"We've got to go here, then here, then here, then we can get dinner here. It's just a little café, but you wouldn't believe all the options they have! There's just so much to do," Airi gushed, and Quinn was suddenly very glad that she'd convinced Valerie to come with her. The Japanese girl was on a roll, and Valerie and Quinn were bound together by the need to survive. "Say," Airi looked up from the actual agenda that she had put together for the evening, "You're looking for a job, right, Quinn-chan? Maybe some of these stores are hiring. Oh! The last time I was at this café they were complaining about not having anyone who spoke English well enough to communicate with foreigners. That might be a good fit!"
"Hmm…" Quinn trailed off. She had been looking for a job, but somewhat halfheartedly. It was a little intimidating, if she was honest with herself. She spoke mostly English with Valerie, and with Airi it was a little of both. She got the most practice talking to Eiji, but it was easier talking to him when Fuji was around to translate any misunderstandings. "Maybe. We'll see."
And then they were off in a whirlwind. Quinn had known Valerie was wealthy, but she didn't really understand it until after they'd walked out of three stores and her arms were full of shopping bags. At Quinn's bulging eyes, Valerie at least had the decency to blush a little. "What? My mom's an anesthesiologist and my dad's a civil engineer and I'm an only child. Don't act like you wouldn't take advantage of it!"
Well, Quinn supposed, the other girl had a point, but compared to Airi's two bags and Quinn's one (very small, holding only a pair of headphones and a scarf) bag, Valerie looked like she needed to come back down to Earth a little. "That's so typical of a Hyotei student!" Airi teased, and Valerie's blush deepened.
"Don't compare me to them! They're all absolutely bonkers! The other day I walked into class, and I looked outside and someone had had their helicopter bring them to school. I like shopping; he has a personal helicopter. I am not like them."
"So you're like normal filthy rich and he's like evil filthy rich?" Quinn remarked dryly. Valerie nodded vigorously, not seeming to catch the sarcasm.
"The other girls are always going on about 'Atobe-sama this' and 'Atobe-sama' that, and frankly, I'm getting a little worried. Helicopter boy even calls himself 'ore-sama,' for Christ's sake."
Airi sputtered on her drink at the mention of the name. "Atobe? Like, multi-billion-dollar business moguls Atobe? They're one of, if not the, richest families in Japan."
"No wonder he has his own helicopter. He probably has pools of money to bathe in between lessons," Quinn said and chuckled. "I hear that's how rich people stay young, you know. They bathe in pools of liquid gold, and afterwards, they rinse with milk, honey, and the tears of the impoverished. Is that why your skin is so clear, Val?"
Valerie pursed her lips at Quinn, who chuckled. "Where to next, Airi-chan?"
"I want to stop at this store and see if the pair of shoes I liked has gone to sale, and then we can go to the café. I'm starting to get hungry." Airi's sentence was punctuated by Quinn's stomach rumbling, and it was Valerie's turn to stifle a laugh. Quinn pouted and opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, only to get cut off by her phone ringing. She followed Valerie and Airi, who had taken the lead chatting with one another, and answered.
"Hello?"
"Quinn-chan!" That was Eiji, most definitely, and he was excited about something. "Fujiko-chan and I are both regulars!"
"That's great, Eiji-kun!"
"Yeah, but I still lost to Fujiko-chan." The pout in his voice was bordering on infantile. "6-2!"
"Eiji, isn't she with friends?" Quinn could hear Fuji ask in the background. "Leave her alone, we'll see her at school."
"Fujiko-chan said I should let you go because you're with friends, and I think he, Taka-san, and I are going to go get dinner to celebrate. See you tomorrow, Quinn-chan!" He hung up before Quinn could even say goodbye, and the blonde laughed, happy for them nonetheless. If their skill today had been anything like what she'd seen yesterday, Quinn would have been surprised if they hadn't been made regulars.
"Quinn-chan, who was that?" Airi asked, noticing she was no longer on the phone.
"Just Eiji-kun. He wanted to tell me that he and Fuji-san from my class did well in their tennis matches."
Airi raised her eyebrows teasingly, and Valerie scoffed. "How exactly is it that you already have boys calling you when I have to spend all my time trying to keep up with the people around me?"
