Robin Francois's Story

The thirteen hour flight was admittedly not as pleasant as she hoped it to be. Nobuko has made several trips abroad for various purposes before (all funded by financial aid, of course), however none had been as turbulent. She found herself clenching her teeth and gripping the armrests more often than she would have liked. Not even the drama film that played during the flight could alleviate much of her anxiety, let alone her boredom. She did, however, get some review in for the placement test the university was to give her when she starts going. That's a plus. But like all flights, what the young lady looked forward to the most was the destination. This was no exception.

After another half hour of riding the train, the group had finally arrived at the house. It was townhouse-like building, and inside waited six bedrooms- three on each floors, two office rooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, and an empty lobby. The four of them stood for awhile, soaking in the reality of their situation. They actually did it. She looked to all of her friends an smiled. "Well, here we are." She didn't feel like owning up to a huge mushy speech, only gasping out, "What are we waiting for?"

Nobuko gripped her luggages and started for the door. She saw the van of their new moving company come in with everyone's things, then went inside the house. She chose the far-left room of the first floor, put in her luggage and went out to help with the boxes.

"Alright. Now that we'll be living together, All of you should help sort the belongings! And don't fight about rooms later!" Satoshi told the rest. Even if they didn't do anything yet, even if they wouldn't have done it, he had to make sure they would behave. He went outside to help with the luggage.

That was it. Satoshi became an adult. He left the nest and went off as an independent person. Finding a job was something he would do soon. He was about to take responsibility and achieve goals as a grown up person. He would do that along with three of his closest friends.

One more violent shake managed to knock Robin awake. The plane had touched down after a long flight, and Robin was left with a burst of energy. He checked his carry-on luggage to find that it was never disturbed. Good thing too; his laptop was being stored there.

The trip from the airport was uneventful. Robin toted his two duffel bags and carry-on luggage over his shoulders. By the time they arrived at the house, his shoulders were burning. As he had hoped, the two boxes containing the parts for his PC were sitting along with the other mailed luggage everyone else sent.

Robin climbed up the stairs and found a relatively small bedroom at the farthest end. He dropped his stuff off in his room to set everything up later. The only things he did unpack were the items in his carry-on luggage: toiletries, his laptop, and the letter of acceptance to the University. Robin knew Nobuko was going to the same place, albeit in a different course, but having a friend already there was encouraging at the very least.

Robin brought the laptop downstairs, and he lounged onto one of the sofas in the living room. He continued the work he had saved before dozing off aboard the plane. It appeared to be some kind of 2D fighting game with two characters. Though he was silent while working, he was absolutely pumped for this new life for everyone. His fingers danced across the keyboard with astounding energy.

Ayana felt great. She'd had a decent nap, and she'd managed to finish the newest issue of Foreign Affairs. Once the flight had landed, she grabbed her carry-on backpack and headed to the terminal. The rest of her stuff was packed in a large, checked-in (and rather green) suitcase. Ayana wasn't a big fan of packing, so she mainly traveled light.

During the ride from the airport, Ayana quickly checked her social media (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) before browsing through the BBC's homepage. She toyed with updating her status and posting a few photos, but she decided against it. There would be time later.

"I call the middle!" It wasn't the biggest room, but it had the biggest window. The view was actually pretty nice. As she looked out the window, it finally hit her. She was in a different country. On her own. Ayana grinned. This was going to be awesome. After tossing her stuff on the bed, she headed back downstairs. Ayana hesitated, but she decided to help Nobuko and Satoshi bring in the boxes.

"How was the flight?" she asked the two as they brought in the boxes. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Robin in the sofa. "Hey! Robin, what're you doing? Aren't you gonna help?"

“Hey! Robin, what’re you doing? Aren’t you gonna help?”

Robin flinched as he was pulled out of the coding zone. He didn’t realise that the others might have needed some help. “Ah, sorry!” Robin called as he closed his laptop and left it on the sofa. He brought so few boxes relatively that he had already gotten his stuff in his room. Robin jogged out the door and passed Satoshi as the latter was carrying a box. The moving van’s driver was moving boxes out of the truck container for easy access, so Robin picked up a box and made his way back to the house. He placed the box in an out-of-the-way area in the living room for everyone to sort through later. Robin planned to repeat this until every box was brought inside.