The Americans

By: Hita-Chan and peachydreamside (formerly Lietiana)

Disclaimer: We don't own Ouran or any of its characters or storylines! Just our characters and this plot we've created for our self-insert!

Rays of sunlight filtered through the trees into the windows of class 1-A at Ouran Academy. The cherry blossoms were blooming and the sky was clear. It would have been a perfect day to spend outside and enjoy the day, but the usually empty classroom was set and ready for students. It was orientation day for the scholarship students, there was a lot to prepare them for and it was going to be a long day.

Walking just outside the classroom was a pair of girls, each dressed professionally for the occasion. Each carried a bag to carry their books, it paid to be prepared in a situation like this. Looking down at her watch, the taller of the two screwed up her face in worry.

"You don't think we were supposed to start early, do you?" She asked, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. "I hate these orientations, they make me so nervous."

"The packet said 8 o'clock. It's quarter to that, I'm sure we're fine," the short girl replied with an eye roll.

The taller girl nodded, and continued to briskly walk. Finally they made it to the classroom they had been scheduled to meet in, pausing before they entered.

"Are we sure this is the right one, Jasmine?" The tall girl asked, looking nervously into the room. "I don't see anyone in here."

"That's because you have us here early. People will show up closer to 8. Relax, Erin, let's go pick a seat," Jasmine walked towards the back row of desks that had papers on them. "Let's sit back here."

Erin followed slowly, fidgeting with her hair. "We should probably sit in the front, we want to make a good first impression here."

Jasmine shook her head as she sat down. "We don't need to be in the front to do that. We're early and that's good enough for an orientation."

Shrugging her shoulders, Erin sat at the desk next to her. "I wonder how many other students are here on scholarship this year, it seems pretty exclusive from what I've read."

"There's not a ton of pamphlets out so I wouldn't think many if this is every scholarship student across each grade level," Jasmine commented as she flipped through the pamphlet in front of her. "Looks like a really uppity place."

"More uppity than any of the other places we've been," Erin said as she looked around the room. "It's like a palace here. I wonder what their labs look like."

"You would be thinking about their labs right now. I'm wondering if any of these people know our parents," the darker haired girl mused, setting the papers back down. She glanced up to see another girl entering the room with longer brown hair and big brown eyes. "See, I told you this is the right room."

"You'd have to think they would, it seems like this is where all the rich people's kids go," Erin said as she watched the other girl sit down. "We don't need to go making a big deal out of it, not that I think you would."

"We're supposed to be poor scholarship students," Jasmine pointed out in a whisper. "Clearly I'm not going to be making a big deal about it. Last thing I need to deal with right now is them flipping out at me."

"I know," Erin whispered back, messing with the hem of her skirt. "We don't need any incidents if we're gonna be here by ourselves."

Jasmine watched as a handful of other kids filtered in, toying with a pen she had picked up. "Not too many of us, guess it is an exclusive program."

Erin let out a sigh. "That means we'll stick out," She said as she looked down at the paperwork ahead of her. "At least it's starting up in just a minute, hopefully they'll have some good information so we're not completely lost on the first day."

"I wouldn't put it past them to have us come in here to waste our time either though. They might tell us nothing important," She chuckled, looking over to Erin. "All we have to do is keep our grades up and try to maintain a low profile. I think we can manage that in a school this big."

"Come on, we're in a whole new country, can't we explore just a little bit?" Erin asked, her blue eyes widening. "This could be fun, mom and dad aren't even here to bother us."

"Yeah, not physically here. We both know they're still watching. We aren't here to have fun," Jasmine frowned. "I'm not gonna stop you from doing whatever you think you wanna do."

"It's going to be a long year then," Erin grumbled as she tightened her half ponytail. "Maybe if we make an impression they'll let us stay for more than just the year."

"I'm not entertaining the idea of that. You don't even know if you're going to like being here. Let's just get through this orientation for now, Erin." Jasmine looked ahead to the front of the room, not wanting to talk about the subject anymore. She caught herself glancing over to the girl that had entered after they had, she was furiously writing something down in her notebook. "Let's also not be that dedicated."