"You should hear Eiji-kun's English, Val. It's awful. It's really bad." Quinn couldn't help but laugh at the memory. "In fact, it's even worse than your Japanese!"
Valerie's whole face went up in flames. "That's not funny! You know how hard I've been trying! I've even been getting better. Unless my teacher's been lying to me…" Valerie's voice trailed off unsurely and she looked to Airi for support.
"It's much better now than the day I met you," Airi confirmed. "You haven't been here very long, but you're really doing quite well so far." Airi browsed the high heels she had been looking at before addressing Quinn absently. "Anyway, Quinn, getting in with the tennis team already? You know they say that if you stare at Fuji too long, you never look at other guys the same way, because he's just that pretty."
"He does have neat eyes, that's for sure," Quinn admitted. "Anyway, it's not like these were friends I chose. Eiji-kun's a lot like a tornado, and I just go where he goes, and Fuji-san often winds up there too. I feel bad for all those girls that like him. They seem to really like him, and he just doesn't act interested at all."
"Then you need to take advantage of your closeness-" Airi started and was quickly cut off by Valerie placing her hand over the Japanese girl's mouth.
"There will be no taking advantage of closeness until I decide whether this boy is cute."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "There isn't even any closeness. We've just been thrown together by an unstoppable and kind of obnoxious redhead who happens to have wormed his way into my heart. Also, I'm hungry. Please take me to this café-" Quinn paused, and smiled. "Actually, just a second. I have to buy this."
The three girls had been at the café for probably much longer than necessary, but Quinn had been able to tell them she was looking for work, and she was supposed to go back in a few days to meet with a manager. Quinn was glad to finally crawl into bed when she did, but had to rise early for school nonetheless. She bumped into a bleary-eyed Valerie while on the way to brush her teeth, and they just nodded to acknowledge each other, both too tired to do much else.
The day got much worse when she got to school and Eiji wasn't there. Quinn bit her lip nervously. It was bound to be a long day without her only real friend there. In fact, without him there, she even caught herself snoozing.
"Yoshida-sensei." Quinn had only been really half-asleep anyways, and it was lunchtime so it didn't really matter at the moment, but she woke up when Fuji addressed their teacher. "Would it be alright if I sat next to Palmer-san for the remainder of the day? I think she's having trouble completely understanding the lectures without Eiji here to help her."
"Ah, yes. Of course, Fuji-san."
Quinn wasn't sure whether to punch him or kiss him. Of course, he'd probably saved her from about four more hours of sitting there uncomfortably trying to stay awake, but he'd also done so at the expense of insulting her Japanese proficiency in front of the entire class.
"What are you doing?" Quinn practically hissed, and she swore she saw a sliver of blue eyes, just briefly, before he sat down next to her.
"For the sake of appearances," Fuji had switched to English, "It may be best to speak in English so that you don't appear too competent in Japanese. That would make me look like a liar."
"Maybe it's because you are a liar… I was getting along just fine, even if it was a little more difficult," Quinn mumbled, fully aware that the girl in front of her was steaming over the fact that Quinn was getting attention from the boy who was essentially the class heartthrob. Nonetheless, she had already switched to English like Fuji had said.
"I thought you'd be happy to not sit by yourself, so it was the least I could do, Quinn." He switched to using her first name as well, which was altogether not intimate in English, but the girl in front of them bristled even further. Quinn smirked briefly, unable to help herself.
"Ah, Syusuke, where would I be without you?" Quinn asked. The name felt funny on her tongue and he laughed, seeming to get the joke of their informality, and Quinn was sure the girl in front of them, who was by all standards a perfectly sweet and normally demure girl, was about to turn around and snap entirely. Fuji's English really was above the level of everyone else's in the class, and because of it, Quinn was fairly certain that all people could understand was that they were using first names rather than last, and they had forsaken honorifics in a wholly English way. "Really though, where's Eiji? Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Fuji said. "We went out to celebrate and he caught a cold. He should be back within a few days. I'm taking his homework to him tonight."
"I'm sure he'll be happy to see that," Quinn said, then brightened. "I bought something for him last night. Do you think you could take it to him? It's a little thing, it shouldn't weigh you down or anything."
"It shouldn't be a problem."
