Hey everybody! I'm back with another chapter! Thanks for reading and enjoy the story!
I didn't talk to Kenma again on Christmas, but on the 26th I got a message from a group chat in the texting app Kenma and I used. There was only on other person in the chat. I assumed this was Akaashi who he mentioned the day before.
Kenma had texted and said, "Hi Akaashi, I made this chat with my friend Valeria in it. She is going to be attending Fukurodani for the third term this year as an exchange student. Please keep an eye out for her."
Akaashi replied not long after, "Sure thing, Kenma!" and then he sent another chat, "Hi Valeria, I'm Keiji Akaashi. I'm a third year at Fukurodani Academy. If you need anything while you're here, don't be afraid to ask."
"Thank you so much!" I texted back, "I really appreciate it. I've been kind of nervous about coming to Japan, so it's really nice to know that I won't be completely alone there."
"Akaashi," Kenma said, "She'll have to join a club while she's attending the school. Do you think Ria could come on as a temporary manager for the volleyball team?"
"I'll talk to the coach, but it shouldn't be a problem." he replied.
"Really? That'll be so fun! I look forward to meeting you both in person and thanks so much for everything!"
Arriving in Tokyo was strange. I had been to plenty of big cities in my life but there was something different about being here. Maybe the fact that I was now a minority, that everyone no one is speaking my language, or that I can't read all the signs without extra effort was throwing me off. Maybe the nerves were just getting to me now that I had arrived in country and would be attending school here. Maybe the stories I read online about it being 50/50 on getting a nice host family was stressing me out.
"Valeria Jacobi?" a woman asked as I approached the baggage claim.
"Yes, are you Ms. Andrews?" I waved.
"Yes, it's nice to meet you, dear. Welcome to Japan. I'll be your regional representative during your time here, so if you ever need something or need help with something that your host family either can't or doesn't know how to help you with, I'll be the one you reach out to."
"Okay, thank you very much," I shook her hand, "Are we waiting on anyone else or was I holding everyone up?"
I gave a nervous laugh and she shook her head, "No, not at all, you're the only one under my purview arriving today. I'll be dropping you off with your host family later today, but for now, how about some lunch? It's not often I only have one or two kids and the time to give you a little tour."
"That sounds awesome, thank you Ms. Andrews! I'll just go grab my bag!" I jogged over to the baggage claim and a few moments later when the bag came out I returned.
She took me out to her little white car and we threw the heavy suitcase in the trunk before setting off from Tokyo international airport towards the actual big city of Tokyo, much closer to where Fukurodani was. She pointed out some famous buildings and sights along the way as well.
I got to see the rainbow bridge, though it is much cooler all lit up at night, she pointed out the Tokyo Skytree on the far off horizon, and a famous sports center was pointed out as we drove by. I couldn't help but ask, "Do they play volleyball there?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure. I don't follow sports very much. Are you interested in volleyball dear?" she smiled, "You'll have to join a club at school, maybe you can play with the girls team, even if it's just for the term."
"Oh no, no, no," I laughed, "Yeah, I do not play volleyball, don't know much about besides there being setters, spikers, how you are supposed to pass even though I can't do it, and you get three passes before you got to get it over the net."
"That's more than most people, dear, you should give it a shot."
"Honestly, I'm not all that interested in playing, but I know someone from the Kanto region who introduced me to a student from Fukurodani. He's the volleyball captain, his name is Keiji Akaashi. He said I was welcome to join the team as a temp manager if I wanted."
"Really? That's great! The region is big though, so your friend must not be very far away if they know someone from Fukurodani." she stopped at a red light and gave me a big smile, "Maybe you two will get to see each other in person!"
"We plan on it! My friend's name is Kozume Kenma. I'm not sure where he goes to school, but he met Akaashi through volleyball. He's the setter for his team just like Akaashi."
She started driving again, "I'm glad you got to come to Japan, dear. At the very least you'll get to meet your friends, but I hope you'll have even more fun than just that."
"Me too!"