Amy woke up to the sun barely shining in between the curtains of her room. How long had she slept? What time was it? It was 10:30 AM on Thursday, August 30. She'd gone to sleep around 9 last night… that meant she'd been asleep for thirteen and a half hours. Her mind was still out of it, not quite comprehending the time. It was 9:30 at night back home. She laid in her bed for another ten or fifteen minutes before showering and putting on fresh clothes. All of Amy's stuff needed to be unpacked, but it wasn't worth all the effort to her to do it right now outside things she needed. Since the school had covered the cost of the checked bags, Amy could afford to pack as much as she could carry with her. One large suitcase, a medium one, two duffel bags, and of course her carry-on backpack. Delilah had been impressed with her method of using the carry loops on the duffels to hold them on top of the suitcases instead of carrying them. Speaking of which, Delilah was probably even more messed up with jetlag. Her home in Scotland may be closer to the time zone here in Tokyo, but she'd left from Inverness to Edinburgh, then flew from there to Newark where it was mid-morning, then to Denver where it was the afternoon, then to Japan where it was afternoon again, then was with Amy all the way until 7, when they'd split ways for the night. Amy texted her, wondering if she was even up after her even more stressful day.

You alive? Or still passed out?

I'm up – just open the door, it's unlocked.

Delilah obviously had barely touched her things since she got here – only one bag was open. Amy asked if she'd even bothered to change clothes before she slept.

"Well, I kind of sat down when I walked in and woke up at like one for the bathroom and then woke up maybe half an hour ago. So, no I didn't change until I got up, I was wearing the same clothes for the better part of forty-eight hours."

"We should probably eat something, shouldn't we?"

"Probably, it's been- "

A voice came from the still-open door.

"There's a diner sort of place a few buildings over. Wonderful breakfast food."

"Uh…"

"Sorry, I'm Yelena Bugrov. I'm another one of the exchange students. You guys here for Tankery?"

"Yeah. I'm Amy."

"Aye, me too. I'm Delilah Fraser."

The diner had a modern feel to it, and it reminded Amy of one she'd been in down in Norfolk. They followed Yelena to a booth where another girl sat.

"Hey Mia, this is Delilah and Amy. They're the other two Tankery exchange students."

Mia nodded and smiled, but a waiter showed up before she could greet them.

The food was amazing, and Amy had toast, some of the butteriest grits ever, eggs, and a small stack of bacon. The three watched in amazement as Delilah began devouring her stack of pancakes after several eggs and a similar mound of bacon. Mia's eyes bugged as she watched the Scottish girl eat.

"Christ, girl, you seen food before?"

"You should have seen her in Denver yesterday during lunch. Ate a burger, fries, and a shake before eating a fried chicken sandwich, more fries, and a sweet tea. Then last night she had a whole steak and like two or three veg sides. Then banana pudding."

"Cuz I couldn't find any food in Newark and United Airlines snacks are a fookin' scam!"

"Told you Newark was a shithole."

Mia giggled more. The four talked about their flights and where they came from. Of course, Delilah was from Scotland. Yelena was from Russia and Mia was from Germany. The girls could tell that Amy was American, but they couldn't tell from where. Her near lack of accent was normal in her part of Virginia – people moved so much and so many weren't from there that it was almost an even more neutral voice than the Midwest. Virginia: the official state of being a state, but not so much so that it's one you think of when asked to name a state.

"I'm from Virginia, just outside of DC. I've been told I have a few words that sound southern, but with no drawl or twang. And apparently I occasionally sound like I have a faint Maryland accent."

"Maryland's just north of you, right? What's their accent sound like?"

"I have no idea. I just know they all suck at driving."

The girls laughed loudly. They spent the late morning buying school supplies for Monday before they eventually wandered into a tank shop. Naturally, they spent most of their time there playing the tank arcade game in the back corner. Amy was the best at driving the simulated tank around but couldn't hit anything. Mia would get nearly perfect shots, while Yelena and Delilah were a mix of the two. After another few hours of wandering about the ship, they found themselves outside of the school.

"I wonder if the Tankery garage is open? Maybe we could check out the tanks!"

"Are we allowed to?"

"It's supposed to be an American team, yeah? Then they've probably got some nice Shermans. Maybe even a TD!"

"Delilah, maybe that isn't a good idea, school isn't-"

Delilah was already halfway there.

The door was unlocked, and the girls were surprised to find the lights on. The tanks they found weren't what they expected.

"What the hell?"