Quinn glowed. Maybe Eiji wasn't her only friend in class after all. Of course, seeing as how she had just made an enemy of everyone who wanted to be friends (or, more likely, much more) with Fuji, she probably wouldn't be making more any time soon. "I'll pay you back sometime. Thanks a bunch for taking it to him."
Quinn chewed on her pencil, unsure whether to say something or not. It had been two days, and Eiji still hadn't shown up to class. Even though she missed the redhead, there certainly was worse company than Fuji. Now, though, it had put her in a situation where she was unsure what to do.
"Uh…" They had carried on speaking in English, but calling him Syusuke still felt a little strange. "Syusuke?"
"Yes, Quinn?" He looked up from the paper he had been writing on to listen to her.
"You're like, a genius, right?" It was hard for her not to slip back into American slang, and though she tried her hardest, she couldn't wring the word 'like' from her vocabulary.
"That's what they say, yes." He sounded amused and curious, and if she had learned anything from sitting next to him for a couple of days, it was that that was a deadly combination.
"Oh, okay. That's cool." She nodded vigorously and gave him her best thumbs up, deciding that telling him he was wrong in the same way many native English speakers were probably wouldn't endear her to him.
He knew the difference between to, too, and two, but Fuji thought it was funny that she'd chosen to stay quiet about the mistake he knew that she had seen. She'd backed down really fast, and he had really thought she might have confronted him. Quinn had played along with all his games so far, and it wasn't hard to see what Eiji saw in her. She wasn't anything special, but she was absolutely and completely genuinely friendly.
"Today-" the teacher began, and was interrupted by Quinn coughing uncontrollably, so hard that Fuji thought she might start crying. He chuckled. No, she was extraordinarily average, and in a way, that made her somewhat special all on its own. Being "exotic" was really her only selling point besides a mostly sweet disposition.
The teacher stared at her until the coughing fit had ceased, and it ended with a sneeze. Quinn sunk down as far in her seat as possible, and Fuji was sure she was wondering what it would take to simply disappear.
"As I was saying," the teacher carried on, unperturbed, as a red blush spread from Quinn's nose to her ears, "Today we'll be picking partners for a Japanese project that will take you around a month."
No sooner had the words come out of the teacher's mouth before all hell broke loose. Whispering went out, friend grasped for friend, and it went on until the teacher rapped a ruler on his desk. "You have five minutes to find a partner, then we'll go around the room so I can write down all the groups."
The look of despair on Quinn's face was picture perfect, and he could read the worry on her face. Who would want the exchange student for a Japanese project? She seemed to be exuding the question from her pores, and he didn't even get to reassure her as there was suddenly a swarm around his desk, a million lucky ladies looking to be Fuji Syusuke's partner, which certainly wasn't helping Quinn's mood.
The teacher rapped the ruler on the desk once more and everyone scrambled back to their seats. Quinn was in a full-blown panic, now. She hadn't even talked to anyone, much less found a partner.
"Honda-san, who is your partner?" The teacher asked the girl in the first seat, a pretty-faced and slim girl who was a regular fixture anyplace where Fuji was.
"Fuji-kun is my partner, sensei!" The teacher started writing it down, but Fuji interrupted him.
"Excuse me, sensei, but I believe Honda-san is mistaken. Palmer-chan is my partner for this project."
The teacher turned around and looked at him, not seeming to notice Quinn's jaw almost on the ground, staring at Fuji. "Are you sure, Fuji-san? I wasn't sure I was even going to have Palmer-san participate in this project, simply due to her handicap." Quinn ground her teeth at the word handicap.
"Yes, sensei. We've talked it over, haven't we, Palmer-chan?" Fuji looked to her, and just like he'd expected, she played along perfectly, even changing his honorific similarly to the way he'd changed hers.
Quinn quickly retrieved her jaw from where it had been resting on the floor, smiling at the teacher and thanking every god in heaven for Fuji Syusuke. "Yes, sensei. Fuji-kun and I both thought that I could bring a unique perspective to this project as a non-native Japanese speaker."
"Well, if that's the case, then clearly there has been a misunderstanding," the teacher said, "Honda-san, you'll be pairing with Kikumaru-san then, as he wasn't here to choose a partner. Fuji-san and Palmer-san will be partners."
"Yes, sensei…" Honda was pouting, and, in an all too familiar way, it made Fuji laugh a little.