Erin glanced over to the brown haired girl, her heart softening. "They're the ones who actually needed to work really hard to get these scholarships," She muttered quietly. "We should probably look like we're doing the same."

Before Jasmine could respond a woman in a suit entered the room, nodding her head to them. She began the long awaited orientation, going through all the papers in front of them, explaining the expectations and rules for scholarship students, and was about to begin answering questions. She organized the papers on her desk and turned off the projector.

"Any questions?" She asked, her eyes bouncing from each student.

Erin raised her hand high, trying to hide her nerves. The woman pointed to her, and she lowered her hand.

"Since we won't be receiving our uniforms until the first day, is there a dress code we should follow when we arrive?" She asked, afraid to break any unspoken rules.

"Dress professionally, even though you will be changing quickly it is still expected that you present yourselves in a distinguished manner," The woman said, turning her eyes back to the rest of the room. "Anything else?"

"Can we walk around the building to get familiar with it now?" The brown hair girl asked with her hand raised.

The teacher sighed. "Yes, the building is open until 2. You may explore the grounds if you feel you need to. Anything else?"

The room was silent, each student shaking their heads quietly. After they were dismissed, Erin looked over to her sister. "We should try to introduce ourselves to someone, knowing at least one person should help I think."

"If you think so," Jasmine drawled, standing up from her chair. "I'm more interested in exploring this giant place."

"We'll run into someone eventually," Erin said as she stood to meet her. "I want to find the science wing."

"You're in second year science," Jasmine commented, pulling out the overly simplified map from the packet. "That means we'll need to go up to the second floor to find your science classroom."

Erin started to pick at her nails, anxiety rearing its head again. "It's gonna be scary being in there with the older students, as much as I love the opportunity to do a lot I wish I could have you in class with me."

Jasmine smirked. "We can't all be science geniuses. I'll see you for the rest of our classes though. If you're lucky science will be first or last. Let's go head up that way so you can check it out."

"I'm not a genius," Erin said bashfully. "I hope you're right, getting it out of the way first hour would be best. Let's go see," She said as she followed Jasmine out the door and into the hall.

The two girls walked out into the hall, rounding the corner of the doorway and almost instantly colliding with something. There was a loud groan and papers flew up into the air. Jasmine looked down at the person that had run into them.

"Are you okay?" She asked the girl that was on the floor, looking over to see if Erin was okay too.

"I'm so sorry!" Erin called, trying to gather some of the papers that were strewn around. "Let me help you with these."

"It's fine," The girl said sheepishly as she took a stack of paper from Erin. "I should have been watching where I was going, are you two okay?"

"We're fine. What's with all the papers?" Jasmine asked, grabbing one off the floor and examining it. "What're all these notes for? Class hasn't even started yet."

The girl looked up at Jasmine with a confused look in her eyes. "We've got a lot of work to do to keep up here, I wanted to get an early start."

Erin shot a short glance at her sister. "That's smart, we should probably be doing the same," She said as she looked back at the girl. "Are you a first year too?"

"I am," The girl said with a nod. "I was going to try and figure out where all my classes were, I guess I stopped in the doorway and didn't realize it."

"You should be careful not to do that when all these stuffy rich people are here. I'm sure they won't be as forgiving," Jasmine chuckled. She handed the girl the paper she was holding when she stood up off the floor. "What's your name?"

"My name's Haruhi," She said as she stood. "You're probably right, I don't need to do anything like that again," She said as she scratched the back of her head.

"I'm sure even stuffy rich people fall over sometimes," Erin said as she smiled. "My name's Erin, we're here on scholarship from America," She said as she looked over to Jasmine, hoping she'd introduce herself.

"I'm her sister Jasmine," she rolled her eyes at her sister's look. "It's nice to meet someone normal here. I'm sure we'll get along swell. Do you wanna go with us as we look around the building?"

Haruhi nodded. "It's best to be prepared for the first day, getting lost in this building seems like it's inevitable."

