[ONIZUKA MIDDLE SCHOOL]

By this time, many students are likely trudging through the wind and snow on their way home, but there's one kid in particular who stands out from the crowd. A brown-haired boy wearing a black jacket and a dark-green scarf, clearly not native to Japan, meanders through the bustling students as he approaches Onizuka. This is Eli Matthews, who recently moved to Academy City from the USA with his parents, and he's supposed to apply for a transfer into this school today. Unfortunately, he may be a bit too late, now that classes have all been let out. He looks around near the main entrance to the school, trying to spot someone that wasn't in too great a hurry and who might understand his terribly-broken Japanese (or English, if he's really lucky)...