Scott and the new girl

[x-kaminari.livejournal.com]

Scott goes to pick up Noriko, but things don't go quite as well as one could hope...



She was doing rather well, Noriko thought blearily to herself. She hadn't stumbled down the ramp, had managed the customs thing with only minimal help from the guy standing behind her in line and, with the luggage rack to support her, was moving in a mostly straight line down the hallway. Now she just had to figure out who the hell was supposed to be meeting her.

Still limping heavily, Scott moved around a chattering group of what looked like Girl Scouts, scanning the crowd for the face from the picture Charles had shown him. The airport was crowded - not surprising, at this time of year, and one girl was not easily spotted.

She'd made it into the receiving area, but there were too many people and the room was starting to spin. Perhaps that last drink had been a bad idea... Noriko folded her arms across the top of her suitcase and rested her head against it, not caring that she was taking up space in the middle of traffic.

Ah-hah. Although why she was holding up traffic in the middle of the hallway, Scott wasn't sure. He made his way through the crowd towards her, frowning at her bedraggled state. "Noriko?" he asked.

Hearing her name, the girl looked up, casting about until she spotted the man moving towards her. "I name Noriko!" she said, smiling blearily as he got in range.

Okay then. Clearly they were dealing with a limited grasp of English here. "Mr. Summers," he said, indicating himself. "From the school." He extended a hand towards her suitcase, inquisitively.

Straightening up, Noriko reached out and limply offered her hand back, letting go again within seconds and then bowing hurriedly. Unfortunately, this seemed to be a bad idea. Straightening back up, Nori swayed slightly where she stood, her cheeks taking on a worrying green shade.

"Noriko? Are you all right?" Airsickness, maybe? Scott took a step towards her - and frowned as he smelled alcohol.

Noriko couldn't concentrate enough to even try to make out the meaning of the words, but the tone came across. She opened her mouth to try and answer, although who knew what she'd have said had her stomach not decided that, really, there had just been too much abuse today. Bending over, she proceeded to be sick all over the headmaster's shoes.

Scott managed not to wince. "All right, kiddo," he said, dispensing with the attempt to stick to simple English; tone was universal. He reached out and helped her straight up, reaching for her suitcase with the other hand. "Time to go."

"Gomen," she muttered, leaning into his steadying arm. "Hontou ni, gomenasai... Kimoii..." This last coming out as more of a exhalation than actual words.

Scott wished he spoke Japanese. Should have brought Shiro with me - why didn't I think of that? "Once we can talk properly, I clearly need to have a chat with you about school rules when it comes to alcohol." Why would the flight attendants have let a girl this age drink this much?

Tone was universal, and if Nori was feeling better she'd have bristled at the implied Voice of Authority. As it was, she simply groaned and wished she were home.

Scott had to admit, this was a first. There had been some weird pick-ups in his time, but this was the first new student to have actually thrown up on him. "We'll get you back to the school," he said, steering her in the direction of the nearest exit, "and into some clean clothes... you'll feel better once you've slept this off."

Suddenly, Noriko stopped in her tracks, staring at the sign for a toilet. "Ettou, chotto... Tearai ni itte mo ii?"

"I'll be right out here. With your bags," Scott said, keeping a firm grip on her suitcase. Single entrance and exit to the washroom, so it was likely she wasn't planning a runner... not that she looked to be physically capable of running.

Mustering the only English she could think of with her head as out of wack as it was, she muttered, "Sankuu," at him as she turned down the hall, weaving slightly as she walked.

In about five minutes she was back, not necessarily looking any better, but she'd clearly washed her face and was feeling a bit more together.

Scott supposed he should be relieved. He'd hate for the girl's new classmates to notice her stumbling in drunk on her first day "All right," he said more briskly. "Come on."

Thankfully, while his air might be brisk, his step was not significantly so and Nori was able to keep up without too much effort.

They got out to the car with no further mishaps, although Scott was glad that he'd brought one of the cars out of the pool, rather than his Solstice. Smiling slightly, he put Noriko's bags into the trunk and opened the passenger's side door for her.

Noriko hadn't even been paying attention, and so was leaning against the driver's side door as Scott put the bags away and, when he opened the other door, she opened the one she was standing by, then blinked. The steering wheel was on the wrong side.

Ah. Whoops. "This side," Scott said firmly, gesturing to the open door. You are definitely not getting anywhere near the steering wheel.

Looking up as he spoke, Nori smiled a real smile for the first time since Scott had met her. "Hontou ni gyaku, deshou?" Closing the driver's door she made her away around to the other side, a hand on the car helping keep her balance.

Really, even some traveller's Japanese would be helpful here, Scott thought a bit wistfully, closing the door as she got in, and then limping over to the driver's side of the card.

"It won't take us too long to get to the school," he said, opting for a reassuring tone.

Noriko leaned her head back as he started up the car. "Tsukareta... anou... is tireding."

"Long flight," Scott said. If they'd had a language in common, this was where he might have asked her why she'd apparently picked the braincell-killing method of killing flight time.

But that was something they definitely lacked, and so the answer to his questions would have to wait...