Erin looked over to Jasmine with a smile. "Let's go, then!" She said as she took her first step forward. "We'd be in the same class I think, let's go see where our first hour is."

Jasmine walked alongside her sister, listening as Haruhi talked about her middle school years. "Are you in any second year classes? Erin's in second year science so we'll have to head up there to find that room too."

Haruhi looked over at Erin with raised eyebrows. "You're in second year science here? No wonder you got in on scholarship. I'm just taking the regular first year classes, we can see what's up there though."

"Dang, I was hoping at least one other person was in there with me," Erin said, looking back down at the floor. "I'm in all the other normal classes though, we should still have plenty of time together!"

"It's okay Haruhi, I'm in regular classes as well so I'm sure our schedule will be the same. Everything I read about the schedules here seems like we stay with our class for the whole day. Unless you're a genius like Erin and get to go join another floor for a period." Jasmine thought back to her research. "We'll all have to have lunch together though for sure! I saw that we can eat outside, I think that would be fun!"

"Ooooooh, that sounds nice!" Erin said as they continued to walk. "Is the weather usually nice during the school year? I'm surprised it's as warm as it is already."

"This is pretty normal for spring," Haruhi said as she looked around the halls. "Something tells me their cafeteria isn't going to be a bad option either if it looks anything like the rest of the building."

"I'd rather eat my meal in peace I think," Jasmine remarked, walking up the stairs. "We should hurry up, we're running out of time."

Haruhi glanced down at her watch, her eyes widening as she did. "We've only got 15 minutes left? We've barely gotten anywhere."

"We haven't even gotten to the second floor yet," Erin said, dejected. "We should focus on the rest of our classes, no need to go out of our way in my account if we're low on time."

Jasmine shook her head. "No, we're finding your class so you feel better about getting there on the first day. Let's go!" She grabbed Erin's arm and tugged her up the stairs with her.

As they rounded a corner and made it to the labs, Erin peered through the small window in the door. "You guys gotta see this! It's so updated! They've got new dissection scopes on all the tables!"

Jasmine frowned. "I don't know what that is. This one is Lab 3-B though so I don't imagine it's yours. I would think these go by class as well. We're looking for 2-A."

Erin rolled her eyes as she followed behind her sister. "Sorry for getting excited," She said as she turned back to Haruhi. "Are you a science person at all?"

Haruhi shook her head. "Not me, I'm looking to go into law. Science is fine, it's just not what I want to do."

"Law sounds like it would be interesting, I'll have to learn more about how the legal system here works," Erin said as she peered around the halls for the right class number.

"It looks like they enjoy giving their student's convenience," Jasmine noted, noticing the regular classrooms were directly across from their respective lab. "Oh there it is! So you'll wanna use the other staircase then so you don't have to squeeze through all the people that'll be in the hall up here. Upperclassmen are always spooky." Jasmine walked up to the door and peered inside the window.

"That's why I'm scared for this class," Erin said as she tried to look past her sister. "I'm going to have to be around all of them and go at their same pace. At least it's biology, I should be alright to just do my own work."

"Looks like desks are paired up. I think you'll have a partner," Jasmine said with uncertainty. She knew how bad her sister's anxiety could be. "Maybe you'll get a super nice girl and she'll just let you work in peace."

"I hope so," Erin replied as she checked the time. "Did you have anywhere in particular you wanted to see, Haruhi? I know we don't have much time."

"I was hoping to see the library," Haruhi said as she looked at her map. "I don't think we'll have time to get up there though."

Erin frowned. "I'm really sorry, we can try to hurry! I don't think anyone else stuck around so we shouldn't have any issues."

"Of all places you want to see a library?" Jasmine groaned. "You both really are similar aren't you?"

"I'm glad we ran into each other," Erin said with a laugh. "Maybe not that we actually ran into each other, but that we met. It'll be nice to have someone we know."

"I thought I was going to keep to myself most of the year," Haruhi began quietly. "I don't know how much time I'll have outside of all the schoolwork, but it'll be nice to see a familiar face on the first day."

