Hey, listen to this, Meiko.
It looks like my parents have done it again.
They suddenly started straightening up the house.
And the reason for that was
Miki. Miki.
Hey. Miki
I’m coming
-Thanks so much
-You got it
Hey, are you guys going out?
Oh, I guess we forgot to tell you.
We’re going to a Kabuki show.
A Kabuki show?
Bye, see you later
Hey, wait a second
Isn’t the exchange student arriving today?
Did you forget about that?
Oh, that
Yeah
We trust you completely to deal with him
Besides , I’m certain he’ll feel more comfortable with you
Yuu will be back from work soon to help you out
See you
But how could they

Marmalade Boy
THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT APPEARS
MICHAEL’S … STRANGE

Unforgivable
Unforgivable
Unforgivable
My parents are getting more and more irresponsible
We are hosting an exchange student
I’m sorry, I thought that you knew all about it
I guess that’s one of the disadvantages of a large family
We all assumed someone else had told you
I met Mr. Grant on my business trip to New York
He has a son who’s very interested in learning about our cultures and he’s decided to come to Toryo to study as an exchange student
At our high school ?
So after we discussed, we decided to invite him to stay here at our house
What?
You mean he’s staying here?
You know , it’s bad enough they didn’t tell me anything about it until the day before he was scheduled to get here, but it’s even worse they are going out and won’t even be here when the boy they invited arrives
What could they possibly be thinking?
not much of anything, if you ask me
Yeah. Yeah.
I should know how they are by now, but I can’t help expecting more of them
I feel bad for the exchange student
He has no idea that he’s about to get stuck with a not so perfect host family
An exchange student
Oh, no.
New York means that he’s an American
What do I do, my English is just awful
I’m not sure what am I supposed to say when we meet
“hello ” may say that when you’re answering the phone
Then “hi” I guess
Hi, my name is Koishikawa Miki
That’s not it
That’s Miki Koishikawa
Now this is the first time we’re meeting, so should I ask “how are you?”
No, wait, maybe it should be “how do you do”
I think use “how much ” when you’re shopping
It’s no use
I’ll never be able to get it together enough to talk with an American exchange student
Yuu, please come home soon
May I help you, what if that’s not right
What do I do?
Yuu? Coming.
You're home
I’m so glad
I was waiting for you, our parents are just terrible
What?
Hi
Sorry, I am .. I mean, I am sorry
What do I do
I’m such a total goofball
I mistook you, I mistook you for Yuu
Me?
No, I’m meaning my friend Yuu, but I am not meaning to mean “you”, okay?
You? Me?
Oh, no, what do I do
I think I may be in trouble here
Wait a minute , I leant this a few minutes ago
Hi
Hi.
Hi, my, my name is Miki Koishikawa
Welcome
Did you say Mickey ?
What a coincidence
See, it just so happens that my nickname is Mickey
Maybe you and I were just destined to meet each other
Hi, Miki, my name’s Michael Grant
And I think I’m the luckiest man alive to have ended up in a house with such a pretty girl
Nice to meet you
Wait a minute , are you saying , you can speak Japanese ?
Hey, there’s really no need to be laughing so hard
It hurts my feelings
I’m sorry, but the startled look on your face was really funny
Oh, That’s because I had absolutely no idea you could speak Japanese
You know, you could’ve let me know a lot sooner than you did so that I didn’t have to totally humiliate myself
Oh. Are you humiliated enough to perform hara kiri?
You mean, Hara-kiri?
Killing myself ?
I saw it in a samurai film
I would rather cut open my stomach than die of humiliation
Well, I guess I’ve always been kind of huge fan of all samurai and ninja movies
Oh, I see.
That’s why I studied hard and learnt Japanese
Well. I really hate to tell you this but that’s pretty much in history
Nobody really does that anymore
Oh, is that so?
Forgive me, your highness
Wow, this guy’s weird
Hey, come on, Miki
Why don't we go?
I want you to show me around town
You mean you wanna go now?
Yes, of course, right now.
Hey, Michael , hold on. Wait a minute
What about your stuff
You really can’t just leave it here
Yuu.
This exchange program I’ve talked about is really a great opportunity
A colleague of mine did some research for me, and he reported that St. Andrew’s high school is a quite distinguished institution
Really, is that so?
Yes, and not only that, but the high school is a very short trip right from my office in downtown Manhattan
You should give it a try, there is really no need to hesitate
Do your parents oppose this idea?
No, that isn’t it , sir.
I see, he must be worried about Miki.
There’s no doubt she would be lonesome if he left Japan and moved all the way to America
You know, it really isn’t much different from America
Are you disappointed ?
Oh, no way
I’ve been dreaming about coming to Japan for as long as I can remember
Truth is I’m anything but disappointed
He’s got a nice smile
What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?
No, not at all.
Good, hey, Miki
I wanna see some karate
Karate?
Karate.. I hadn’t even thought about seeing that
That sushi bar was great
I’ve never seen anything like that before
We don't have those , I mean the rotating sushi bars
Oh. We call it Kaiten Zushi here.
