Valerie Majumdar had never liked flying, and she had done a lot of it. Both her parents had immigrated to the United States from India only a year before she was born, so they'd traveled back plenty of times in her short seventeen years. The only comfort this time was that at least she'd be meeting her roommate for the year before ever boarding the plane.
Well, it could be a comfort, she supposed. It could also be a disaster.
Valerie sighed and ran a hand through her hair, flicking her eyes down to her phone to check the picture of the girl who was supposed to be in the seat next to her. The flight was boarding in ten minutes, and there had been no sign of the other exchange student, Quinn.
Valerie had to admit that she wasn't as nervous about this as she thought she'd be. Her Japanese wasn't great, but she was a pretty quick study, and both her parents worked so much anyway that she hardly saw them when she was home, so it wasn't really surprising.
With luck, she'd at least make them proud.
The announcer came on over the loudspeaker to start the plane boarding, and Valerie sent a somewhat worried look over her shoulder as she stood in line. She hadn't even met the girl yet, and already she was stressing over this Quinn Palmer.
All of the fear of the night before had evaporated as catastrophe after catastrophe had left Quinn spiraling further and further into desperation. They were supposed to leave at 9:45 in the morning, but at 9:40, Quinn and Ellie's mother had suddenly realized the keys to the car were nowhere to be found. After twenty minutes of frantic searching (which wound up with them discovering the keys in the car itself), they finally pulled out of the driveway, and half an hour from home, Quinn came to the horrific realization that her passport was sitting on the kitchen counter.
Needless to say, the flight left at one, and Quinn and company ran into the airport at about noon, and an hour wasn't nearly enough time to feel comfortable about getting through airport security. In some ways, though, Quinn supposed she was grateful for these turns of events. The goodbyes felt rushed, but at least she didn't have time to think about the way her sister's fingers were shaking as they embraced.
At least she only wound up at a wrong gate once before (finally) squeezing onto the plane to Los Angeles that was the first stop on the way to Tokyo. Embarrassed and squeezing past the flight attendant who was giving information about safety procedures, Quinn finally slid her carry-on into the compartment above and slid into her seat. Exhaling a breath she didn't even know she was holding, Quinn finally made eye contact with the wide-eyed girl next to her.
"It's been a wild ride and we haven't even left the ground yet," Quinn said, and Valerie laughed nervously. Disheveled hair that looked like it probably hadn't been its natural color in five years, fingernails chewed down to the nub, and a crazed look in her eye, Quinn looked precisely the opposite of cool and composed Valerie. "I'm Quinn and it's so nice to finally meet you! E-mail only can last for so long you know."
Valerie took Quinn's extended hand, and the girls smiled at one another. "I'm excited to live with you," Quinn continued, "I think we'll get along great!"
Suddenly, the ground rumbled under them, and Valerie's eyes went wide as she gripped the armrests. At Quinn's questioning look, Valerie mumbled, "Scared of flying," if not a little sheepishly.
"I've never actually flown before, so it would make sense if I was scared, but mostly I think I'm manically nervous about being in another country for so long," Quinn said, and Valerie couldn't help but notice that all Quinn's eye make-up was smudged as though she'd been crying.
"So what's the name of your school?" Quinn asked, sipping the obscenely-priced tea she'd bought to busy her hands.
"Hyotei Academy," Valerie sighed, "I did a little research on it and I'm pretty sure my parents had a hand in getting me placed there. It's like the wealthiest school in the region."
"Well that's gotta be cool, right? You'll probably have like, ice sculptures in the hallways."
Valerie laughed demurely. "I suppose. It's not the wealthy part that bothers me. It's more the fact that even this year, which was supposed to be my year to prove I could get by without them, they're influencing my life so much. Where are you going to school?"
"Seishun Academy. Couldn't find much on it except that they have a mad-skilled tennis program," Quinn answered.
"Do you play tennis?"
Quinn choked on her tea. "As if. I have no discernible talents whatsoever, in athletics least of all. I mean, I was never the worst, but I definitely had to work three times as hard as anybody else with a sliver of skill in order to do anything really right. Riley acts like I'm something bright because I was top of my class in Japanese but I was really just good friends with a couple exchange students and my school had a good program on top of that."
Their layover in Los Angeles was a lengthy twelve hours. The two had coordinated flights as best they could (meaning Quinn found the cheapest flight available and Valerie ordered a seat on the same one), but the time in California certainly took all the energy out of the both of them. The plane that would fly them to Japan was significantly bigger than the one that had flown them to LA. Quinn flicked a glance at Valerie, who had blanched the second they'd boarded the plane.
