~Chapter Two~

"Class, we have a new student, who has come all the way from America. I expect you all to welcome her. Come in, Kajimoto-chan," the teacher of class 3-A said. Yumiko felt nervous but also uncontrollably excited. Then she thought about Sumiko, in her classroom across the hall, and remembered who she was. "That's right! I'm part of the Crystal Pair, one of the U.S's best junior doubles team! There's no reason to be scared. "With that, she adjusted her posture, smoothed her hair, and walked in the room.

"Konnichiwa. My name is Kajimoto Yumiko. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" Yumiko said, and she bowed.

"Okay, Kajimoto-chan, you can sit between Fuji-kun and Kikumaru-kun. Now, please get out your notebooks…" the teacher said.

Yumiko walked through the vertical rows of seats to the only empty seat in the classroom. She noticed the smiling, girl-like boy on her left, and the redhead who was staring at her but stopped, she noted with amusement, once he saw her look at him.

Eiji thought that the new girl didn't look very American, but "She's pretty cute" he thought.

Meanwhile, Sumiko was seated next to Oishi and Tezuka Kunimitsu, the stern captain of the boy's tennis team. He wore glasses and an unemotional expression on his face. Both of the girls sighed, and soon the morning was over; it was lunch time.

~In 8th Grade Class 2-A~

Kaidoh Kaoru unpacked his very traditional lunch and was about to eat when he noticed that the new girl…."Amiko, her name was?" had almost the same thing for lunch as he did. He hissed, putting it aside, but then she started to talk.

"You're Kaidoh-kun, right? Sugoi! We have the same lunch! That's cool, huh? Oh, I hope you don't mind that I'm sitting here for lunch…My sisters are off somewhere. So, Kaidoh-kun, do you play sports? Which one?" Amiko said. She spoke rapidly and Kaidoh was overwhelmed by all the speech coming out of this small girl. He simply grunted "Tennis" with a long hiss.

"Sugoi! What a coincidence! I play tennis too, isn't that awesome! Are you on the school's team? I'm gonna be on the girls team. My sisters are aiming to be captain and vice-captain. Oh! Are you one? Are you really good? "

Kaidoh felt a headache coming on and was about to switch seats, when he noticed that his new classmate was quiet. She had a regretful expression on her face and casting her eyes downward said "Gomen for being so talkative, Kaidoh-kun. You see, I usually talk to my twin brother, Aki, but he's attending boarding school in America, so…I understand if my chattering bothers you…I can move if you want me to…"

Suddenly all of his irritation was gone, and he knew that his conscience was going to pay dearly if he didn't let her stay.

He said "No need to move. I don't mind…" and instantly Amiko's spirits lifted. She started to talk again, but this time Kaidoh was prepared. Actually, he thought, it was kinda nice, since he didn't have many friends other than his tennis teammates and was generally shrouded in solitude. Snapping back to reality, he finished his lunch, remembering that they had practice right after lunch break, which was soon ending.

After he finished, he packed up and said to Amiko, "I have practice now…fshuu."

"Okay! See you later" said Amiko. She was glad that she had made at least one friend at Seigaku, even if he wasn't really a friend and he was kinda quiet. Her siblings had teased her that with all her chattering, she wouldn't be able to make any friends. Then she remembered that she had wanted to find the tennis courts, and Amiko dashed out the classroom door to try an catch up with Kaidoh.