Transition and Restart, book two: The Billion Dollar Empress

Chapter five, 2016, extended stay, part one

With the field trip formally at an end Christina focused on her remaining shoots. She would have preferred to study together with Ulf, but he needed to clear out his last remaining subjects before the next group with paying course attendants arrived.

She hated that, but she went through with her work, and she even built a small reputation for having an uncanny taste when it came to pick out which clothes were best for a certain shoot.

After that the positively most boring week in her life started. Principal Nakagawa acted as her teacher, and she was the class. The days started at seven and ended at ten in the evening. She only got breaks for two meals, and all the while the hotel echoed with the activity of Ulf and the others running workshops. There was only silence when they were out walking talking.

In three days she nailed her make up exams but for Japanese. Then it was cramming Japanese thirteen hours a day. At night she was so tired she even forgot to sneak out of her room twice, and even when she slept in Ulf's arms she barely had the energy to enjoy a quick kiss and the feeling of safety when she burrowed her back tightly against his body.

Ryu and Yukio never said anything, and neither did Noriko nor Kyoko when she stole her way back early mornings.

On the verge of breaking down, after over a week's worth of cramming, she finally passed her last exam. That made her by a wide margin the worst freshman in all of Himekaizen. She didn't care one bit. Cramming hell was over and there were still a few days left of summer break.

She woke to the amused snorts of Ko-chan.

When did I crawl back to my room? She stretched, or rather tried to.

"Careful Christina, those are my eyes."

What? She opened her eyes. What! She hadn't. Crawled that is. She lay half naked in Ulf's lap showing lots and lots of leg. He had only made sure to cover her torso. By the window Ryu and Yukio sat watching the courtyard. Christina wasn't fooled for a second. Both boys were too adamantly not looking at her now, so she understood they had taken a good look earlier.

"Gah!"

"The snoring beauty," Ko-chan said.

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Urufu, take this one as well, there's more snot," Ko-chan suggested and handed him a paper wipe.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Ulf wiped her nose. "Sorry, now it's gone."

Christina hurried to cover her legs. "Why is everyone here?"

By the window both boys turned. Yukio gave Ko-chan a guilty look, but she just stuck her tongue out at him.

Ulf bent over her head and caressed her hair. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his fingers in her mind. Feeling his hands massaging her head sent shivers of longing through her, but she quickly sent those thoughts away. She forced her eyes open again. "Ulf, why?"

She felt his thumb gliding along her ear. "Last day. We were planning," he said.

His eyes were large and brown. A deep, warm and caring brown; a little like her favourite chocolate. And she could see how his hair one day would be just as black as other Japanese.

"Why didn't you wake me up? What if Nakagawa finds out, or your guardian?"

Ko-chan snorted again, and she was joined by Noriko. "Do you honestly think Sato-sensei doesn't know already?" the latter said.