"You were uncomfortable before the last flight, but this time you actually look sick," Quinn noted, "Are you okay?"
Valerie nodded shortly. "Yes. I'm fine."
"You don't sound fine."
"We're flying over the ocean this time, Quinn," Valerie snapped, "There's something about hanging over an endless expanse of blue water that makes me extra nervous."
Quinn raised her eyebrows so high that they almost reached her hairline that didn't match them. "Well geez, Val, you know it isn't technically endless…"
"Val?" Valerie looked at Quinn, puzzled. "Did you call me Val?"
"Well, yeah," Quinn said, "It's just a nickname. I don't have to call you that if you don't want."
Valerie found herself softly smiling. "No. Val is nice. People usually call me by my full name is all. I like Val."
"Then Val you are," Quinn grinned right back, happy that Valerie had, for the moment at least, forgotten her flight anxiety. "We should try to catch some sleep once we get up there. I don't know what your coordinator told you, but Riley said that we'd be busy from the moment we touch down. I'll probably be tired no matter what, of course, but I can at least try to be as awake as possible."
Despite her momentary relief from the anticipation of flying, Valerie dug her nails into Quinn's arm this time rather than the armrest. Quinn smiled despite it. "We're fine. I've got you. And if I don't, then well, nobody would have been able to stop whatever happened anyway."
They had certainly become fast friends, but Quinn was sure that they'd be thick as thieves before their time together was up. After all, she didn't think either of them could really handle being truly alone abroad.
For her dainty demeanor, Valerie certainly didn't look it while she was sleeping. Quinn woke to drool on her arm and the shorter girl's head on her shoulder. Stretching out the crick in her neck, Quinn gently nudged the younger girl, who stirred slightly before pushing Quinn's face away and letting out the largest snore yet. Quinn snorted and flicked Valerie's forehead.
Startled awake, Valerie let out a yelp and sat straight up. Rubbing where Quinn had flicked, Valerie let out a tired sigh. "What, Quinn?"
"Well, I just thought you might be excited to know we were here, but if you don't care, go back to sleep. I'm sure they won't mind keeping you on for the return flight."
Valerie's eyes lit up, and like that she was plastered to the window. "I've been to Asia so many times," she said, so quietly that Quinn wasn't sure if it was even meant to be heard, "but we only ever went to India."
"Well, don't get too excited. It looks like it's going to take about three hours to get off this damn plane," Quinn said as the pilot came over the intercom. "Anyway, Riley said that there'd be someone there to show us the apartment once we touched down, so they should be there once we make it out of the terminal. Also, if it's bunk beds, dibs on top."
Valerie looked at her in horror. "You think they'll give us bunk beds?"
"No, but in the event that we should have bunk beds, I call the top one."
"If we have bunk beds, you can have both and I'll take the couch," Valerie sniffed.
"There is some fire in you after all, Val," Quinn teased, and as they finally got off of the plane, it really sank in for both of them. "Here's to a year of adventure."
They navigated security and the baggage claim, finally making it out of the terminal in a little under an hour, and they looked around for the representative that Riley had told Quinn would be present. "I don't see anyone…" Valerie mumbled under her breath. "Who just abandons two teenage girls like this?"
As if in answer to her question, an incredibly flustered girl popped through the crowd, a sign reading 'VALERIE AND QUINN' held at full arms-length above her head. Panting, the girl skimmed the flux of people coming out of the terminal, and Quinn pulled Valerie towards her.
"It's nice to meet you," Quinn said, abruptly switching to Japanese, and Valerie did a double take. Did the bubbly, disheveled girl she'd been talking to for the last forty-some hours really have Japanese that sounded so smooth? Valerie repeated her words, a little more clumsily, and the girl with the sign nodded with a chipper grin.
"I'm Nakano Airi! Something came up with the representative at the last minute so I was sent to show you around instead," she said, and recognition lit up Quinn's face.
"Oh! Airi-chan! It's so great to finally know what you look like!"
"Likewise, Quinn-chan. We'll probably be seeing a lot of each other, if I'm not mistaken." Airi laughed. "You two can come with me. Do you need me to take a bag or anything? I'm sure you're tired. I remember what it was like when I first landed in Norway, and my Norwegian was much worse than your Japanese is."
Valerie shook her head, and Quinn did the same. "Is the apartment far?" Valerie stuttered out.