"I can't wait to hangout outside of school then!" Jasmine smiled brightly. "You'll have to show us all the Japanese things, I know Erin wants to experience and explore everything while we're here."

"I just want to make the most of it while we're here," Erin said as she hurried over to the staircase, not wanting to run out of time. "We did all the work of learning the language and applying here, I want to make good use of that."

"That must have been a lot of work," Haruhi said as she followed behind. "What drew you two to apply here? I didn't think Ouran Academy was known for science."

"Our family was moving out here and they wanted us to go to the best school," Jasmine scowled. "They care a lot about our schooling and grades, Erin excelling in science just makes them even happier."

"Yeah," Erin mumbled, the reality of having to lie to her classmates settling in. "I just want to do a good job, it helps that I like what I do. Come on, we're gonna miss the library if we keep talking."

"Libraries, you mean." Jasmine corrected her, jogging up the stairs. "There's supposed to be three of them spread out on the third floor. Just have to get up all these damn stairs."

"This is going to be inconvenient if every time we have to study we've gotta get up all these stairs," Haruhi muttered as she reached the landing. "Hopefully it's not far from where the stairs let out."

"Can you see it on the map?" Erin asked as she looked over to Jasmine. "We've only got a minute or two left."

Jasmine pulled the map out of her pocket as she continued climbing up quickly. "Yeah we're definitely not making it. We have to get all the way down that hallway," Jasmine pointed to the one to their left. "They're all down at the end of that hallway. I guess studying isn't a huge deal here for these rich kids."

"Why have such a huge school and not have the libraries in a centralized location?" Erin wondered aloud. "Even with a map I'm sure I'd get lost all by myself."

Before Haruhi could speak, the clock tower in the courtyard began to chime for two o'clock. The girls looked amongst each other, sad they hadn't been able to make it through the building.

"I guess we'll be seeing each other on the first day," Erin said, turning to Jasmine. "We should get going, we've gotta make it back home before it gets too late."

"Yeah, yeah. It was nice to meet you Haruhi. We'll see you around!" Jasmine grinned before looking back at the stairs. "And now we have to go back down these." She glanced over to Erin and smirked. "See you at the bottom!" She began to sprint down the stairs, leaving the two back at the top of the huge staircase.

"Wait!" Erin called before turning back to Haruhi. "Sorry to leave so abruptly, I'm glad we got to meet each other before the first day, I'm excited to see what this school is like! I'll see you then!"

Haruhi waved goodbye as Erin hurried down the stairs after her sister, trying her best not to trip in her nice shoes. By the time she made it back to the first floor she was red in the face and out of breath.

"Don't run away like that," She said as she huffed and puffed. "I can't keep up with you."

Jasmine grinned at her from next to the front door, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. "I agree, that took you forever. Wanna race to the bus stop?"

Erin shook her head, still breathing heavily. "I'll give you the win for that one, let's just walk. We've got a lot of connections to make before we make it home anyways, I need to keep my energy for that."

"Fine. Let's get going then." Jasmine pushed open the large doors, the bright sunlight filtering in. "Do you remember how to get to the apartment?" She asked sheepishly after stepping outside.

"Take the bus to the train station, take the train, then walk a few blocks," Erin said with a sigh. "This would be so much easier if we could drive, they could have just given us a car."

Jasmine frowned at her. "We're 15, you need to be 18 to drive here. Did you do any research before we came here?"

"I know we can't drive, we couldn't even drive back home," Erin said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying it would be easier. They could have gotten us a place closer too."

"Let's go so we don't miss the bus," Jasmine rolled her eyes. "We'll get used to it or we could always pay someone to drive us too, ya know. They gave us plenty of money."

"I guess," Erin said as she started to walk over to the stop. "It would look pretty weird if the scholarship students had a private driver though. We should probably just keep doing things this way."

"It would look like our parents are driving us, you weirdo," Jasmine laughed, sitting down on the bench by the stop. "Just something to think about because I agree this trek here and back 5 days a week is going to get old fast."

