Mr. DeMartino's class

Principal Li walks in with a new student. "Mr. DeMartino and class, we have a new exchange student today from Japan. Her name is Ayako Nissano."
As Principal Li exits the classroom, Mr. DeMartino asks, "Does anyone know any recent history about Japan?"
"Isn't that where they threw out that guy Suharto?" Kevin asked.
"No Kevin," Mr. DeMartino replies with a bloodshot eyeball bulging out, "that was Indonesia. But don't worry, there are no stupid answers, only stupid people."
Ayako looked around the room not knowing why the teacher had not pointed out a place for her to sit. Jane tapped an empty seat next to her and she humbly sat down.

In the hall during break

Jane and Ayako were talking. "Don't worry, Daria and I will take care of you," Jane was saying.
"Take care of me?" she asked confused.
"Oh, yeah, an American High School is like prison. If you aren't like Daria, whose eyes can assume a dead look and people don't know how far you will go if provoked, then you have to be in some group for your own protection."
"You mean someone wants to hurt me," she asked on the verge of panic.
Seeing that her joke was misunderstood in the cross-cultural exchange, Jane had the presence of mind to say that she only wanted to make sure that no one gave her trouble.
"Where are you going to next?" asked Daria.
"O'Neill San - I mean Mr. O'Neill's class." she replied.
"Goodie, goodie," Daria said as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
Ayako did not understand the two newly acquired friends that she had made but there was something in them that she respected as opposed to most of the other gaijin she had met today and been taught all of her life that she was superior to.
Mr. O'Neill was lecturing on the analect by Confucius, who he had spent the whole night memorizing the main part of Cliff's Notes to. "I would first like to recognize our new student," he said. "I am so glad to see that we have a person from the world that today's lesson applies to…. so in conclusion, Confucius saw that if one highly esteemed there teacher, social harmony could be obtained."
Ayako tuned Mr. O'Neill out after the first couple sentences. This was something that she had heard a thousand times in her native land. What was disturbing her was the buffoon image Daria was drawing of Mr. O'Neill.

Lunch time

Jane and Daria sat at their usual table. They had lost contact with Ayako after O'Neill's class. Then they saw her approaching with Andrea.
"Wow," said Jane. "She has better social skills than I thought. Daria, do whatever it takes to keep her from being drafted by the Fashion Club."
"Can we sit down?" Ayako asked.
"Yes, here you don't need a renewed invitation," replied Daria.
"This is Andrea-," she began.
"Yes, we know," said Daria.
Two tables down, the Fashion Club was deliberating on whether to extend membership to a new member.
"As long as she doesn't embarrass us by bowing down to that fat laughing man's statue in restaurant-" Sandi stopped after seeing Tiffany's expression.
"Sorry," she replied meekly and said no more, not wanting to dig a hole deeper.
Back at Daria's table Ayako was asked if she would like to go out for pizza, and she said yes.

At the pizza place

Ayako ran out almost in tears after the third jibe about the school administration by Daria.
"What have I done now?" she asked cupping her forehead in her right hand.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it," said Andrea walking out.

At Ayako's host's home

Ayako burst into the house and ran up to her room prostrating herself before her ancestral shrine. She prayed to the Kami (Shinto gods) for the congruity between the dogma demanded for the esteem of teachers and the god of cynicism that her new friends who she seemed to respect so much adhered to.
"Ayako," Mrs. Palmer called from downstairs. "There is someone here to see you.
She looked up to see Andrea walk into the room carrying a magazine.
"Look, I know that things are hard for you and that Jane and Daria are not making things any easier for you, but their intentions are noble."
Andrea sat down on the floor and showed her an article that Daria had written. It then began to dawn on her what Daria was about.
"You understand the editor of the magazine did not understand Daria's point that adults are making money off of teenage fashion and turning out a generation of shallow unthinking drones. The teachers are encouraging this. Your people are also imbibing shallow fashion as their Chinese neighbor's imbibed opium!"
With these last words, Ayako saw that her prayers had been answered.

The next day at school

"Look whose coming," said Jane.
Daria shifted from one leg to the other uneasily.
"I am so honored to have you as my friend," Ayako said. "You do the world a great service."
"What did Andrea tell you?" Daria began but before Ayako answered
Jane said, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
The three walked down the hall to class.