"Syusuke, I have a question." Quinn had switched back to English, and she appeared to be all business now that she had a clear goal in mind. "You have tennis practice after school every day, right?" He nodded. "When and where do you want to meet to work on it?"
"Well, tennis doesn't go too late and after that we can always meet at my house. My sister would love to have another woman in the house. I still have to take Eiji's homework to him."
Quinn nodded. "You're welcome to my apartment as well, but it's only me and Val and I wasn't sure if it would be improper."
They decided it would be best if she hung around the school and did schoolwork until he was done with practice, and then they would work on the project afterwards. "Do be sure to warn Valerie you won't be home on time."
Quinn blushed. "She means well. Anyway, I'll just find a bench outside and find somewhere to work in the sun until you're done. You have my phone number if you can't find me."
"Hey, Echizen!" Momoshiro Takeshi called out to their freshman, who was cooling down from practice at the water fountain. "That girl has been there the whole practice and has barely even looked up from the book she's reading, but does she look like she's from here?"
"She's in the uniform, so obviously she's from here," Ryoma remarked dryly.
"No one around here has hair like that, Echizen!"
"Neither does she. It's obviously dyed, you idiot."
"Who are you calling an idiot, you-" Momoshiro interrupted himself as he saw Fuji approach the girl, who quickly hopped up with a smile on her face. "Fuji-senpai? Echizen, doesn't it look like they're walking together?"
"Who cares?" Echizen was already out of arms reach of Momoshiro, who had tried to grab him and pull him along to get a better look.
They were walking together for sure, Quinn chattering in English happily, and Fuji listening contentedly.
"Eiji-kun was really not happy that he didn't get to be your partner for this project," Quinn said sheepishly. Fuji chuckled.
"I could have let him carry on thinking that this was a date, if that would have made you feel better," Fuji said, and Quinn's hand flew to her mouth in wonder.
"A date? With you, Fuji-kun? I would have been the envy of all the girls in class!" Quinn laughed and he did the same as he pushed open the door to the house that they'd come to.
"Syusuke?" A woman's voice rang out, and Quinn suddenly started having second thoughts.
Okay, so she had gotten a little nervous all of a sudden, and it wasn't just because Fuji had said she could eat there and Quinn hadn't quite mastered chopsticks yet.
"I'm home, nee-san. I brought Palmer-chan with me."
Quinn had always thought of Fuji as pretty, but his older sister was on another plane entirely, that much was clear the moment she walked in the room. Quinn blushed just looking at her, and Yumiko looked briefly to Fuji for an explanation.
"A-ah, sorry. I'm Palmer Quinn. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fuji-san." Quinn bowed, and Yumiko smiled.
"You can call me Yumiko-chan, Quinn-chan. It'll get confusing around here if you're calling so many people Fuji-san. Do you need something to drink? You look a bit flustered."
"Oh no, I'm fine! It's just that you're so beautiful, and I have a little trouble with my Japanese sometimes anyway!" The words came flying out of her mouth before she could stop them, and Quinn had started hoping that the floor would just swallow her whole. Yumiko let out a musical laugh, though, and suddenly Quinn didn't feel so bad.
"Ah, Syusuke, where have you been keeping this one? You should have brought her home sometime when I was in high school. It's no wonder you keep her around if she always has such sweet things to say." Yumiko smiled warmly. "Make yourself at home, Quinn-chan. You're planning on staying for dinner?"
"I-if that's okay, Yumiko-chan."
"Of course," Yumiko said kindly. She looked to her younger brother and shook her head. "Don't even ask. He's not home. He said he'd maybe come visit sometime next week."
Fuji sighed as though who 'he' was was obvious, and Quinn thought that that was perhaps the first time she had heard him even somewhat displeased. "We can study in my room, Palmer-chan."
Yumiko thought that that was a bit forward, but the foreign student paid it no mind, bouncing along after her brother. It had been only her and her brothers for a little while now, since their mother had gone along with their father a year or so ago on a more long-term business venture. Mostly it was alright, but since Yuuta had left to live at St. Rudolph, things had been a bit lonelier.
"So! I started reading the book, and I actually really like it!" Fuji had left his door open, but Yumiko didn't think it would have mattered. The girl was a little loud, but if her brother didn't mind, Yumiko surely didn't.
