as my mom loved to joke.
"This is it!" Harry exclaimed as he opened my door and gestured to the front steps.
"It was a pleasure meeting you Hozumi-San, I look forward to picking you up tomorrow morning."
"Please, call me Addie." I Insisted.
Harry smiled warmly and nodded as I stepped out onto the beautiful stone walkway.
"Of course, Miss Addie. I will see you tomorrow at Eight o'clock. Have a nice evening."
"You too Harry!" I waved as he returned to the drivers seat and continued around the fountain and out the gate.
Not a moment went by before a curt voice came from the front door.
"Well, well, well. I should have known what the cause of all this shouting was."
I whipped my head around to see my grandmother in all her glory, peering out from the front door with a grimace plastered on her un-aging face.
"Obaasan!" I called, hurrying up the steps to embrace her, only to be quickly rejected.
"Adeline you nearly knocked me over!" Grandmother scolded, pulling away and flattening her blazer. I cleared my throat.
"Sorry Obaasan. I haven't seen you in ages."
"Not since your father's funeral." She pointed out coldly. I swallowed hard.
"Five Years." I murmured.
"Apparently it takes a death in the family or a miscreant crisis for my grandchildren to see me." She scoffed, widening the door opening. "Get inside before I change my mind about taking you for an entire year."
Yup, alone in an airport is definitely favourable to this.
Falling asleep after an intercontinental flight proved to be difficult, even in my new Queen sized princess bed. My grandmother had one of her many guest rooms done up with what she thought was favourable to a teenage girl, Spoiler alert: I am NOT your average teenage girl. Though to be fair I don't think I would find this decor appealing even if I were average. The wallpaper looked like something straight out of Versailles, and I was pretty sure Marie Antoinette had the exact same bed frame. It was one of those four poster beds with the curtains and everything like I was some sort of lady in waiting. Yikes.
The historical bed frame paired with the most barbaric case of jet lag I had ever experienced resulted in about 2 hours of sleep tops. Which was exactly what I needed for my first day at a new school, with a new language, on a new continent with totally different customs. It took every ounce of energy I had to get up out of bed and into the shower at a reasonable time. I thought I was already having a bad morning, and then I saw the garment bag hanging on the back of the bathroom door with my name on it. I dared to peek inside and almost gagged at the sight, a frilly yellow dress, and a small bag with tights, shoes and a pink bow.
"Excuse me Miss, but your Grandmother sent me up to help you with your uniform." The maid who had helped me settle in the night before called from the hall.
"Uniform?!" I screeched. "I have to wear this every day?!"
"Y-Yes Miss! All schools require uniforms."
It was an absolute nightmare. Moving to Japan to live with my terrifying grandmother to go to private school was a dream compared to wearing THAT everyday. I could almost hear my mom snickering from New York. She must have known having grown up here what I was getting into.
"I can change once I get there!" I argued, trying to worm my way out of it.
"I'm sorry Miss but your grandmother insisted I assure you are properly attired before you leave."
Dammit Grandma! She knew I would say that.
I groaned, opened the bathroom door and admitted defeat.
The ride to school was so short it was almost unnecessary, but Harry insisted he drive and I was so tired I didn't argue. Once we arrived at Ouran Academy I was confused, it looked as if we were at a palace rather than a school.
"This is it! Goodluck!" Harry called as I stepped out into the courtyard.
I'm gonna need it.
Moments after my arrival at the Academy I reached into my black backpack and pulled out my "revisions" to the uniform; a chunky black knit cardigan, a choker, my favourite pair of earrings, black lipstick and of course my black docs. I hurried into the school and headed for the first washroom I could see and quickly got to work, finishing off by pulling my long black hair up into a sloppy high pony. When I say the other girls were staring, that's a major understatement. It felt like someone was burning a hole in the back of my head with their eyes. Hushed giggles and gasps littered the hall as I tried to navigate my way to the main office.
I have a map somewhere on my phone.
I zoned out completely, so desperate to decipher which way I was supposed to go that I forgot where I was. Until a hard shove promptly brought me back. My phone was launched out of my hands as I fell to the floor, my backpack falling off of my shoulder and spilling its contents into the hallway. I could feel my face getting hot as I rushed to collect my things and get out of the way, but a cool hand on my arm snagged my attention. Slowly I looked up from my mess and I was met with the most gorgeous set of brown eyes I had ever seen. It took me a moment to snap back to reality and take in the sight of the boy in front of me. It almost felt wrong to call him a boy, he already seemed like such a man. His dark hair fell into his face as he picked up my things and handed them to me without a word.
"Thank you." I finally exhaled. "I mean uh Arigatou-gozaimasu?" I looked back up at the silent stranger who now had a smirk plastered across his face at my feeble attempt to speak his language.
"What? Is it that obvious that I'm not from here?" I questioned, wobbling as I tried to stand.
"Mhm" he murmured, taking my elbow to help me up. I gaped at him a little as he stood, he was so tall!
"I..uh, it was very nice of you to help me." I smiled sheepishly. "Oh crap I don't know how to say that in Japanese!" I blurted out, this time gaining a low chuckle. He gave me one last look with those heart melting eyes and continued on his way down the empty hallway.
Empty?!
Snapping out of my school girl fog I realized we had been standing there for quite a few minutes and the bell had already rang.
Late on the first day, lovely.
As I rushed to look back at my phone and get my bearings, I heard slow footsteps coming up from behind me.
"First day and you're already making a bad impression, now why am I not surprised."
I know that snide voice.
"It's not every day you get a chance to attend an elite academy like this you know." I could almost hear him push up his glasses from behind me.
"Kyoya-Senpai?!" I turned, only to be face to face with the individual responsible for making all my visits with my grandparents a living hell.
No no no no, this is not happening.
A/N If you got this far- thank you thank you thank you! I'm sorry for such a slow start but i promise to give you lots of our favourite hosts in the next update! xx