The airport is my favorite place to be even though I’ve never actually flown before. The people, the noise, the feeling. It’s elating. But now, I’m here on my own, leaving Germany on a plane. At this moment, nothing is more exciting except maybe my destination.

New York. I’ve been dreaming of visiting at least once in my life since I was a child and now I’m going to be schooling there. Dreams do come true and I refuse to acknowledge the fact that wanting to visit New York isn’t a substantial enough dream by society's standards. It’s mine and that’s all that matters.

“Flight BA2491A is about to depart. Passengers are advised to start boarding. Flight BA2491A…”

That’s mine. I stand up as the announcer repeats what they said again in German and haul my hand luggage all the way to the plane.

The ticket I bought has me assigned to a window seat and I fight a smile that forms happily on my face at this. Sitting away from the view of the public, Just how I like to exist.

Hoping the other passengers who are yet to arrive wouldn’t take too long, I plug in my headphones and listen with the volume low in case of more announcements. I’m unfortunate enough to have a woman with twins for a seat partner, but it’s fine. Screaming and crying for eight hours and twelve minutes is fine.

***

I’m asleep when the plane lands. The woman beside me wakes me with a kind smile and I yawn and thank her. The baby I had somehow ended up carrying was asleep and I offer a prayer to the heavens in my heart.

Once I get down from the plane and finish everything I need to, including claiming my luggage, I drag my suitcase with me to just outside the airport parking lot where there’s a small crowd of people holding up signs with names.

According to the instructions my Admissions Officer, Mrs. Bailiff gave me, someone is among them, waiting to pick me up and drive me to campus. I won’t lie, that sounds fancy. My own personal… chauffeur. It’s probably just this once but still. East Shore University is an expensive school. I didn’t expect any less.

An elderly man holding a sign that said Ella Müller catches my attention and I wave, stumbling over to him.

“Hello. I’m… I’m Ella?” I greet, breathless and hoping he understands me through my accent. “Going to East Shore.”

“Ahh, yes.” He replies with relief. “Good morning, Miss. This way,”

He guides me out of the crowd of people and to the road where there’s a car waiting. It occurs to me to ask for his name but I hold off on that. He’ll tell me eventually… The man collects my luggage and puts them in the trunk, then comes over to open my door for me.

“Thanks,” I murmur. “I hope I didn’t keep you for too long.”

“No, Miss, you were right on time. The school is a long way from here but if there’s no traffic, we should get there in about twenty minutes, tops.”

To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I’m shaking and can’t tear my eyes away from the view through the backseat window—but I’m also scared. I’m in a new country halfway across the world, too far away from my family. I have no one here and no idea how I’m going to survive.

Not much talk goes on between me and the man—I still don’t know his name. It’s incredibly rude if you look at it one way but I wasn’t too enthusiastic about asking, much less making conversation.

Finally, we get to my accommodation in the heart of campus. Everything in this place looks pristine and fresh. The car is moving too fast for me to properly take everything in but it doesn’t stop me from trying till my eyes ache. The buildings are just like I’d seen on the school website, modern and not too huge. They’re also scattered across such that there’s plenty of grass-covered space in between each one and you can just pick somewhere, drop down on the dirt and relax under the open sky, or the shade of one of the numerous trees.

There aren’t many students around which I find strange because I’m resuming late. Classes have already begun, so you’d think everywhere would be crowded.

Once we arrive, the driver helps me get my stuff out and onto the steps of the dorm I was to stay at. It helps that I didn’t pack much because I was in a hurry.

I applied to East Shore late, basically a last-decision thing, and it was a miracle I got accepted. Consequently, my online admission process was delayed. Mrs Bailiff had warned me that because I was coming in late I would be processing my student details and other things at the Admissions office alone as obviously, everyone has already done theirs. If I was lucky I would finish everything before even more time was wasted.

“Thank you very much, Mr…” I trail off awkwardly. My cheeks heat in embarrassment even though there’s really nothing to be embarrassed about.

“Ford,” He completes and I smile.

I stand at the entrance long after he’s left, wondering if I was supposed to have tipped him but didn’t dwell on it too long, deciding it’s too late for that. I turn around and take in my surroundings. The place is breathtaking. It’s not lost on me that I would not be able to afford this sort of accommodation, much less the school tuition if it wasn’t for the full-ride scholarship I was offered.

Luck has been on my side for months now and I hope it doesn’t run out anytime soon.

There’s nobody in the lobby when I enter and everywhere is quiet. Too quiet. There are supposedly four suites here. Mine is No. 3 so I figure it's none of the ones downstairs and go up.