"Not far at all, just a couple bus stops away. You're in the heart of the city, like I told Quinn." Airi's smile was radiant. "The apartment is quite close to Seigaku, but a little further from Hyotei. You'll have a few days to get settled in, but school starts Monday.
"I… I do have a question," Valerie said quietly.
"What's that?"
"Our apartment… are there bunk beds?"
Quinn stifled a laugh, and Airi looked puzzled. "Why would there be bunk beds?
"Excuse me, but why does my uniform make me look like I'm a knock-off Barbie doll and yours is adorable?" Quinn tugged at the pink bow on her chest, wrinkling her nose. Her eyes narrowed playfully as Valerie walked out of the bathroom they shared in the Hyotei uniform. "Yeah, look at you, you cute little bastard. You infuriate me."
Valerie giggled a little shyly, nevertheless feeling the compliment in her words without really answering. "Well, I have to go, Quinn. It's going to take me about twice as long to get to school as it takes you. Good luck." Valerie turned to wave bye and walked right into a tight hug that surprised her.
"Good luck to me? Good luck to you! Show those rich kids what's up!"
"You know I'm one of those rich kids, right?"
"Yeah but if we had had bunk beds you would have taken the bottom one, so you're different from all those other rich kids," Quinn winked, and walked Valerie to the door. "You can be the best!"
Valerie had walked fairly far away, but Quinn was certain that the other girl was giving her the finger. Quinn huffed good-naturedly, trying to still the nerves that were roiling up in her stomach. "It's fine," she mumbled to herself, "You're going to be fine." Looking in the mirror one last time before working up the courage to leave, Quinn wondered briefly if she should have nixed the bottled blonde for a while.
Luckily enough, Airi was waiting for her there at the bus stop, and Quinn had never been so happy to see a familiar face. Dissolving into a puddle of relief, Quinn gave Airi a brief hug. "I thought I was going to have to navigate this place alone."
Airi chuckled. "As if I'd do that to anyone new, let alone someone who very clearly has no idea what they're doing who is as charming as you are."
Quinn actually laughed at that. "Charming? You should talk to my mother. She'd let you know I'm a little abrasive at best."
The two walked into the building, chattering all along in a strange blend of Japanese and English. "I should let you know, though, we aren't classmates," Airi said, and Quinn's face fell. "I know you'll be fine but I also know it's really scary. I hear that class really has a pretty good dynamic, and your Japanese is good enough that I can't imagine you'll have any trouble getting along."
Despite Airi's chipper words, the feeling of dread that Quinn had lost upon seeing the Japanese girl had returned. Quinn swallowed hard before forcing a smile on her face, and Airi pointed to a sign above the door. "3-6! Here's your class!" Airi spoke with a small smile, but it faded upon seeing Quinn's terrified face. "Hey," Airi spoke again, "There's five minutes until class starts, so let me tell you a story. You know I studied abroad in Norway, right?" Quinn nodded at that. "Well, when I got there, I didn't speak any Norwegian at all. None. Zero Norwegian. For the first three months or so, I really just improved my English, because if anyone wanted something from me, they would talk to me in English because I spoke no Norwegian. I arrived there in August, and I had finally started to settle in and learn a little of the language by, oh, I think it was October or November. The time is really not important. I was talking to two girls in my class in Norwegian, finally, and someone casually said that I was from China." Quinn blinked in surprise before holding in a laugh. "I had been there since August, and everyone thought I was from China." Airi sighed and rubbed her temples at the memory. "Anyway, what I'm saying is, your first day can't be any worse than mine with how good your Japanese is. You'll do great, Quinn-chan."
Quinn smiled nervously, and then Airi was off, leaving the American alone. Holding her breath a little more than was maybe healthy, Quinn pushed into the room and tried to ignore the eyes. Smile stuck on, she glanced around the room. They seemed normal enough, just kids talking before lessons started who had looked up to see the foreigner who had walked in the room.
"Good morning, Yoshida-sensei. I'm Palmer Quinn. It's nice to meet you," Quinn bowed, and the teacher looked up from the papers he had been staring at, and Quinn was suddenly aware that he hadn't even noticed her until she had spoken.
The teacher introduced himself likewise, and then the lesson was starting and she was still in front of the class and it was making Quinn very self-conscious that everyone else had found a seat and she was still on display at the front of the room. Finally, he got around to introducing her.
"Class, this is Palmer Quinn. She's going to be studying with us this year. Would you like to tell the class a little bit about yourself, Palmer-san?"
"U-uh," Quinn stuttered as she started, and then tried to collect herself, "I'm Palmer Quinn. I'm eighteen, and I've graduated high school back in the United States." The girl felt herself shaking, and took a breath once to try to calm down. "I look forward to being classmates with you all."
