Yuki Meshida finished taking her things out of her locker and headed toward class.
Leonard Drullers, at his locker a few paces down the hall, called out to her by name. He wasn't sure why he did that. He hadn't even noticed the school had a recently arrived Japanese exchange student, much less known what her name was. She was dressed very modestly, moving nervously toward him.
Yuki was equally, puzzled as she approached him. It wasn't just that he was fat. He was smelly and messy looking. Why was he calling her name? She answered him, forgetting to speak in English for a moment. "Yes?"
"Do you want to walk to class with me?" He asked in English.
She understood him perfectly without even trying, even though the two were currently speaking two different languages, and she was only partially fluent in English. "Okay," she said, unsure of why she agreed.
The two walked together, and Yuki started chatting in Japanese about her classes to Leonard. By the time they reached Yuki's class, they parted as if long-time friends, the memory of being strangers was long forgotten.
