3rd Person's POV

Ysabelle's class was immersed into conversations as they waited for their next instructor. It was only past one in the afternoon.

Usually, at this time, most of the classrooms in their floor are quiet because of the lectures.

"Hen. Aiko-san wa kyō kesseki shite imasu ka? (Strange. Is Miss Aiko absent today?)" Hanami asked their classmate, Seiji, who was sitting in front of us.

Seiji shook his head and rested his chin above his clenched fist to close his eyes. Obviously, he is sleepy today. Well, almost everyday.

"Sumimasen. Kore wa HRM - A 2desu ka? (Excuse me. Is this HRM-A2?)" Hanako Fujihara from HRM A3 asked as she knocked on our door to get our attention.

"Yes." Hanami said in behalf of them.

"Koko ni kōkan ryūgakusei ga iru baai wa, kōdō de 10-bu de puroguramu ga arimasu. Sore wa yōkendesu— (If there are exchange students here, there is a program in ten minutes at the auditorium. It's a requirement—)", Hanako said but was cut off by the speakers. Ysabelle looked at her and nodded. Making sure that they have heard her, she left the room.

"Chūi: Shakai kagaku-bu no kōkan ryūgakusei wa zen'in, SSD biru 3-kai no Yokohama kōdō de zemi o okonaimasu. Seminā wa chōdo 2: 00 Ni hajimarimasu. Shusseki wa hissudesu. (Attention: All Exchange Students from Social Sciences Department will be having their seminar at the Yokohama Auditorium at the 3rd floor of SSD Building. The seminar will begin at exactly 2:00. Attendance is a must.)" The announcement blared from the speakers inside the classrooms.

Just in time, Miss Aiko entered the classroom.

"Koko ni kōkan ryūgakusei wa imasu ka? (Are there any exchange students here? )" Miss Aiko asked as she placed her laptop on the podium.

Ysabelle and two other students raised our hands and Miss Aiko  nodded. The former began fixing her  things and placing them inside her bag.

"Anata ga iku kamo shiremasen. Anata no yūjin wa anata ga kyō nogasu mono o anata ni shirasemasu. Shinpaishinaidekudasai, kyō wa kuizu o shimasen. Minasan, sumimasen. (You may go. Your friends will inform you of what you will miss out today. Don't worry, I won't be giving quizzes today. You, guys, are excused.)" Miss Aiko said and Ysabelle began to stand up as well as the other two students.

"Rakkīgāru. (Lucky girl.)" Ysabelle heard Hanami mumbled and she  suppressed a giggle before she gave her a wink.

With her bag on her grasp, Ysabelle was the last of the three of them to leave the room. They began the conversation as they treaded down the hallway to the auditorium.

Ysabelle learned that Melissa Blomstrom is from Sweden and Lakshmi Singh is from India. The three girls instantly got along well and it amazes her how they didn't have the chance to hang out.

As soon as they entered the auditorium, around fifty to sixty exchange students were there already. A line was formed at the registration area as they get their seminar kits and took their seats inside.

The three ladies ambled to an almost empty line and signed themselves up. They were also given our seminar kits and together, they chose to sit at the back.

"Kon'nichiwa, gakusei-tachi. Soshite, gakusei kōkan puroguramu ni tōroku shita hito o taishō to shita hantoshi-goto no seminā e yōkoso! (Good afternoon, students. And welcome to our semi-annual seminar intended for those who have enrolled in the Student Exchange Program!)" An administrative staff greeted the flock of students as the room began to quiet down.

"To begin our program, we will have an ice breaker! Oh, by the way, I am Stella Humphries your Departmental Guidance Associate." Miss Stella said to us with a smile.

Miss Stella is a young and beautiful lady with a hint of foreign blood in her complexion. She is a morena with small eyes and thin lips.

