"Furukia, I can't sleep. Why isn't there a lamp in here?"

"It's only temporary Zakia. We'll be home in England before you know it."

"What about the school Mother wants us to attend? We're supposed to go tomorrow, aren't we?"

"It seems ridiculous to send us away when we only just got here. And it's strange that she waited so long to ask for us when she clearly has gotten used to this life and we could have been here sooner."

"What could she want us here for now of all times? We were already halfway through Freshman year."

"I'm not sure, but it may help us to find out. If we find out why she wants us here, it should be that much easier to convince her it's better if we're back in England."

"What do you think the kids will be like?"

"They're snobby rich kids who have never had a question in life about who they are, what they need to do, and what they will someday gain. They'll likely literally turn their noses at us and walk away."

"Do they have anything special in their dress code?"

"Worse, they have a uniform. Being the kind of place that it is, it's more heavily encouraged rather than required. They won't dare punish any of these kids and risk offending their powerful parents."

"Is this what your dramas on TV have taught you?"

"Does it inspire more confidence if it's in my books too?"

"A little bit actually, yeah."

It wasn't quite so hard for us to fall asleep after I knew what to expect and Furukia didn't have to worry as much about me.

oOo

We saw the frilly yellow dresses laid out on the chest at the end of the bed. We chose to disregard them as we put on black hoodies, baggy jeans, and old, worn tennis shoes that had the imprints of our feet in them. Satisfyingly comfortable, I grabbed our oPod Shuffle and followed Furukia downstairs for breakfast before one of our mother's many servants could instruct us to do so.

We were met with scorn upon our mother's face.

"You can't wear that to Ouran Academy! It's a disgrace, and what will your classmates think then? I had asked Melikishi to lay out your uniforms. Did you not see them?"

"Of course we saw them. We won't be wearing those. We hate dresses. Shouldn't you know that, Mother?" Furukia spat the familial term like a curse.

Her expression softening as she realized this was not worth arguing over, she sighed. "Very well. I will speak with Yuzuru. He's the chairman of the school, and I work with him. He has a second year son named Tamaki. Be friendly with him, won't you?"

We glanced at each other, knowing full well she would be lucky if we even spoke to him.

"The car waiting outside will take you to Ouran. I'm afraid I can't accompany you as I have some work calls to make. I hope the breakfast pleases you, and I'll see you girls this afternoon."

She stood and left the table first. The meal laid before us was full of foreign dishes that we didn't recognize. The only thing easily identifiable were the rice balls.

"I'll try the broth if you try the rolls," Furukia offered, gesturing at something that had been fried for me to taste.

I grabbed one, taking a huge bite. It was creamy and zesty, and I handed it to Furukia to try as she gleefully offered a spoonful of the broth she tried. It was lighter and had a more tangy flavor with bit of an acidic bite, but was no less tasty for it.

Grabbing two more of the cream rolls and a rice ball for each of us while Furukia filled a thermos with the broth to have on the way to school, I swiped up the strap of our backpack by the door as we walked out.

It wasn't so much a cab as we would have expected waiting for us. It was a limo, the same one that carried us from the airport. Same driver, too.

Was our mother really so important as to have a driver at her beck and call all hours of the day?

Entering the school grounds through a fancy wrought iron gate, in a fancy limo, on a fancy marble drive, and seeing the pink exterior walls was all Furukia and I needed to see. Our identical faces wore the same sour expression of distaste. Several limos were already stopped near the quartz steps leading into the main building.

"I can't believe Mother is making us switch schools in the middle of the year. Why couldn't we finish Freshman year in England?" Furukia murmured.

"We'll go back before long. You told me so, remember?"

"It might be harder than expected to get her to send us back. From what she was saying at breakfast, I think she brought us here to show us off or something."

I scowled. Furukia crawled out first, and I followed. The oversized mahogany door opened at our approach, and a brown haired, brown eyed man in a white suit stood waiting for us.

"Welcome to Ouran Academy, Notoski siblings." He pronounced our surname not-ah-ski. How long had Mother let him make such a mistake?

"Notoski," I corrected, pronouncing it clearly as no-toe-ski.

"My apologies. Leyra never told me I was saying it wrong. You are in class One A, yes?"

"How would we know? We came from England and only arrived last night."

"Of course, how silly of me," he chortled. "Follow me, please." As he turned and led us down the halls, he continued talking as though we were interested. "You are not the only pair of twins here. I'm not sure how common that is where you are from, but the four of you will be quite the sight. Being my son's friends, I would like to see them paired with a nice couple of girls. I could have sworn your mother told me the two of you were girls, but perhaps I was thinking of how Yuzuha laments that she didn't get all girls. You boys might fit in well with my son's group, anyhow."

Furukia and I agreed silently: these twins, like everyone else here, would be avoided.

"I've only just realized I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yuzuru Suoh. I'm the chairman of this school."

"Your son is Tamaki, right? I believe Mother mentioned him," Furukia asked politely.

"That's right. He's a second year student, what you are familiar with as Sophomores, I believe? You likely won't see him in the classroom, but he's involved in a club after school."

We finally stopped outside a door indistinguishable from the many others we'd passed, save the sign over it displaying the class found within.

"Here you boys are. I'm sure your teacher will help you get settled quickly and get you up to speed with your peers."

Green eyes gleaming as we realized the chairman genuinely thought we were boys, Furukia and I shared secretive smiles. Oh, the fun we could have with this game.

"I'll see you boys again next Thursday. Your mother and I have business to discuss over dinner. When my son heard you twins were coming to Japan, he was quite excited to meet you. I'll bring him along to introduce you."

The chairman walked away, leaving us alone in the hallway.

"We really are being shown off like trophies," Furukia confirmed.

"Fantastic," I cheered sarcastically.

She sighed, placing her hand on the doorknob. "Ready?"

"Never."

She opened the door.