“And class, this is our new transfer student, Vasiliki Anastasopoulou,” the teacher announced, gesturing to a girl with chestnut hair and jade eyes.

“She’s from Greece, so she doesn’t really know the ropes,” the teacher said.

Go on, make me look even more vulnerable! It’s not enough I have a name half of these kids can’t pronounce, Vasiliki thought.

“Go on, take a seat.”

So she did. Vasiliki sat at a desk, and several people turned in direction.

“Oh, my, gosh! I didn’t know Greece existed!” a girl said, and Vasiliki just stopped herself from making her eyes widen and jaw drop.

“What does your name mean?” a guy asked, “I’ve never heard of something like it.”

“It comes from vasilikos, which means king, royalty, or basil,” Vasiliki answered, feeling slightly unnerved.

“Cool! So, what do you speak in Greece?”

“Uh…Greek?”

“Really?! I thought it had died out in, like, ancient times.”

Oh, this is going to be a long year…