NOVEL NEXT Chapter 84: Now, to School
Chapter 84: Now, to School
“Wait, is that cute girl a student here?”
“She’s an elementary school student, right? Why is she wearing our school uniform?”
“But she’s so cute…”
Ah.
Despite being used to being the center of attention at Clan-Klan, when the strange looks and stares focused on me in real life, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
And that feeling only increased when it came to my own school, where I was attending with a certain inertia. The fact that the source of the looks were my fellow classmates, unlike at Clan-Klan, may be one reason why I was feeling more confused.
“Taru, walk briskly.”
My sister took my hand and we passed through the school gate, heading towards the school building.
Even though it was summer vacation, there were many students who were actively participating in club activities. As soon as they saw us, they started whispering to each other, even though they didn’t gather.
“I wonder if I can attend school like this…”
“What are you saying? Don’t be so negative.”
What used to be an everyday routine had become an unnatural appearance when I transformed into a girl. What were people around me were saying, and honestly, I didn’t feel too good about it.
But I knew this would happen, and I had prepared myself for it last night.
“Taru, don’t worry about it. Look ahead and stand up straight.”
“…Yeah.”
As soon as we reached the entrance for guests, we escaped from the students’ sight, and for a moment, relief filled my chest.
“Maybe this outfit wasn’t a good idea after all.”
“Hmm… Even though I thought it was normal to wear it to school, it might have been a mistake as you pointed out…”
Habits was a scary thing.
In my effort to naturally blend in with the school environment, I wore a gym uniform. In contrast, my sister wore her regular clothes.
I should have come in regular clothes too.
If I, as a young girl, had not worn the gym uniform that was proof of being a student at this school, the students may not have reacted as strongly as they did.
“But Taru, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Well… yeah.” I accepted with a wry smile.
My sister was in charge and I was just a student here.
That fact remains unchanged, but I was starting to realize how strange this combination looks and I was inwardly amazed at myself.
In other words, my sister and I seem to stand out a lot.
“Is that Shinki-san the model? Are they shooting something?”
“That girl next to her…with silver hair, is she a foreigner? She’s so cute, isn’t she?”
The two girls passing by in the hallway stopped and showed a hesitant gesture to come closer to us.
“Hey, hey, hey, there’s a silver-haired beauty over there.”
“She’s like an angel! And there’s her beautiful older sister too!”
The boys, who had appeared from the table tennis club room, were also getting excited.
“Taru, smile politely but don’t get too close.”
My sister, who gave me advice, had a smile on her lips, but there was a color in her eyes that gave the impression that she was difficult to approach. While wearing such a smile, we walked down the hallway.
Somehow, I understood that my sister was now in work mode, so I tried to imitate her. I tried to put on a smile with a distance, as if forming an invisible wall with the other person. Even so, it was not a bad feeling at all. Rather, it felt more friendly.
“You can do it, Taru.”
My sister, who praised me, had a smile that was like the sun, which was different from what she showed to others.
“It’s because I have a good teacher.”
I sent a brief compliment to my sister, feeling embarrassed to look directly at her face. My gaze naturally fell to the floor.
“…Ah, it’s dazzling.”
The linoleum in the hallway reflected the summer sunlight, enveloping us.
Despite being exposed to the gaze of my classmates, my heart and body seemed to be relaxing in a mysterious, gentle time with my sister.
“How about it? Isn’t it possible for you to become a model like me?”
“I’d like to decline… I don’t have the confidence to do it without my sister.”
“Hehehe.”
My sister stroked her hair and slightly tightened her grip on my hand.
Seeing my sister’s habit of fiddling with her hair when she’s in a good mood, I also laughed for some reason.
“Hey, did you see her smile just now?”
“Oh man…I’m going to wake up to something.”
We continued to ignore the reactions of the students we encountered in the school building with a cool smile.
****
The person to whom you apply for student registration is, of course, the principal. Therefore, my sister had contacted the school in advance and had arranged an appointment with the principal this afternoon.
“After hearing about it from 1st years of class 2… on the second day of the trip, I remember, well, it’s nothing, forget it. Please sit there and wait. Are you the older sister who came as a chaperone? Please wait there for a while.”
Goto-sensei, the physical education teacher, greeted us with suspicious behavior as he looked at me. Following his instructions, I sat on the sofa in the staff room for guests.
The teachers in the staff room occasionally glanced at us, but none of them made any effort to talk to us.
A few minutes later, the vice-principal guided us to the principal’s office.
“Please, this way.”
As I followed the vice-principal, we opened the door to the principal’s office and there was the principal sitting on a well-maintained wooden desk with a solid chair opposite him. And standing next to him was a woman in a nun’s habit.
‘Huh…?’
‘There’s a sister in the principal’s office?’
My confusion and suspicion were crushed by the voice of the principal.
“Jintarou and his older sister, Mayo, right?”
The balding principal, who was in his mid-50s, asked us this question.
My sister responded smoothly.
“Yes, we came as scheduled to inquire about Jintarou’s gender transition, but why is there someone here before us?”
My sister looked skeptical of the woman standing next to the principal.
Yes, my sister and I both knew Sister Leanne…
She smiled at us with her motherly smile. At the same time, it seemed like she was also silently pressuring us to say nothing.
Sister Leanne.
She is the responsible for the church in the neighborhood where my sister and I started attending after she helped me when I collapsed from heat stroke. She serves the goddess called the “Rainbow Goddess.”
Under her supervision, I have been impersonating a sister and hearing confess
ions from the people who visit the church once a week…
Why is she here?
My sister’s face, which had a fixed smile until now, suddenly twisted…