Quinn really did like the book, and even though she was having trouble understanding parts, Fuji was actually a quite patient teacher. She wasn't sure what had possessed him to be so kind, or if it was really kind at all, just him acting in self-preservation since Eiji wasn't there, but regardless, the situation was mutually beneficial.
When they sat for dinner though, all of the apprehension about chopsticks returned, and though Quinn tried her hardest to act like she wasn't completely comfortable (although she was sure Fuji knew it was an act, having seen her battle with chopsticks most days at lunch), but stressed herself to the point that when she saw a fork in her immediate reach along with the traditional chopsticks, it was hard not to shed a tear of relief. Yumiko winked at her after the obvious faces of nerves went back to normal, and Quinn smiled joyously.
"So Quinn," Yumiko asked, "Do you have any siblings?"
"One. A sister, Ellie. It's just her and my mom and me anymore," Quinn said, still determined to use the chopsticks. "I still hear from my dad sometimes, but I don't need him. My parents divorced when I was seven."
"Do you like it here so far?"
Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I do. My friends keep me on my toes." Quinn flicked a glance at Fuji, whose smile turned a little conspiratorial. "I have a few Japanese friends and I live with another American, so I always have a little slice of home around, even if she is from a totally different world there and here. She goes to Hyotei Academy, but I think it's a little otherworldly, even for her." Quinn chuckled.
"Well, our door is always open. She sounds nice enough, but I've heard those Hyotei students are something else entirely."
Quinn had been nervous about coming, but if she hadn't, she was sure she would have regretted it, and when dinner was over, Quinn said she had to get back home.
"For all her flaws, Valerie will worry if I don't get home soon. She does care, on top of all the weird things she does."
Yumiko nodded kindly. "Syusuke, it's dark out. You should really walk her home."
"Of course, Yumiko-nee-san."
Quinn and Fuji stood to go, and as they left the house, Quinn said, "Thank you for having me Yumiko-chan."
"You're welcome any time. I get lonely here with just boys around." Yumiko winked, and Quinn laughed.
It was dark out, but Quinn was grateful that it was better lit than the streets of the town she had lived in. "Fuji-kun?" The question was quiet, as she stared out into the dark sky. "Thanks for sitting next to me while Eiji-kun was gone. And for being my partner."
"Saa... Don't worry, Palmer-chan. There will be plenty of time to return the favor."
Quinn smiled brightly, and she thought that Fuji's smile looked genuine too.
"Who was that?" When Quinn walked into the apartment, Val bombarded her with questions, and the abrupt swap from Japanese to English sent the blonde's head spinning. "Is that your study partner? Where did you find such a delicate angel?"
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were interested," Quinn teased, plopping down in the living room.
"I'm just saying, for every guy at Hyotei who thinks he's the most attractive guy in the world, that guy gives them a run for their money. What's his name?"
"Syusuke Fuji." It felt strange saying his name the Western way.
"Fuji? The same guy Airi said was super attractive this morning? She really wasn't kidding!" Val sighed. "Well at least you've bagged somebody cute already."
Quinn snorted. "As if. You wouldn't believe the way that girls flock to him. I think I'm just a shield so no one else acts like they've "bagged" him. You wouldn't believe how the vultures are on him."
"Well, you were out late with your boyfriend-" Valerie paused as Quinn rolled her eyes, "So I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow."
"If I got a boyfriend over here, I think my mother would probably kill me. Can you imagine? Being in a relationship with a time limit like that? I mean, I'm only here like eight more months, Val."
"I said I'm going to bed, Quinn!"
"You brought this up! Seriously, think about it. Can you imagine falling in love with someone and knowing all the time that it's going to turn into a long-distance relationship whether you want it to or not? Honestly though, if I fall in love with anyone from that family, it's going to be his sister. You should have seen her."
I'm doing it! I'm updating consistently! I want to say a huge and hearty thank you to MythologyBookworm and Dustfinger's cheering section for being my very first reviewers! I also got a few more followers and even a favorite or two, so I think you guys are liking it! I hope this chapter was a hit as well. Thanks for reading! The next one may be out a little slower because I work all weekend, but I'll try my hardest to get it out in a reasonable amount of time!
-syrasha