Chapter 1

It was fall in Japan, the trees were covered with brown and gold leaves, and in the courtyard of the Peachtree Academy, a young, blonde haired American woman stood, looking around the exclusive campus. Her long hair flowed in the gentle breeze that crept over the treetops of the Peach trees that gave the school it's name, while bright blue eyes hid behind round, thin glasses. It was her first time being in Japan, and things just seemed so different than back home that the young woman almost forgot the reason why she was there. Picking up her bags, the young woman headed towards what she thought was the main building, and hoped that she could find her way around without getting too lost.

Everywhere the young woman looked, young, Japanese girls roamed, varying in ages all the way up to their late teens. The young woman wasn't sure why she felt so nervous, and even got a few positive sounding hellos from a few of the students as she walked into the building. Walking through the hallowed halls of the school, the young woman was amazed at how small it looked from the outside, but yet, was so spacious and rather large inside. Walking along, the girl found herself fearing that she might be lost, and grumbled to herself about never finding her way, before running into one of the students. "Oh, excuse me." The young woman said in Japanese, and the girl just smiled. "Do you need help?" The girl asked, and the young woman nodded.

"I'm new here. Could you show me where the administration is?" She asked, and the young, Japanese girl nodded. "Follow me." She told her. As she followed the girl, the young woman never caught herself staring. The girl had long, dark brown hair, and a slight, shy, almost demure demeanor behind her hazel colored eyes. "Is this your first time in Japan?" The girl asked, and the young woman nodded. "Yes. I'm to be the new English teacher here. Of course, I have to find the administration office first." She said, and blushed slightly out of embarrassment. "Well, this is it." The girl said, and the young woman turned her head. She was about to thank the girl who helped her, but as she turned, she noticed that the girl had vanished into the crowd of uniform clad students.

Walking into the administration office, the young woman looked around, feeling a bit nervous from some of the strange looks that she was getting from some of the other teachers that stood around doing various things. She wondered if something was wrong, before feeling someone touch her shoulder. "You must be Rebecca Kennedy." She heard, and turned to face her greeter. Rebecca was a bit surprised to see another American woman in a Japanese school, but felt relieved somehow that there was someone besides her there. Although she was surprised that there was another woman from America, Rebecca was also surprised to find that the woman in question looked like a Nubian princess. She had long, dark brown hair that resided in braids, and soft, chocolate colored eyes.

"Yes, that's me." Rebecca said, and smiled back at the woman who held out her hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Karin Ashley, and I'll be the person you turn to for any help you might need." Karin said, and Rebecca smiled again. "Well then. You might be seeing allot of me then for the next couple of days." Rebecca said, and Karin smiled. "Well, ready for your first day?" She asked, and Rebecca sighed. "Not really, but there's no since in stalling is there?" She said, and Karin nodded. "Well, leave your bags, and someone will take care of them for you. I'll show you to your classroom." Karin said, and Rebecca followed the chocolate skinned woman.

Rebecca was impressed with how well maintained the Peachtree Academy was. All the students went directly to their classes to wait for their teachers, and it seemed to quiet to Rebecca, that she almost forgot it was still morning, and not the afternoon. "Well, here you are." Karin said, and motioned towards a closed door. Looking in through the small window, Rebecca watched some of the students, before turning back towards Karin. "They're not all the same age?" She asked, and Karin shook her head. "Not all of them. Since it's a all girls school, the classes aren't too big, and tend to be mixed, so you'll have allot of younger students along with some older ones." Karin explained, and Rebecca nodded in agreement.