All her life, Mieko Miyamoto has struggled to be the perfect student, daughter, and athlete. She has sacrificed her childhood to please her teachers, tutors, parents, and coaches only receiving a rare "good job" in return, and never hearing the words "I love you" from any of them. Jack Patrick, an American kid growing up in the somewhat xenophobic culture of Japan, just wants to get by. He knows he will never fit in and just hopes to get through high school without attracting unwanted attention. Finding in this outsider, a love and acceptance she didn't know was possible, Mieko casts aside the expectations of both her parents and society, sacrificing her future for the present passions she finds in Jack. Though everyone she knows seems determined to pull them apart, Mieko focuses her unyielding discipline and determination into being with Jack... ....even if it might kill her. This is Mieko's story about how they met.