Kaiten Zushi?
Well, if you really like it that much, then I’ll see about going there to eat with my parents and Yuu sometime this week
Yuu?
Who is this Yuu guy?
Wait a second , is he your boyfriend or something ?
No, it’s nothing like that
There’s just no way I can tell him the truth about us now, I can’t risk our parents finding out
I see.
He’s not, huh?
I’m glad.
Huh?
Well, I was kind of surprised at first because when you said Yuu at the front door, I thought you meant me
“What a passionate girl “ is what I was really thinking.
Oh, no, you see, Yuu is family
We’re about the same age, and we go to the same school
Youji and Chiyako are his parents
I suppose you could say that he’s more like my brother than anything else
Aha.
Something wrong?
No, not at all. My dad told me about your family situation before I left
After meeting another couple on vacation , your parents got divorced, switched partners with that couple and then got remarried to the other spouse
Uh-huh
My dad also told me that all six of you live together in that house, is that right?
Weird , isn’t it?
No, it’s great
You think so?
Divorce’s become pretty common in America, and the ones who suffer the most because of it are the children who get caught in the middle
But your family is different
You still get to live in the same house with your real parents
Don't you realize , it’s such a new age idea
new age idea
sure. It means that despite your parents’ problem , they still manage to trust each other.
You’re lucky to have such amazing patents.
I think they are terrific
Yeah, they have my total respect
Okay, you’re really beginning to embarrassing us now
But I mean it, I really respect the four of you
Do you, now?
Yeah, I think this is a bold new idea.
It’s not really a big deal, seriously
I’ve gotta admit, I kind of like the whole idea by doing what we did , we may be the first family of the future, isn’t that exciting?
Oh, brother. He’s praising them way too much
They’re just gonna carried away with themselves
Yeah, really , and they don't even realize the kind of trouble it causes us whenever they do that.
I really like you, Michael and I want you to feel comfortable and make yourself right at home here, okay?
If you have any questions or you just want to talk, come to us anytime
Thanks
Well then Michael I guess I should give your father a call, and let him know you’ve got here okay.
Thank you very much sir
Hey, Michael
Tell me, what’s your favorite dish?
It will be my pleasure to make you whatever you like
Really? My favorite huh?
Hey, Michael
One thing, you really shouldn't expect too much
You see, my mother has become pretty infamous around here for her bad cooking
Oh, Miki
Don't mind her, she’s just joking
Oh, by the way, Michael told me he wants to go out for Kaiten Zushi tonight
Do you really?
Yes. I’ve never seen a rotating sushi bar before
rotating sushi bar
give it a try, this exchange program is a great opportunity
Miki
What? Yuu.
I, uh…
All right, guys , let’s go
Yuu, stop daydreaming, and let’s get going
We’re leaving now
Oh. Okay
Miki.
I’m psyched to try the rotating sushi bar
It’s gonna be so great
I’m glad, Michael
Of course, It may not taste all that good, you know
That’s fine, I don't really care
I just wanna see the sushi circling around the bar
This guy’s like a little kid excited about Christmas
Wow, that’s amazing , I can’t believe he just said that to me
It’s weird, my big brother always uses that line
Yeah?
He tells me that all the time
Bunk beds are so cool
They seem like there are a lot of fun
This is from when I started high school
Hey, I wanna see too
My mom made me bring this picture
This is my big brother Brain, see
Tall, huh?
He’s always been that way
He’s a basketball star, which makes him a pretty popular guy
So tell me, what’s St. Andrew’s high school like? I’ll bet it’s really cool
Well, it’s a very free-spirited school
All of our teachers encourage us to be self-reliance, independent thinkers
The campus is enormous
And the park next to my dormitory is filled with birds and squirrels
Beyond the park is the Hudson River
Oh, and I really shouldn't forget to mention, I’ve got an incredible view of Manhattan from my dorm
It must be beautiful
Oh, it’s much more than that, especially at night, just imagine , millions of bright lights, the shiny stars and the buildings create an almost magical world
How romantic
You’ll have to come and visit me someday
I’ll give you a first class personal tour
Sure I will, I’ll definitely come
Then, that’s a promise
What’s that?
Back home you do this whenever you make a solemn promise
It’s kid stuff, but it’s fun
Wow, how interesting
You do it
You, now take the solemn oath
You swear?
We swear
I feel like Michael’s my little brother
Although
I can’t spend as much time with Yuu now, since Michael’s staying in his room
Okay, the oath has been sworn, it’s official
Well, it’s time for bed
I have to get up early for tennis practice
Have a good night, Miki

Geeze, this is getting annoying
our exchange student is really quite demanding
don't get me wrong, I’m glad he gets along with everyone , but he relies on me for almost everything
it’s becoming more and more difficult to talk to Yuu alone
and he seems so preoccupied lately , it’s really worrying me.

Marmalade Boy
LOVE TRIANGLE
SOMEONE’S MESSING THINGS UP.