Tuesday, January 14, 2014

"Attention all passengers; We've arrived at our destination. Welcome to Welford Beach Airport. Please gather your personal belongings from the overhead compartments and around your person, and please exit the plane in a single file line. Thank you for choosing Atlus Airlines."

The distortion of the PA system woke Chihiro up, and she silently complied with it, scooping up her things and heading for the exit. On her way out, a flight attendant tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me… I don't mean to be rude, but you seem rather young to be flying this far by yourself," she told her in a mildly patronizing tone. The young girl looked at her. "My parents arranged for my ticket, and I'll be staying with some family," she replied tersely, stunning the attendant.

Chihiro Iten was a young girl of fifteen. As she exited the plane, the midday sun shone on her pale skin, grey eyes, and coconut husk-colored hair. She, along with the other passengers, made their way to the terminal's interior. Before she could collect her luggage, she had someone to meet. She darted her eyes around until she saw a young woman holding a sign with Chihiro's name on it. Chihiro waved and jogged over to her.

"Hey, Chihiro Iten, right?" The other girl asked with a warm smile on her face. Chihiro smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, that's me. It's good to see you, Amy," she replied. "It's been about six years since we saw each other in person last. It's good to see you again after all this time," she continued. Amy hugged her before letting go. "So, you've been keeping up on your English studies?" she asked. Chihiro nodded and replied in Japanese. ｢ Indeed. And have you been studying Japanese? ｣ ｢ Yes, ma'am! For uh… Three months I slacked but I'm studying more, ｣ Amy replied. Despite the mild fragmentation of it, Chihiro was satisfied with her response.

Amy was Chihiro's second cousin twice removed, but for simplicity's sake, they preferred to call each other "cousins," and nothing more. Amy was slightly older than Chihiro, and her skin was a little tanner than hers. She had her hair styled into a platinum-blonde flip, which made her look charmingly retro.

Amy glanced at her phone. "All right, I figure you're probably gonna want to get quality rest ASAP, so we should get a move on." Chihiro yawned. "No kidding… Plane seats are alright, but they're no replacement for a mattress and comforter." She went to get her suitcase, then looked around. "So, where are your parents? Didn't they drive you here?" She asked. Amy laughed, then rummaged in her purse for a wallet and flipped it open, revealing a card with Amy's face on it. "Nope! I drove myself here with my newly earned driver's license," she exclaimed with pride.

Chihiro seemed a little shocked, yet not-so-subtly impressed. "You're allowed to have one of those?" Amy smiled and put her wallet back. "Yep! I passed the tests needed for it, and now I can drive in the day, all on my own!" Her voice changed to a less prideful tone. "I mean, I can only take like, one passenger with me right now, and since I'm a student they frown upon driving out of state, and unless it's an emergency no midnight driving… But hey, I've still got a license!"

Chihiro chuckled. "You're lucky. I can't get one of those in Japan until after I turn 18. Though I guess it makes sense not to need one so young, since my old school was walking distance…" she prattled. Amy sighed. "I wish my school was walking distance. I mean, I guess it is if you get up a bit earlier, but I'd love to be able to chat on the way to school." She then realized what she initially planned to do. "Crud, we sure are getting sidetracked. Let's get to the car already," she said as she took off, with Chihiro tagging behind.

As Amy drove, Chihiro stared out the window, taking in the sights. She was a little caught off guard about how a drive in America could be so different than a drive in Japan; the roads seemed bigger and busier, as did the sides of the road, with several restaurants scattered throughout. She felt like it would take some getting used to. Suddenly, Amy got her attention.

"So… how're things… there?" Amy asked in a lower, concerned tone. "When mom told me you had to come to America, I was excited, but when I heard why you had to…" Chihiro lowered her eyes. Her cousin took notice of this and regretted it. "Sorry, you just got here, you probably don't wanna talk about that right now… Just know I'm here for you, 'kay?" She told her reassuringly. Chihiro perked up a bit at this. "Alright, thanks. Um… I'm not doing too bad, by the way. Just jet-lagged," she replied.

Before long, the long stretch of road gave way to a big, sprawling coastal city. Chihiro rolled her window down and looked at it in wonder. While her home of Maebashi was by no means a small town, the buildings here were towering, with barely any "short" buildings to speak of. Amy took notice of her wonder. "This is Welford Beach! It's pretty cool, isn't it?" she asked. Her cousin turned her head to respond. "Y-yeah… It's like a super-sized Tokyo…" Amy laughed heartily. "Girl, just wait till summer! This place'll be jam-packed!"

They took a turn and drove along a boulevard, eventually leading them to a large subdivision lined with houses that appeared to belong to people with good finances. The houses all varied in size and appearance, a far cry from the cookie-cutter neighborhood stereotype Chihiro had expected. They eventually came upon Amy's house. She parked the car in the driveway and shut the car off. "Alright, let's get you settled in," she told her cousin excitedly.

As they carried Chihiro's belongings into the abode, she was greeted with a comfy foyer with a beautiful set of mahogany-colored stairs leading up to the second floor. "This is it… Welcome to the Braithwaite residence, your home away from home!" Amy declared. "My parents aren't home right now, but I'll go ahead and voicemail them that you're here," she said as she flung her phone out of her pocket. "Your room is upstairs in the middle. You got your stuff?" She asked. "Yes, I should be able to handle it," Chihiro replied confidently.

Chihiro took time to unpack in her room, decorating it with a few movie posters she had brought from home as well as few other knick-knacks and what-have-yous. Amy knocked on her door, asking if she could come in. "It's unlocked," Chihiro drowsily called. "Woof, you really are jet-lagged. Alright, just coming to tell you a couple things; I'm gonna go ahead and get started on some dinner for us, I wouldn't try to go out just yet until I get a chance to show you around, yadda yadda…"

Amy then remembered something important. "Oh yeah, as part of this arrangement, you'll be attending a high school while you're here; it'll be the same one I'm going to. The new school year starts tomorrow, so it'll be orientation day; no classes. Our school doesn't have a school uniform, so you can wear anything if it's not inappropriate or could harm anyone." Chihiro indicated that she understood so far. "The bus comes at 8:00 AM, so don't dawdle when you wake up, alright?" Amy continued.

This puzzled Chihiro. "A… bus to school? What about your car?" She asked. "Well," Amy started, "I gotta leave a little earlier than you tomorrow, so I'll be taking the car. But I promise we'll meet up at school. You'll be okay on the bus, I swear." Chihiro looked a little uncertain. "Well… if you say so," she hesitantly replied.

"Good stuff! Okay-doke, I'm gonna start working on dinner. How's burgers sound?" Amy asked cheerfully. "That sounds wonderful. I'll take a couple," her cousin replied. "You got it! I'll call you down when it's ready. Till then, maybe you should get some rest," Amy told her as she left the room.

And thus, Chihiro's new life in America began…