The teacher seemed somewhat impressed, but Quinn was just glad the ordeal was over. She wasn't particularly shy, but public speaking certainly wasn't something she was comfortable with. Quinn exhaled, and made eye contact with a bright-eyed red-haired boy on the left side of the room, who gave her a toothy grin and a thumbs-up that relieved her more than she wanted to admit.
"Palmer-san." The teacher's voice reminded Quinn that she still was in the front and center of the room. "There's a seat open by Kikumaru-san that you're more than welcome to."
Quinn nodded and scanned the room for anyone who would own up to being "Kikumaru-san," and made eye contact once again with the redhead, who waved this time to acknowledge her and show her who he was. The teacher started lecturing before Quinn had made it to the seat, and when she finally made it there, she melted into the seat in relief.
"Yoshida-sensei still calls me Kikumaru-san, but you're more than welcome to call me Eiji. Everyone else does," was the first thing the redhead said upon her arrival, whispered to her while feigning complete attention to the lecture.
The American smiled. "You can call me Quinn, Eiji-kun."
It was funny. She had been really quite confident in her Japanese before coming here, but now, surrounded by native speakers, Quinn had lost all her nerve. She could only wonder at how Valerie must have been coping. Quinn herself was exhausted from trying to understand what was happening in class before lunchtime, and even though Eiji tried to help, he didn't seem particularly adept at English. He did, however, seem more than in tune with the game of charades she was likely to spend the year playing whenever she didn't remember a word.
"What made you want to come to Japan, Quinn-chan?" It was funny, hearing her name in that accent. Even in Japanese class at home, they had always swapped back to an American accent for names that were English.
Quinn shrugged. "I've studied Japanese since I was fourteen," she said, cursing the tremors in her voice, "And I was good friends with a few exchange students from Japan who attended my school."
"From Japan? Where were they from?"
"One was from Hokkaido and the other was from somewhere in Okinawa. I had a huge crush on the one from Okinawa." Quinn laughed at the memory. "I was probably closer to Ami, though, the one from Hokkaido. We used to write notes back and forth in math class in Japanese so that if we got caught the teacher couldn't read them."
Eiji made for good company, and if Airi wasn't in her class, Quinn didn't know if she could have asked for a better substitute. Sometimes he was a little hard to follow because he spoke too fast, and sometimes he couldn't understand her because she'd been saying something that didn't translate quite right to Japanese, but he was more patient than she imagined possible. Sitting in the back corner of the room, the teacher either didn't notice the conversations, or didn't care, and before Quinn even knew it, the day was over.
The class started filing out, and next to her, Eiji shouted out, "Fujiko-chan! Wait up!" A delicate brown-haired boy looked back at Eiji, smiling and waiting, while the redhead asked Quinn, "Can you get to the bus okay?"
Quinn laughed. "I got here okay, didn't I? Besides, I think -" Right on cue, Airi popped up outside the door, waving frantically. "My friend is going to help me find my way home."
Eiji grinned at that. "See you tomorrow then, Quinn-chan," he said, and bounced off until he was step-in-step with the brown-haired boy he'd talked to before.
When Quinn stepped out, she was accosted by Airi, who flooded her with questions about the day. Quinn shot a glance over her shoulder to where Eiji was walking with his hands behind his head, talking animatedly to "Fujiko-chan."
"I have an idea!" Airi said suddenly, "What if I come over and you and me and Valerie all make traditional Japanese dinner together?" Quinn nodded enthusiastically, ignoring the fatigue in her limbs that hinted at her jet lag not being totally gone yet. "If you need to, we can speak English tonight, too. I know it can get exhausting."
Quinn nodded a second time. Airi was right. This was already harder than she had thought it would be, but she'd come out of it with a friend by her side, another as her seatmate, and one more that at least was sort of sharing her experience.
"What kind of traditional Japanese dinner are you thinking?"
"I was thinking we'd start with an appetizer of baked American…" Airi said, and Quinn shot her a glance, wondering if something had been lost in translation, only to lose it in laughter at Airi's grin.
who's! ready! for! some! slow! burn! (i'm always ready for slow burn so it's a trick question it doesn't really matter if you're ready or not) i got four follows on the first chapter alone, and that made me super happy! i'm glad four people found this story worth wanting to know if there is ever a second chapter. this one has significantly more content, and i really hope you guys are liking quinn so far. i would love to know what you think! thanks for reading!
-syrasha