The layout is the exact same as downstairs. I knock a little on the door and let myself in. The place is bright. Floor-to-ceiling windows are the first things I notice. The curtains are drawn up to let sunlight in and I see a television and a dining table in where I can see is the living room. Everything looks clean and expensive.

This is obviously no normal student accommodation. I’ve heard stories about how cramped on-campus dorms are and I knew this place wouldn’t be as bad from how much I saw it cost to live here per semester but I didn’t expect this.

I notice two closed doors opposite each other and guess they’re the bedrooms.

My roommate, Kaede Sawano according to the details I was provided with, has probably already packed in so only one room would be empty. If she has, she didn’t put anything on her door to let me know which was hers. I take in a breath and let it out, then knock on the one on the left.

No one responds after a few seconds and I let out a sigh of relief. I’m not going to have to say ‘Hi’ yet. I turn the knob and enter the room, pulling my suitcase behind when the sight of a “lived-in” room greets me.

There’s stuff everywhere. Clothes, books, a suitcase with more clothes pouring out of it. Clearly, she’s not done unpacking and clearly, this room wasn’t empty like I’d thought. Maybe she’s not here. That would explain why she didn’t answer when I’d knocked.

It seems like a reasonable explanation and I’m about to leave the room when my eyes catch on a set of dark ones peering at me curiously from the window sill. My eyes widen in surprise and I start to stutter a greeting. I take in the book in her hands and let my gaze trail back up to her face.

She’s beautiful. Very, with an equally beautiful head of dark hair tied up in a ponytail. We stare at each other, neither saying anything. I open my mouth to say “Hey” but instead a squeak comes out and my face bursts into flames in embarrassment. I feel awkward just standing there but she finds it funny and a smile breaks out on her face, her eyes crinkling in an inaudible laugh.

She—Kaede—gets up from where she’s sitting and comes over to me, still with a smile on her face. She opens her door wider and waves inward and I hesitate, not sure if she wants me to come into her room, but she grabs my hand and pulls softly and I follow.

Kaede leaves me in the middle of the room and goes searching for something and I use the time to take her space in again. The place is messy and full of shit but she had been reading when I entered. Like sorting her stuff came second place to whatever fictional world she was absorbed in.

Kaede comes bouncing back with what looks like a tablet and a stylus pen. She taps on the screen for a few seconds and a “Hi, I’m Kaede.” came from its speakers. I blink slowly, putting two and two together. Does she have a speech impairment? Or maybe she doesn’t speak English.

She taps some more on the device. “I’m sorry for not opening the door. I was reading and didn’t hear you knock.”

I nod and smile shakily at her in understanding.

Some more tapping and, “You look a bit confused. I have speech impairments so I use this to communicate.”

“Oh.” I reply. “You didn’t have to explain, really,”

“No, it’s fine. It’s better to get it out of the way now.” Is her response. She types really fast and I guess she’s been using the device for conversations long enough to become masterful at it. “I’m really sorry about the messy room. I’m fighting demons as you can see and was taking a break.”

That makes me laugh a bit and she smiles. She smiles a lot. We talk some more—mostly her. I find out she’s an international student from Japan and I reveal that I’m one as well and after a few more minutes, I tell her I need to go drop my stuff and rest. Kaede lets me off with an apology and promises to talk to me later.

Okay. I need to make a list to keep myself organized. One, unpack. Two, video call my family and friends back in Germany. Three, overthink my decision to school internationally. I’d better get started. No time to waste with all that on the list.

The scholarship I won was the Vice Chancellor’s Star Award. When I’d won it, I thought it was a dream, or some cruel, devastating prank played on me by my siblings. But it was real.

The essay I had zero faith in had won and here I am, in a school I normally would not be able to afford, in an all-en-suite dorm that’s large and spacious, basically fit for a President’s daughter. I have my own room and keep pinching myself to see if it’s all real.

After I’m done unpacking, the reality of just how spacious my room is hits me and I shudder at the emptiness of it. I didn’t bring much in my suitcase. Just clothes, official documents, and toiletries.

I plan to go shopping for stationery as soon as I’ve rested enough. And maybe some desk and wall decorations. I admire my pretty white walls and smile giddily to myself before leaving my room and going into Kaede’s.

“Uh,” I start. “I’m done unpacking and I want to go get some stuff before heading to complete my registration. You’ve already done that right?”

“Yes. I’m sorry you’ll have to do it by yourself.”

“It’s fine, I like being by myself anyways.” That was a lie, but it didn't matter.

“Do you want me to come with you? To buy whatever it is you wanted. I’m not familiar with this environment but I figured we could explore together.”

Relief eases its way into my chest at her suggestion. I’ve managed to make one “friend” even if it’s simply because we’re roommates. Maybe the rest of the semester will go just as well.