3

It was noontime and all was completely still; the sun shone steadily as a cat lazed in the overgrown grass, nearly asleep. Suddenly, a low rumbling sound broke the peace, followed by a strong vibration in the ground, making the cat yowl and take off at lightening speed, just as a flock of birds flew upwards in alarm and confusion. The leaves on nearby trees rustled and the blades of grass waved to and fro as though in a storm, even though the sky was clear.

Presently, a small speck appeared from behind a cloud, and it quickly grew larger, bringing with it a strange whizzing sound that grew louder as the object tumbled forward towards the grass. It was the lightening pod that had been sent to Earth.

THUD! The pod landed at last after its tumultuous descent and sprang open. Xiennan got out quickly, knowing it would blow up within a minute. He found himself in an open meadow, but he didn't have the stamina to stand or even look around; he had been jolted in every direction for the last five hours, and he felt rather sick at the moment. He closed his eyes and lay back on the grass, breathing deeply.

A few seconds later, he heard a loud whiz and bang, and the pod shattered into a thousand pieces. Now there was no way back to the only home he had ever known. The thought hurt him more than he thought it would.

He sighed and opened his eyes, ready to gather his first impression of Earth. A deep blue sky greeted him — how strange; he had always been used to it being pink. It looked nice, though. The clouds in the horizon were white, not purple. Thank Goodness the grass and trees were still green like they were on his planet. He got up and looked around; maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

He wondered how his father had trusted him on such an important mission; for once, did he really think he was worthy enough? Or had he only sent him because, deep inside, he had wanted his own son to disappear somewhere far away, and never come back? The thought hurt him, and the more he thought of it, the more likely it seemed. He remembered when he had been only nine years old and his father had taken him fishing; he had been scared of the water, and his father had been so disappointed that he had left him behind when he went home. And then there was that time when his father had told him about humans and their planet, and he had wondered aloud if they were all that bad or if some of them were good, too. That had gotten him into a lot of trouble.

With his father, he had always felt stupid, always felt weak and afraid; compared to his father and everyone around him who always seemed perfect, he had always felt like a misfit. The plain truth was that he could never be like his father was, and the day they had both realised that, a divide had come between them that grew wider every day.

Xiennan sighed. If he were a human, he might cry as he thought of his life and circumstances; but he wasn't so weak. He would make the best of what had come his way and prove his father wrong. He may be different, may never meet his father's  high standards, but he mattered, too. He would make a difference and return home in glory. He walked ahead until he saw a lonely street in the distance and went towards it.

After walking a while, he saw a building ahead with a huge board on it:

Shinjiku High School

A group of giggling schoolgirls walked by, chattering amongst themselves. He stared after them. He couldn't understand a thing. His father had taught him how to read the letters and speak a few words in the humans' language, but no more than that. He wondered how he was going to survive in a place in which he barely knew anything at all. To say nothing of the fact that those girls could turn back anytime and decide to kill him for sport!

He walked inside the building, and into a corridor that was filled with people. His heart beat faster as he walked in and dove headfirst into the sea of unknown words. He closed his eyes. Suddenly, he knew what to do. He concentrated and applied the Force. His ears quivered and his eyes gleamed strangely, but no one noticed.

School... homework... admission...father, mother...friends... hang out... eat... food... principal...old, new... test... boring... enjoy...

The words poured into his ears with greater sense than before; he knew it would take him a few days before he could understand enough to comprehend his surroundings perfectly and hold proper conversations, but for now, he had gathered enough to understand what he had to say to infiltrate the school.

He smiled. His mission had officially begun.

*  *  *

'Airi! Airi!? AIRI! You're getting late again!'

'Coming, Mom!!' called out a merry voice, and soon the seventeen-year-old girl sailed down the stairs and towards the kitchen table. Her hair was rather short and blew about her face as she walked. Her brown eyes shone with youthful energy, as did her face, and her whole manner and presence exuded a certain passion and carefree feeling that never failed to charm everyone who saw her.

'You're ten minutes late,' said her mother, who unlike others, did not look charmed at all, but in fact looked rather disappointed in her daughter whenever she saw her; perhaps because she did not resemble her in the least. 'You must learn to practice some discipline in your daily life, Airi. Life isn't some big merry-go-round, you know.'

'Yeah, yeah,' said Airi, spreading jam on her bread rather thickly.

'That's too much jam, Airi,' said her mother, sounding exasperated. 'It will get too sweet!'

'Well, I like it sweet,' said Airi, spreading some more for good measure. 'Mmmm! This is GOOD!'

'It's just jam and bread, don't act like you've never eaten it before,' said her mother. 'Eat like a lady!'

Airi sighed. Her mother always seemed to find fault with her, no matter what she did. When she had been younger, she had always felt like a clumsy misfit — actually, she still did; but now, she didn't really care anymore.

'If eating like a lady means not enjoying a single meal in my life, I'd rather not, thanks,' she said, eating the last bite and getting up hurriedly before her mother could retort. 'Gotta go to school now, bye, Mom!'

She went out and walked on in a hurry, as she was getting late. She smiled at the gentle breeze that blew on her face and through her hair. Spring...she could feel it in the air. At last she reached the familiar building of her school, and the old board greeted her as usual:

Shinjiku High School

Walking down the corridor and into the classroom, she had a sudden strange sensation as though something unusual was about to happen. Her gut feeling was never wrong.

'Before we begin today's class,' said the biology teacher as Airi settled in her chair, 'I'd like you all to welcome a new student who got admitted to our school over the weekend. Introduce yourself, son.'

The boy stood silently next to the teacher rather awkwardly, an unreadable expression on his face.

'Well, go on,' repeated the teacher, 'introduce yourself!'

'My name is Kenji,' said the boy in a monotone.

The class stared at him for a while, and the boy stared back at them.

'Um...all right, if that's all you've got to say, please sit down, Kenji,' said the teacher, feeling awkward herself by now.

'Hey, what's with the green hair, Kenji?' called out someone.

Kenji said nothing and sat down.

'He looks a little weird,' said someone else.

'I bet he's a freak!'

'Maybe he's just shy...'

'Maybe he thinks he's better than us!'

'That's enough! Open your books to page twenty-four!' called out the teacher.

Kenji opened his book and looked at it briefly before looking ahead of him sharply, seemingly oblivious to the whispers behind his back.

Airi stared at him in spite of herself. He looked rather intriguing. She wondered why; maybe it was because he was a new student and she knew nothing about him? Maybe it was the shocking green hair? Or maybe...it was the way he carried himself: like a person who didn't care what anyone thought; like a person who was as carefree as she was. Or maybe a person who carried some secret and couldn't bear to let anyone close due to it! However she looked at it, intrigued she was, and she was determined to find out more about him as soon as possible.