Milani Jensen's Story

"No, no this can't happen. Not now...." I shut her eyes and whispered tearfully, "Not ever."

Two months earlier

It was a cold winter day in Greenwich, England when I decided to apply for an exchange program in Australia. I had never travelled overseas before so the opportunity to live at a private boarding school in Sydney sounded like an amazing adventure. I should probably introduce myself before going on with my somewhat sad life story. My name is Milani Jensen and I am 17 yrs old; I spent most of my childhood sitting in my room singing and playing guitar. While all the girls in my class went to London shopping on the weekends, I would read books in the park or write music. The girls with their long blonde hair and blue eyes were always looking stylish wearing the newest fashion whereas I, with my long, wavy brown hair and hazel eyes, always dressed simple usually in jeans and a t-shirt plus a coat. You could say I'm a bit of a loner; never really fitted in.

A month after applying for the position in the exchange program, I received a reply.....I got in! The letter said among other things that I would begin my school year on the 1st of Feb with a full scholarship. The scholarship came as a surprise. I only had two months until it was time to go. The thought of leaving home terrified me yet also thrilled me. What I didn't know at that time was that this trip would in fact save my life.

When the day finally came, Mum stood in the airport terminal and practically begged me to stay, "Do you really have to go? We will miss you terribly."

"And I will miss you both too, but I have to do this. I couldn't possibly stay here all my life, I have to get out there and explore the world," I replied gently, hoping she would give up and just say goodbye already, no such luck.

"Oh but you could always go as a gap year. I don't see why you have to go now. You may not like it there anyway."

I sighed, "No, I have the opportunity to go now and I have already made the decision to take it. I'm sure I'll love there."

After half an hour of trying to remind her of why she said I could move in the first place, Dad spoke up, "You are going to miss your plane if you don't get a move on."

I looked at my watch and pulled my ticket out of my handbag. "I'm going to miss you both so much. I'll call you as soon as I get there," I hugged them both, "I love you".

They answered simultaneously, "I love you too." I couldn't help but smile.

Two days later

I arrived in Sydney a couple of days before school was open for the year so I stayed at a beautiful motel in the middle of the city. I spent the next two days shopping and sightseeing. I have to admit I was kind of scared at being alone in a foreign city but I lived to tell the story.

When I first saw the school, I was amazed at how stunning it was. The school, St Andrew's Anglican School, was situated overlooking the beach. There were students everywhere, some playing soccer, some taking their bags up to their dorms, and others doing who knows what. I found the dorm I was assigned to and started looking for my room. That's when I first met him, Joshua King. Neither of us were looking where we were going and crashed straight into each other, knocking us to the ground. My suitcase fell open and the content spread across the hallway. He stood up and ran his hands through his short blonde hair.

"Sorry, are you ok? He started to pick up some of my clothes and put them back in the bag.

"I'm fine, you?"

"I'm cool."

He held up a pair of my knickers (red with blackpolka dots, not that anyone needs to know that) and said teasingly, "Nice undies."