Chapter 1 - page 1

An exchange student? I thought about it, and it couldn't be so bad. My dad saw the flashy advertisement for it at a school-sanctioned bake sale and told me I could do with some culture... And some friends. Not that I was a loner! Maybe I wasn't the biggest social butterfly, but I had plenty of friends from plenty of cliques, but he never met them.

So there I was, filling out the permission form at the office desk. The students coming here lived in Alesund, Norway - Tacoma's sister city, apparently. Fifty boys and twenty girls were signed up to come over, so it was pretty likely to be a guy coming to stay with me and my dad. I didn't think it was a big deal either way, but we were expected to show the exchangers our culture, and I definitely saw the appeal of having a pretty Norwegian girl out on the town with me... Oh well. It was useless to get my hopes up, however nice it was to think about. Guys were more likely to appreciate my video game collection anyway. I brought my form in to the counselor and he processed it like a bank machine, hands moving mechanically to put my form in an envelope, stamp it, and put it in a tray before handing me an envelope of his own.

"Here's your student," he said in a bored monotone. "Everybody is matched randomly and you can't switch. Be sure to make accommodations for him or her before he or she arrives. Next, please."

I thanked him and left his office. I tore the envelope open and looked at the document inside. There were no pictures, but a line clearly labeled "student" bore a name in compact hand-writing: Alice Odegard. I smiled a mischievous young man's smile.

It was another month and a half before the exchangers actually arrived. Me, my dad, and a bunch of other families were waiting in the Tacoma airport parking lot in front of our bus convoy. Some were holding a banner that said "Welcome Alesund students!" and "Velkomma Alesund studenter!" one above the other - but being the guy I was, I chose against taking part in it. The Norwegian students started emerging from the airport, made apparent by their being almost entirely blonde and tall, and more so after they collectively spotted the banner and cheered. There were some really cute girls in the crowd, ranging from pretty to supermodel, and one in particular stood out to me: one of the taller girls, taller than me; she had a little belly that jiggled with every step and boobs that were clearly oozing out of her bra under her tight white shirt. Her hips and butt tapered dramatically, giving her an exaggerated flower-vase shape. She looked like an Alice to me... I perked up when she looked over to me. God, that body... I was an fat admirer for sure, and I was definitely admiring her. She winked and started walking over to us, thighs rubbing together nearly to her knees.

"Hello," she chimed in an angel's voice. My knees shook as her little double chin moved. "Are you looking for Emilie Fredrikson?"

My heart sank right out of my throat. "Oh... No," I said, sobered by my disappointment. "We're waiting for Alice. Alice Odegard?"

"Oh, Kyllinglår," she replied. "She is... Ah! Right there."

Emilie pointed to a skinny girl at least a head shorter than me standing near the back of the crowd, rooted to the spot and glancing around tentatively. Emilie started strutting away and gave me and my dad a spectacular view of her rear before disappearing into the mingling people. I started towards Alice and she stared at me as I approached. Her eyes were deep blue, her hair was nearly waist length and bright blonde, and she wore denim short shorts with a long dark shirt. Her face was pretty, but she was really thin.

"Alice?" I called out to her to confirm what Emilie told me.

"Maxwell?" she answered.

"Hi! Velkommen til mitt land!" I said, hoping to impress her by speaking a bit of Norwegian. It meant "welcome to my country".

"Oh!" She smiled broadly. "Få folk snakker norsk i Amerika! Så hensynsfull av deg å lære!"

"Uh" was my response. It was all I could manage until she started laughing.

"Don't worry, I speak your English," she giggled. "I study it before I come here. Of course I don't expect you to understand the Norwegian, so don't worry! I should not have laughed at you."

"Oh," I said, relieved a little. "Don't worry about laughing, I deserve it for falling for your joke."

"I'm Maxwell's father," my dad interjected, holding out a hand. She took it and pirouetted while he shook, making an awkward little dance we all laughed at. After they broke it off, Alice burst into a huge yawn and stretched, pulling her shirt above her shorts' waistband. Her stomach was almost completely free of fat.

"My, but I am so tired after the plane ride," she said apologetically. "I have the jet lag. I just want to sleep... My American bed is comfy, ya?"

"I think we have to go to the school and get processed," I said.

"But I am so tired," she repeated, "I could fall over any moment!"

My dad winked at me.

"I can take care of it," he said, pulling out his wallet. "You two can take a cab and I'll bus back to the school to tell them you're both still alive, deal?"

He handed me a fifty for cab fare. "Deal," I echoed. Alice did the same through another yawn.