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"Kazuma! Get up and get dressed!" I yelled up the stairs, slathering jam onto a second piece of toast. Getting up at seven was nothing compared to five, just to go to dance class. I couldn't understand why it was so hard for my cousin to get up in the morning.
I smoothed down my skirt, walking into the living room and checking out of my window. The news said to expect rain, but so far it was sunny and beautiful outside. An umbrella wouldn't hurt.
"Look, I'm up and dressed and ready. You don't even have your sash on yet." Kazuma skipped the last step on the stairs and stopped, staring at the toast. "Did you seriously try and make breakfast?"
"That depends; are you going to say something that will deny you access to your breakfast?" I grabbed the sash off of the back of the couch, looping it through the back of my collar.
"Nope, it looks great!" He grabbed the toast off of the counter with a self-conscious grin my way.
"Then I did indeed try and make breakfast." I gave up attempting to tie the stupid sash and walked up to Kazuma, looking up at him and feeling my pride sinking with every inch I had to look up. "I can't tie the sash... help me."
Kazuma snorted, taking the ends and tying the middle with the purple string. I frowned, touching the yellow piece of fabric and looking up at him again.
"Do I want to know?"
"I have an older sister who made me help her with clothes shopping as a punishment." He shoved the toast in his mouth, grabbing his school bag and wandering to the door. "You might want to get your shoes on or we're going to be late."
I grabbed my piece of toast and shoved it in my mouth so I could put on my shoes, hopping after the giant and taking an actual bite out of it on the way, spinning so I could walk backwards just in front of him. "What's your first class?"
"We start with English, go to science, a free hour, history, lunch and math to end the day. It's a pretty lame way to start end the day if you ask me. Luckily today is my busiest day, whereas tomorrow I get an easier schedule. Mainly a focus on English and history." He frowned and held out his hand to take my book bag. I smiled at him, handing it over and stretching my arms. "Say, why are you coming to school with me anyway? I thought you would be heading back home after the funeral."
I shrugged, thinking back to my discussion with my mother. "I had a fight with my dance teacher before I left. She was insistent that I miss the funeral to go to a dance competition."
He stopped dead, staring at me with shocked expression. "No freaking way."
"As you can imagine, my mouth got the better of me. My mother and I discussed the possibility of my coming to school here since my dance studio is no longer an option for me, and it would provide me with a better education. I was already prepared to study abroad, so this was an opportune time. My mom made the plans with your dad yesterday, actually, so it was kind of last minute. I'm sorry..."
"No! I mean, you know, it would have been nice to know in advance... we could have, like, had a party or something. You know, welcome you to the house the right way instead of cooking plain rice and watching that chick flick. A real welcoming is a party, with lots of junk food and stuff." He continued the traipse to school, flipping his bookbag over his shoulder and treating mine with a little more respect.
"How about tonight we have a real welcome to the house party." I grinned, glancing behind me to make sure there was no traffic.
Kazuma nodded his approval, falling into a stern silence. This must be his tough guy act for when we came up on the school, otherwise known as his 'turf'. I rolled my eyes, turning around and walking straight into someone's chest. A hand caught my arm firmly when I pulled back, probably assuming I was falling backwards. I blushed, looking up at the brown haired boy in the pale blue uniform. He immediately let go of me, bowing politely.
"Sorry, miss. You must be Kuwabara's cousin. I'm Komada, a friend of Kuwabara's from school." I smiled, bowing to him as well.
"I'm Gavriella. Call me Ella. I will be attending the high school here as of today."
"Now this is a guy that'll stick with you, cous." Kazuma slapped his friend's back, and launched into a loud discussion about how they had a lot of work to do starting tomorrow. I rolled my eyes and fell behind them, staring up at the school that now belonged to me. Kazuma and Komada bid me farewell, promising to pick me up after their classes in the middle school were finished. Now I got to go alone into a class that I transferred into halfway through the school year.
The truth? My mom was sick too.
