After school is over, I head outside with Tamaki and Kyoya.

"Can you believe the teacher? A 500-word essay by Wednesday? That's impossible," I complain.

"Come on, Kairi. It's not like you aren't smart enough. Besides, you seem to understand the book more than us," Tamaki replies.

"Yea, because I've read it before. My last school made us learn it. Or was that the German school?" I ponder for a second. "Actually, that was probably the German school. Which means all my old work is in German."

"Well, since you understand it so much, you won't mind helping us then, right?" Tamaki asks.

"Uh. I guess. But do you guys need help? You seemed like you were getting it."

"Well-"

"Kairi?" A voice calls out.

I turn to the voice and see a familiar face.

"Derek? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. I haven't seen you in a while, and you haven't answered your phone."

I glance at my phone.

"Oh shit. Sorry. It was on Do Not Disturb. I didn't see any of your messages. Did you need something?"

"Nothing important. I just wanted to see if you could hang, but you're busy. I'll text you later."

"Ok. Sorry. I'll make sure it's not on Do Not Disturb. Talk to you later."

"Bye." With that, he leaves.

I watch him leave for a second before turning back to Tamaki and Kyoya.

"Sorry. Where were we?"

"Getting in the car."

"Right." The three of us slide into the limo, and we head off to the Hitachiin estate.

After we arrive, we're ushered inside by the twins.

"Hurry up! Our mother has been bugging us nonstop about you," the twins complain.

I chuckle. "Alright. We're coming."

We walk inside and immediately I see a beautiful woman standing in front of me.

"You must be Kairi. I've heard so much about you. Oh, you're even more adorable than I imagined. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Hitachiin, Yuzuha. You can call me Yuzuha."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yuzuha."

"Come with me, child. I have a whole room full of clothing I think you'll look perfect in. You boys wait here." With that, she leads (more like drags) me to a room. Looking around, I see all sorts of dresses hanging on racks.

"Wow, Yuzuha. These are all gorgeous."

"Well, thank you, my dear." She looks around for a second before walking over to a rack. "Hmm. Maybe this one. Or this? Ooo. This one for sure."

She amasses a handful of dresses and hands them to me.

"Here. We'll start with these. There's a door over there that leads to a bathroom. You can change there."

I head over and close the door. I quickly change into the first and walk out to show her.

"Hmm. I think the length could go up just a touch. And the neckline isn't right. Next."

I go and try the next one. She criticizes it and tells me to move to the next. This continues for a couple dresses. Finally, I walk out in the last dress she handed me.

"That's it. That's the one. Oh, and I can just picture the jewelry. Let me give you the number of the person who designs jewelry for my lines. I trust her judgment."

She hands me a business card. I walk back and change. When I exit, she has a dress bag ready.

"Are you sure I can have this? It's way too beautiful."

"Nonsense. It wouldn't look perfect on anybody else. It's one of a kind. Besides, you're like a daughter to me. And, you've been such a good friend to my sons. I know it means a lot to them that you can tell them apart. I've always struggled with it, myself. So, take this dress as a thank you."

"Very well. Thank you. And it's a pleasure to be their friend."

She smiles. "Come on. I'm sure they're all anxious."

We head back to where we left the others. I see that Mori and Honey have joined them.

"Finally!"

"Took long enough!"

"Yeah, mom. Did you make her try on every single dress?"

"Oh, you two hush now. You all still have plenty to do. Good luck, Kairi. Never hesitate to reach out."

"Thank you."

Yuzuha leaves, and the others turn to me.

"So?"

"What?"

"Come on, Kairi! We're dying to see the dress!"

"No can do. I'm under strict orders. I'm only to show the jewelry designer the dress and no one else until tomorrow night."

They all sadden.

"Oh, suck it up. We've still got plenty to do and very little time. I'm meeting the jewelry designer at 7."

They all perk up and get started.

Several hours later, my brain feels like it's going to explode.

"Come on, Kairi. Get this right, and we can be done for the time being."

"Ok." I take a deep breath. I point to a fork and say, "Salad fork. Dinner fork. Dessert fork. Dinner knife. Teaspoon. Soupspoon. Soup bowl. Dinner plate. This glass is for water. This one is red wine, and this one is white wine. Although, until we're legal, they give us juice in the red wine glass."

"Yes! You did it!"

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Finally."

"And just in time too. We need to get going if we're going to make it by 7."

I look at the time. "Shit. Ok. Tamaki, Kyoya, and I need to go. Thank you all for your help. With any luck, I won't fuck up tomorrow. See you guys at school."

The three of us scurry out and head to the meeting.

The designer is very friendly and helps me decide on a necklace and matching earrings to complete my ensemble. As we're paying, she pushes the bag towards me.

"I've also thrown in a gift from me to you. Yuzuha spoke highly of you, and I agree with her. Good luck tomorrow night."

"Thank you so much."

We leave and get into the limo. I glance inside the bag and see what the lady gave me. I smile. It's perfect.

"Alright. You have a dress. You have jewelry. Ranka has offered to do your hair and makeup. Is that alright?"

"Absolutely."

"I figured. I already told him yes."

"Aww. Thanks, Kyoya. You're the best."

The car slows down and then comes to a stop.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Relax baby. You'll be perfect." Kyoya gets out, and we head off.

"So, how are you feeling, Kairi?"

"Hmm. Not as nervous as I thought I would be."

"Well, that's good."

"I guess. I'm a little excited, but mostly scared. Not nervous, but scared."

"Why?"

"Well, tomorrow will be the first time I'll be meeting our grandmother. She won't be happy to see me. Especially with what my presence means."

"Don't worry. Kyoya and I will be there. And the rest of the club. Plus, Mrs. Hitachiin. And you'll also have our dad. He won't let anything happen."

"Thanks. That's actually really comforting."

"I try."

I giggle. As I stare out the window, I wonder what's in store for me tomorrow.

Holy shit. It's been 3 months. Where has the time flown? I was recently thinking about this story, and I hadn't realized until tonight that it had been 3 months. I'm so sorry, everyone. Geeze. Since we last spoke, I've enlisted with the Army Reserves. I ship out for training in January, so for the first 6 months of 2020, I'll be radio silent. I *crosses fingers* will hopefully update a couple times before then. *Continues crossing fingers* I really hope I can make time to do it. Between my two jobs, school, and trying to get ready for boot camp, my life is crazy busy. But I'm feeling dedicated. I will do it, damnit.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this chapter. I'm thinking either the next chapter or the chapter after will be the big party. It depends on how everything works out in writing. As always, please please please leave comments. I love to hear what you liked and didn't like. I can't improve if I don't get any feedback. Until next time.