Hikaru Minatozaki is the the new exchange student at Trailview Middle School. After being coerced by her parents into joining the exchange program, she is not exactly excited for her stay. She promises herself to keep a low profile until the end of...
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Bold - Japanese Regular - English
It should have been an average day at school for Hikaru Minatozaki.
Everything was going normally so far, up until Ms. Nakagawa made her announcement.
"Hello class, today I have an exciting announcement for you all," saidMs.Nakagawa.
The teacher waited until everyone was settled down to give out her announcement.
"It is with great honor that I announce that our school has been chosen to take part in an international exchange program!"
Hikaru could hear the whispers and gasps of the other students. Most were excitedly talking about joining.
She didn't really think much of it. It sounded a bit interesting, but Hikaru would rather stay home in Japan. She honestly thought that this was gonna be the her last thought about it for a while.
Oh how wrong she was.
☄. *. ⋆
"YOU WHAT?" Hikaru gasped out loud.
"We thought about it, and decided to sign you up for the exchange program!" Natsumi (Hikaru's mother) responded back.
"Excuse me, but why exactly? I'm happy with just the way things are right now," Hikaru said in disbelief.
"We just feel you need to try something new in your life. Besides, with our busy job hours, there is nobody to look after you," Fumihiro (Hikaru's father) said sympathetically.
"But otousan, I've been managing just fine by myself."
"Managing just fine? We've caught you smoking in and out of the house so many times, we've lost count!" Natsumi stated in a very strict tone. Hikaru looked away, a blush of embarrassment washed over her face remembering those incidents.
Fumihiro tried to diffuse the tension building between Natsumi and Hikaru, "I know this might be hard, but we really just want what's best for you. Think of all the new experiences and people you can meet."
"You are probably one of the best people to be chosen for this program, you're already fluent in English so there is no worry about the language barrier," Natsumi added on.
"Please Hikaru, give the exchange program a chance. We promise you won't regret it," Fumihiro said softly. Hikaru sighed, she knew that both of her parents were stubborn people and wouldn't budge once they made a decision.
Arguing would be pointless anyways.
"Okay, I guess I can give it a try. But just for your information, I'm only doing this for you two," Hikaru responded.
Both of her parents had satisfied looks on their faces. Later on that day, they informed Hikaru about the place she was being sent to and that she was leaving first thing next week. After the conversation was done, Hikaru walked upstairs to her room. She knew she had to break the news to her best friends, Shiori and Chisato. She immediately went for her phone and started dialing Shiori's number first.
Shiori: Hey Hikaru, what's up?
Hikaru: I got some news to share with you and Chisato. I'm gonna add her in and make this a three way call.
Shiori: K. I'll be here waiting.
*Hikaru adds Chisato to the call*
Chisato: Hello? What are you guys calling about?
Shiori: Hikaru's got some big news she wants to tell us.
Hikaru: ...So, my parents signed me up for that exchange program Ms. Nakagawa was talking about.
Shiori: WAIT WHAT? ARE YOU BEING FOR REAL?
Chisato: YOU'RE BEING SENT AWAY?!
Hikaru: Yeah, the worst thing is that I'm leaving next Monday. They gave me only one week to prepare for this whole thing.
Chisato: God, they blindsided your ass. I feel for you so much.
Shiori: How long is this exchange thing gonna be anyway? Where are you exactly going?
Hikaru: I'm being sent off to some suburb in California.The exchange thing is gonna last for a year.
Shiori: That is such a longggggg time! School isn't gonna be the same with you here!
Chisato: Hold on, you're leaving next Monday? That means this is the last weekend we have to spend together before you are shipped off.
Shiori: We gotta do something fun before Hikaru is sent off to the states, like go to the city, shop, get some food, and other stuff.
Hikaru: That sounds pretty fun guys, we can talk more about it after school tomorrow. It's getting late and my parents will be on my ass if I'm not in bed by 11:00.
Shiori: We'll see you later. Bye!
Chisato: Night, Hikaru. Night, Shiori.
Hikaru: Bye guys.
☄. *. ⋆ (Timeskip to Sunday Night)
Hikaru, Shiori, and Chisato were walking around the city, bags in hand from their latest (and Hikaru's last for the year in her home country) shopping spree. The three then turned the corner into a small parking lot.
"Wanna smoke? Hikaru, it might be your last one for a while before heading to America. I'm pretty sure they don't have vending machines filled with packs like here," Chisatosaid while pulling out a pack.
..."Sure I'll take one." Hikaru replied. Shiori nodded her head in agreement.
Chisato held out the pack and let the two other girls grab their cigarettes first before taking her own. Each girl had their own lighters and pulled them out to light them up.
The three just stood in silence, taking in the beautiful sight of the sky.
Shiori broke the silence, "We are really gonna miss having you here, Hikaru."
Chisato seconded her, "Yeah, it's not gonna be the same without you here."
"I'm gonna miss you guys too. A whole year without both of you is torture. We can't even call or text cause of the different time zones!" Hikaru exclaimed.
The three continued talking until the sunset, signaling that Hikaru should go back home. Shiori and Chisato said their goodbyes to their friend before Hikaru walked off.
Can'tbelieve this is my last night here until next year. Hopefully California won't be that bad.