It wasn't the kind of sick that was easily fixed through medicine, but not the kind of sick that was going to kill her either. At least not yet. My mom had lost it when my father died, spiraling into a depression. She said she needed to be alone, but she didn't want to leave us alone. She thought it was best for me to stay with family during the time, and stayed home for her last few weeks of work before she started her get-well program. I didn't mind; I loved my mother, but I knew from the way that I was that time away was the best option. In my heart, Japan had always been my home, whereas my mother needed to go where she felt the most home. I came to live with my cousins while my two older brothers, already in college, were keeping an eye on the house so she could travel. We all encouraged it when she hit the bottom, convinced her that this time was necessary so she could function. She worked too hard to try and stay happy despite it all, and even she needed a vacation.
I could never tell my cousins this; knowing them, they would get defensive of me and try and comfort me when in all reality I was worried but more comfortable than I had been in years. They wouldn't understand.
This school was my new place of learning, and after school I would walk around the city to regain my bearings on the place I grew up in. I wanted to join a dance academy if possible, though I had resigned to the fact that I would probably be practicing on my own until the summer when I could join fresh into an academy that wouldn't be offended to have a foreigner amongst them. Next to anyone here I would stand out like a sore thumb, which usually meant that I had no chance or the best chance in the world.
I was forced to introduce myself to my class, which was a barrel of fun. I got mocked in my first ten minutes for being a grain of rice in a fruits basket, which I thought was VERY original, and mocked in the next three for my stumbling with reading Japanese. Never let it be said that the smartest high schoolers in the world aren't all assholes.
"You look like you're ready to throw yourself out the window." A girl next to me smiled. I glanced behind me, not sure if this apparition was real or not. "Don't worry; not all of us are so immature. No offense, I'm just glad now they're picking on something other than my scars."
I took in the scarring I had missed on her neck and face. She was a very pretty girl otherwise, with pale skin and deep black hair that almost looked blue. She touched the scars self consciously and looked down.
"No, it's okay. I don't mind; I'm pretty used to bullying. I grew up with brothers, so verbal assault is a skill I have mastered over the years." I offered her a part of my granola bar, which she politely declined.
"So how are you liking Japan so far?"
"I actually grew up here, so it's like coming home after a long trip." I nodded, leaning back in my seat. Apparently the free hour had started, since none of the other students were taking notes or reading, and our teacher was doodling something in his notebook. "What do you do for fun?"
"I read, but most people like to go to the arcade or the shopping center. Are you thinking of joining any clubs?" She took a bite of some rice that she pulled out of her bag.
"I was hoping to join a dance studio, actually. I used to belong to Lera May's school of Dance."
She looked surprised, but nodded her understanding. "We don't have a dance club here, but you could always ask the administrators at Meiou High School if you could join their dance team."
"I'll do that."
She smiled again, and turned back to her notebook, studying her notes while I decided to try and brush up on my reading. I took out my Italian to English dictionary and tried to make an attempt to study, but the words kept flowing together.
To say the least, school became a living hell when we had an impromptu quiz at the end of the day for my history class. I tried my best, but when the teacher informed me that I was the last person and that he needed to get going, I had to beg him to give me the rest of the test orally. I could speak just fine, fluently even, but I could not wrap my head around the words under pressure from my peers or the pressure from homework, which was even worse.
Kazuma, as promised, met me out front when I came out the doors. I was surprised; he would have had to ditch on the last part of his class in order to come and get me in time. I smiled at him regardless, thankful to see a familiar face after the day I had, and wrapped my arms around him.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." I murmured, noting how tense he was but pleased that he gave me a hug in return.
"Cuz, we don't hug in Japan." He muttered when we pulled away, blushing. I glanced at his friends behind him, smiling and ignoring my cousin.
"Hello, my name is Gavriella Kuwabara, Kazuma's cousin from Italy. I will be staying here in Japan for the foreseeable future. Please, call me Ella. I hope we can all be friends." I bowed, playing along with my niceties.
"I am Okubo." The shorter of the three bowed to me, a blush on his cheeks, and the taller one with the buzz cut bowed too, grinning.
"Sawamura. It's good to finally meet you."
"We're going to the arcade; you want to come with?" Kazuma held out his hand for my bag, which I accepted and began to walk backwards in front of them to keep pace.
"I don't have a choice when you kidnapped my school bag."
Okubo stared at me, and looked at Kazuma, probably under the assumption that I couldn't hear. "Why is your cousin walking backwards dude?"
"We have no idea; she's always done it. We're not really sure she knows she does it."
I blushed, looking at my feet and stopping. "It's comfortable..."