In America!

[Ask the Question]

John Smith was an All-American boy with an All-American home. He lived in a suburb with his parents. He was a senior in high school, soon to begin his final year before graduation. In fact, the first day would be tommorow. He was sitting at the table with his parents, eating a delightful, balanced breakfast prepared by his mother. His father was reading the newspaper and drinking decaf coffee while his mother was doing the crossword.

"We've got to go pick up that exchange student today." John's father said casually, not looking away from the business section. "You'll help him out, right? Tough to be in a strange new country, not knowing anyone. Show him the ropes and stuff. Let him hang out with you and your friends."

John stared blankly at his father. "Pardon?" The young man asked.

"We've only been talking about this for weeks now, Johnathan." His mother said with mild reproach. "We're having an exchange student stay with us this year."

John nodded, pretending he remember now. "Well, yeah. Sure thing, dad. He'll, uh, be able to speak English, right?"

John's father shrugged. "I think so. If not, I guess we'll figure out something." John nodded, and finished his breakfast. John's father finished his coffee, and set the paper down.

John was a tall, fit, athletic young man. He was six feet, two inches tall, and still maybe had some growing left in him. He had dark blond hair and dark blue eyes. He looked like a younger, fitter version of his father, who was two inches taller, with a slightly bulkier build and some extra weight around the middle that John lacked. The pair of them left John's mother to do the dishes while they drove to the airport.

When they arrived and waited at the right terminal, there were other people waiting for other exchange students. John took a sign with the name of the student he and his family presumed was a male in their complete ignorance of Asian naming conventions.

 

[TheyDontKnowIBurn]

Kyo Kaname. Age 18. A girl. Her parents had named her before she was born, because they had been told she was a boy. Well, she wasn't. But Kyo could be a girl's name. Kinda. Never the less, Kyo sat on the plane. They were landing now. Already she was a little homesick and lonely. But she put on her unbothered face and told herself to be strong. Surely things wouldn't be bad. This was a whole new world for her. A big chance to try new things and meet new people. It would be fun! Hopefully.

Anyhow, finally, the seatbelt signs flickered off and the pilot announced that they were ready to unboard. Kyo grabbed her carry-on, ignoring the looks she got from some of the males on the flight. It was like they had never seen a female before. Well, not one like her.

She sighed and pushed her long, straight, black hair over her shoulders. Her eyes were a light brown. Her skin tone was a little pale, but not unattractively so. And she was small. All sorts of small. Thin, a little short, and well, small in the chest area too. Barely a B. But who cared. It seemed there were no problems with that, so why make a big fuss of it?

Kyo finally got her carryon, and got off the plane. She was nervouse. She wondered what her host family would be like. She hoped they were friendly. Finally, she made it to the terminal. She looked around a bit and spotted a sign with her name on it. Right. So they were the ones. She took a big breath, and made her way over.

Soon, Kyo stopped before them. "Ohayoo... Errr, Good morning." She said, rubbing the back of her head. "I am Kaname, Kyo." She said with a bright smile. "A pleasure to meet you." She added, pushing her bangs out of her face.

 

[Ask the Question]

John paused, and looked at the sign. It was in letters and symbols. The name was the same one the small girl said. "Er . . . hi." He said with some hesitation. He looked to his father, who was likewise uncertain.

"Well, welcome to America, little lady." John's father said, plowing through the awkwardness of having a girl be there when they expected a male. He clapped a big hand on Kyo's shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "Good to meet you. I'm John Smith, senior. My son here's John Smith, junior. Call me John. Let's go get your bags, alright?"

The older man let his hand fall away casually, and walked off towards the baggage claim area. A few bags were already coming through; the teams at this airport were thankfully efficient at their job. "Just point out which ones're yours and John'll grab them for you. You must be tired after the plane trip, huh?" Mr. Smith said.

John smiled, still surprised, unlike his father. "Hey." It seemed like it'd be difficult to show a girl around and do things with. At least she spoke English.

 

[TheyDontKnowIBurn]

Things were awkward. She bit her lip. Had she said something wrong already? Perhaps she had been too direct with her greetings. She followed them as they headed towards the baggage claim. She hoped this would be the case all through the year. That would be a little unpleasant if it was. She looked at John when he said 'Hey'. "Hello." She said with a smile. "Uhmmm, sooo..." She wanted to break the ice here. "What do you like to do for fun?" She asked.

Before when she saw her bag on the belt she looked to Mr. Smith. "That's the one. The black one with the green accents." She said, with a nod. The rest of her required supplies were being shipped over from Japan. So they'd arrive later.

(sorry for the short post.)

 

[Ask the Question]

(no need to apologize - it's long enough for me)

Mr. Smith nodded for John to get the bag Kyo indicated.

John went over to Kyo's suitcase, and hefted it easily enough. He shrugged at her question. It was difficult to list off all of the things he liked to do at the drop of a hat like that. His facial expression showed he'd been put on the spot a bit. "I play football. I'm on the team. Like watching it. Play pool. Go swim." He said, after taking some time to think it out and shrugged noncomittally again. "Don't worry. We'll go do stuff together. I won't leave you sitting home alone."

"I guess if that's it, we can get back." Mr. Smith looked at his watch and led the two younger people back to his SUV. John put Kyo's suitcase in the back, and once they were all buckled in Mr. Smith backed out and began the drive back. John'd elected to sit in the back, rather than in the passenger side seat next to the driver.

"John'll help you get settled - my wife and I've got some errands to run today. We'll probably be home late, so you can go out to eat or order in if you like." Mr. Smith said from the driver's seat.