Prelude to an Education
Mmmmm....bed. She snuggled farther under the covers, trying to hide from the light coming in her window. Light bad. Dark good.
"Yurika?" Her mother's voice was shrill as she pounded on the bedroom door. "Yurika! Get up. Now."
"Nani?" Yurika peeked out from under the blanket blearily as both her parents stormed into the room. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I'm sleeping."
"You're packing." Yurika winced as her father threw a newspaper at her. "Congratulations, Yurika, you made the front page. Again. Your antics over Christmas break have caused the Academy to expel you. This is the second school this year! What the hell were you thinking?"
She reached over to grab the paper, wincing as she squinted at the offending article. "New Year's Eve, Daddy. You're supposed to kiss someone at midnight, it's good luck."
"Yes, Yurika, kissing the illegitimate son of the Crown Prince on national television and leaving the party with him is a fantastic way to start off a new year. Getting photographed the very next morning kissing his girlfriend as you left their flat was possibly the only way you could have made the situation worse! Wait, that's exactly what you did!" He yelled. "You've been expelled, Yuri, again. The Academy can't afford to have such a disgraceful student, you could ruin the school's reputation." She rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket back over her head as he paced around the room. "Although apparently you were failing all your classes. When were you planning on telling us that little bit of news, Yuri?"
"Don't call me Yuri." Came the mumbled response from under the blanket. "Everyone calls me Dōjima, Daddy. Yuri is a baby-name."
Her mother sat down on the bed, anxiously tugging at her blanket. "Yuri! This is important! You're never going to get married if you keep running around like this!"
"Maybe I don't want to get married!" she whined, one hand darting out from under the blanket to try and swat away her mother's hovering. "I have a headache! Can't we talk about this later?"
"We are talking about it now!" He stopped pacing, turning to yank to covers off her bed. "There's a boarding school that has accepted you. Full scholarship, something about promoting diversity. Hopefully it's far enough away that the scandal will die down soon, and we can re-evaluate the situation."
Yurika whimpered and curled into a ball, hangover readily apparent without her blanket fort to hide under. "I'll just take a semester off, it'll be fine. Can I have my blanket back now?"
"I said you were packing, Yurika." He threw the blanket in the direction of an open suitcase. "I meant it. This school in America, their term starts next week and new students may begin arriving tomorrow. I've called the airport, the jet will be fueled and ready to go in three hours. I've talked to the office, and I'll meet with some American clients while your mother takes you shopping, and then we'll drop you off in Virginia tomorrow."
"Honki?!? Joudan ja ne yo! America? Are you serious? You can't be serious!" she exclaimed as she sat up, alarmed. "No way, you can't send me there! Virginia? Where the hell is Virginia?"
"Virginia is where you're going to be until at least this summer. If your behaviour improves dramatically, perhaps you can come home over the summer. If I do not see a marked improvement, you will stay there until graduation. No coming home for holidays, no parties, nothing."
"Daddy!"
"Packing, Yuri." With that, her father swept out of the room, her mother wringing her hands and trailing along in his wake.
"I HATE YOU!" Yurika picked up a vase and hurled it against the wall, shattering it. "You can't do this! It's America, there's nothing to do! Americans are wretched! They're all rude, repressed little savages!" She continued on for a bit, ranting against the injustice, until she heard the front door slam. Peeking out her window, she saw her parents driving off, probably to keep her mother from giving in and letting her stay.
Quickly, Dōjima scrambled out of bed and dug through her purse for her cellphone, punching a number from memory and holding her breath as it rang. As a voice answered on the other other end, she broke out in a huge grin. "It's Dōjima. They bought it. Hook, line, and sinker. I leave tonight."
[Establishy only. NFB, NFI, OOC = LOVE, yo.]
"Yurika?" Her mother's voice was shrill as she pounded on the bedroom door. "Yurika! Get up. Now."
"Nani?" Yurika peeked out from under the blanket blearily as both her parents stormed into the room. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I'm sleeping."
"You're packing." Yurika winced as her father threw a newspaper at her. "Congratulations, Yurika, you made the front page. Again. Your antics over Christmas break have caused the Academy to expel you. This is the second school this year! What the hell were you thinking?"
She reached over to grab the paper, wincing as she squinted at the offending article. "New Year's Eve, Daddy. You're supposed to kiss someone at midnight, it's good luck."
"Yes, Yurika, kissing the illegitimate son of the Crown Prince on national television and leaving the party with him is a fantastic way to start off a new year. Getting photographed the very next morning kissing his girlfriend as you left their flat was possibly the only way you could have made the situation worse! Wait, that's exactly what you did!" He yelled. "You've been expelled, Yuri, again. The Academy can't afford to have such a disgraceful student, you could ruin the school's reputation." She rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket back over her head as he paced around the room. "Although apparently you were failing all your classes. When were you planning on telling us that little bit of news, Yuri?"
"Don't call me Yuri." Came the mumbled response from under the blanket. "Everyone calls me Dōjima, Daddy. Yuri is a baby-name."
Her mother sat down on the bed, anxiously tugging at her blanket. "Yuri! This is important! You're never going to get married if you keep running around like this!"
"Maybe I don't want to get married!" she whined, one hand darting out from under the blanket to try and swat away her mother's hovering. "I have a headache! Can't we talk about this later?"
"We are talking about it now!" He stopped pacing, turning to yank to covers off her bed. "There's a boarding school that has accepted you. Full scholarship, something about promoting diversity. Hopefully it's far enough away that the scandal will die down soon, and we can re-evaluate the situation."
Yurika whimpered and curled into a ball, hangover readily apparent without her blanket fort to hide under. "I'll just take a semester off, it'll be fine. Can I have my blanket back now?"
"I said you were packing, Yurika." He threw the blanket in the direction of an open suitcase. "I meant it. This school in America, their term starts next week and new students may begin arriving tomorrow. I've called the airport, the jet will be fueled and ready to go in three hours. I've talked to the office, and I'll meet with some American clients while your mother takes you shopping, and then we'll drop you off in Virginia tomorrow."
"Honki?!? Joudan ja ne yo! America? Are you serious? You can't be serious!" she exclaimed as she sat up, alarmed. "No way, you can't send me there! Virginia? Where the hell is Virginia?"
"Virginia is where you're going to be until at least this summer. If your behaviour improves dramatically, perhaps you can come home over the summer. If I do not see a marked improvement, you will stay there until graduation. No coming home for holidays, no parties, nothing."
"Daddy!"
"Packing, Yuri." With that, her father swept out of the room, her mother wringing her hands and trailing along in his wake.
"I HATE YOU!" Yurika picked up a vase and hurled it against the wall, shattering it. "You can't do this! It's America, there's nothing to do! Americans are wretched! They're all rude, repressed little savages!" She continued on for a bit, ranting against the injustice, until she heard the front door slam. Peeking out her window, she saw her parents driving off, probably to keep her mother from giving in and letting her stay.
Quickly, Dōjima scrambled out of bed and dug through her purse for her cellphone, punching a number from memory and holding her breath as it rang. As a voice answered on the other other end, she broke out in a huge grin. "It's Dōjima. They bought it. Hook, line, and sinker. I leave tonight."
[Establishy only. NFB, NFI, OOC = LOVE, yo.]