"Especially once it gets colder, even if it doesn't snow much in Tokyo it's going to be pretty unpleasant," She said as she took in her surroundings. "The apartment is nice at least."

Jasmine shrugged. "It beat the giant ass house we had before. We can actually find each other's bedrooms with ease. They could've gotten us a house though for a little more space."

"I think it'll be nice to be in the city," Erin mused as she noticed the bus turning the corner to approach them. "Being around other people for a change should be nice, since it's just us we shouldn't need too much space anyways."

The girls talked to one another as they imagined what the coming school year would bring and how happy they were to have already made a friend. The journey to the apartment their parents had bought them was long and by the time they reached their place to call home it was already nearing dinner time.

The building was tall, blending in with the inner city architecture that surrounded them. The busy street that stood behind was bustling and as busy as ever. Erin opened the main building door and stepped into the stark white entryway before punching in an entry code to get through the next door. Jasmine followed her inside to a common area that hosted vending machines and a coffee shop, down a hall off to the side was a laundry room and a gym. They approached the shiny silver elevators that lined the back wall, several were there for the convenience of the rich tenants that lived within the building.

Once they reached the fifth floor of the building they stepped out onto the plush rug that lined the hallway. They lived on the opposite side of the building from the elevator so they began the quiet walk there. The building was mostly full of rich business managers and CEOs that preferred a quiet atmosphere. From the few people they had run into the day before when they were moving in, it was clear that their presence was not appreciated. Therefore they would do their best to avoid any issues with the other tenants on their floor.

The pair approached the dark brown door, the golden plate on the wall reading '528' sitting properly in the middle of the wooden surface. Jasmine pulled out the key and turned the lock, allowing them inside. They entered and removed their shoes in the small entry closet they had next to the door. Across from it was a small pantry that sat adjacent to their large kitchen space with a breakfast bar. The kitchen was made up of new stainless steel appliances and quartz countertops. The lighting was bright as Erin hit the light switch, illuminating their home.

Jasmine walked past the kitchen and headed into their living room, it was an open concept connected to their kitchen by the breakfast bar. A large sectional sat in the middle of the floor, beige thick carpeting contrasting against the dark cherry wood that was under the feet throughout the rest of the main living space. A coffee table and a row of bookshelves along the wall completed the furniture in the space. A large screen tv was mounted on the wall in between two large windows on the wall directly across from their main entryway. She plopped down on the couch, feeling around for the remote in the brown cushions.

Erin carried on down the small hallway off the living room, it held a bathroom with a standing shower made of granite, a linen closet and two bedrooms. Both bedrooms held the same furniture pieces, dark wood furniture, queen sized beds, smaller wall mounted tvs, and walk in closets. Erin's bedroom had a desk with built-in shelving for all of her books. Her closet wasn't fully unpacked yet but she had a few pieces hanging up of clothing she had debated wearing to the orientation today. She closed her door to begin getting into comfier clothes.

After finding nothing on the tv she wanted to watch, Jasmine stood back up and headed to her room at the end of the hall. The tv continued to play noise behind her as she hummed along to a commercial. She flipped the light on in her room and closed the door, flopping down onto the queen bed.

Her room was nearly identical to Erin's with a desk that had no shelves and boxes strewn about the room that she had no urgency to unpack. Her closet had clothes covering the floor from her attempts at dressing this morning. The door to her small en-suite bathroom was cracked open, revealing the light she'd forgotten to turn off before leaving. She wiggled out of the jacket she had worn to the event and let out a big sigh. The bed was comfortable but this place didn't feel like home, it was empty and lavish. Two things she despised.

She was happy to be on this adventure with her sister but a part of her still wished they could finally settle down somewhere and pretend to be normal for once. She could hear Erin walking around in her room and it made her chuckle to know she could map out her every move in her head. Her brown eyes looked to the clock on her nightstand. She slowly sat up and figured it was best to get into comfier clothing as well before they began preparing their dinner for the night.

Thanks for reading! :) Stay tuned for more drama!