Hannah

Hannah stepped off of the bus in Fawndale in a slightly confused state. She was supposed to be a "senior" in an American high school for a semester according to her Au Pair program, but some error in the admissions process had caused her to arrive a month early during the summer break. She was also supposed to start her "Freshman" year in the local medical college at the end of the year, which was her true purpose. Her advisor suggested a semester in the American high school system to acclimate to the culture and give her some shared experiences so that making friends and contacts would be easier. The only thing she knew for certain was that during her interim period she was to be indentured to the "Fawndale Elderly Transition Center" to qualify for college credits.

Hannah quite liked that prospect. She was taught that Americans were quite lonely in their later stages of life, and hoped that her experiences as what Americans would call a "junior" in Germany's elder care facilities would serve her well. Her mother had volunteered her services with a refugee relocation program, and Hannah had "assisted" them in acclimating to a new life in Europe. Hannah had found it distastful at first; but quickly realized that their attentions were mostly harmless. Mostly.

"You must be Hannah!" an excited young woman said. She turned to face the girl, with whose family she was to stay with during her time here. She was redheaded and quite a bit shorter than herself. Cordially, she nodded in affirmation.

"Ja, ich bin...I am Hannah." she said with a sheepish grin.

"I'm Emily! I'm SO glad to MEET you!" the tiny ginger relayed. She smiled, but inwardly hoped that the stereotype of Americans being overly friendly wasn't going to be true for everyone she met. Still, the tiny redhead's enthusiasm at meeting her was contagious, and she soon found herself swept up in the girl's enthusiasm.

"Oh, you are just going to LOVE it here!" the girl said as Hannah found herself being led away from the bus. "We've got a roller rink, and a new LASER TAG arena just opened!" Hannah chuckled and nodded, not knowing what any of that meant.

"But before we get to any of that, I guess we'd better get to work. "

"Oh?" Hannah replied. Work was something she instinctively took to.

"Yeah, at the "old folk's home." Hannah faintly grinned. She was quite adept at elder care from her time volunteering in Germany, and was glad that could see just how they did things in America. It was what had attracted her to this place. From her research, Fawndale boasted the highest scores in all of New England of patient satisfaction and quality of life. She hoped to take what she learned back to Bavaria.

She wasn't sure that the prudish New Englanders would accept her "European" ways, but was quite eager to find out. Emily assisted her with her luggage, and showed the tall girl to her car. Hannah laughed at the enormous S.U.V, but had to admit she could stretch her legs better than in the cramped family car her family had owned. Emily turned on the radio and selected a "pop" music channel. As they pulled away from the bus stop, Hannah breathed in the warm, summer air and took in the beautiful scenery of Fawndale.

"So, what brought you to New England?" Emily asked. Hannah paused for a second. It was typical small-talk, but she couldn't help be glad tan helped hide her blush.