"If you guys are wondering, I, myself, is a half-Filipina and half-European." Miss Stella supplied their curiosity with an answer and then shifted to her bubbly personality, "Yoshi, min'na! 5-Ri no gurūpu o sagashi ni iki, anata-tachi ga kotonaru kokusekidearu koto o kakuninshitekudasai! (Alright, everyone! Go look for groups of five and make sure that you guys are of different nationalities!)"

Being polite and obedient students, all of them stood up and went to look for more members. Soon, they  met Chao-Xing Wang from China and Nikolaus Kurtis from Germany.

They had their icebreaker for about ten minutes and found themselves laughing and having fun. Since then, their group never went back to their  seats. They chose to sit beside each other.

With Chao-Xing, Lakshmi, Melissa, Ysabelle and Nikolaus seated in that order, anyone could mistake them as  longtime friends. They have indeed became inseparable.

The first topic began and it tackles about their individualities. It was that moment when Ysabelle began tracing her roots.

When they were tasked to draw something that represents their bond as a family, Ysabelle was quick to draw movies as they enjoy watching them on Netflix or on tapes. When they were asked to pull out their family picture, everyone had a copy on their phones on how their mothers held them while they were babies at the hospital and during their growing up years.

Ysabelle has a copy of that but none at the hospital. It was funny that all of them were able to save a copy of their baby pictures on their cellphones or on their social media accounts.

For awhile, it doesn't bothered Ysabelle. Until, moments after, somebody commented about her looks during sharing.

"Izaberu, nani? Watashi wa anata o Fumika no musume to machigae-sō ni narimashita. Anata wa kanojo to onaji-me o shite imasu! Hyōjō mo! (You know, what, Ysabelle? I almost mistook you as Fumika's daughter. You have the same eyes as her! Even the facial expressions!)"  The girl with pink hair remarked as she stared at Ysabelle's features.

Ysabelle remembered how Hanami's mom commented the same thing to her during Winter Break at their home.

"You do look like her, Ysa." Nikolaus added giving her a scrutinizing stare.

Ysabelle didn't know what to react so she just gave them a smile.

"Uwa ̄ , anata-tachi wa hontōni saishin no nyūsu de kōshin sa rete imasu, ha~a~tsu! (Wow, you guys are really updated with the latest news, huh!)" Ysabelle joked which earned a laugh from Lakshmi and Melissa.

"Kiita koto ga arimasen ka? Kanojo to kanojo no otto wa karera no nagaiai yukue fumei no musume o sagashite imashita, soshite kanojo o mitsukeru koto ga dekiru hitobito ni hōshū o ataeru koto sae arimasu! (Haven't you heard? She and her husband have been looking for their long-lost daughter and even will grant a reward to those who can find her!)" Melissa butted in.

"Wow! Whoever will find her must be really lucky!" Lakshmi said shaking her head.

"Okay, everyone! Gather around! Let's move on to the next topic after a short twenty minute break! Foods are at the registration area. So, get your share!" Miss Stella announced and after a few minutes, everyone has their snacks with them.

I excused myself to the restroom and while I was at the hallway, someone was about to go out of the conference room on my right.

For some reason, I again bumped into whoever he was.

"Gomen! Watashi ga saisho ni mirubekidatta! (Sorry! I should have looked first!)" A deep male voice apologized and helped me up. Our eyes met and my heart gave a thump.

"Ā, daijōbudesu. Watashi mo warukatta.(Ah, it's fine. I'm sorry, too.)" I answered in a small voice.

As he helped me up, I managed to look at his nametag on his white doctor's coat.

Matsumoto, A.
Neurosurgeon

We pulled our hands and awkwardly looked at each other.

"Otetsudai arigatō. Hajimemasu. (Thank you for the help. I'll get going.)" It was me who broke the silence and smiled before walking past him to the restroom.

I slowly turned around and there he still was at the same spot where I bumped into him. He appeared in daze, maybe from stress, so I decided to ignore him and continue the rest of the day.