Nevertheless, I had mostly accepted my fate as another person in another world. This was my new beginning as Nagisa.
*
BREAK TIME IN SCHOOL
"Hey, Nagisa-chan, wanna hang out after school?"
Ah, the gathering of the popular kids has begun. Go ahead! Fawn over me!
Since I'm exceptionally cute, I've somehow become quite popular among my peers.
"Ehhh? Don't know, tho," I replied, slipping into my slightly gyaru persona. "There's this work I have to do."
"Eh? Nagisa, you're always working!" Yasuna immediately latched onto my arm. "Live a little, c'mon!"
Was she out of her mind? The work I was talking about involved both of us!
Tsk. And since I've always been a slacker at heart, I inevitably gave in.
"Okay, just a bit. Coz I love you guys!" I said, and the whole group lit up with joy, hugging me and squealing.
Ehehe. I'm not enjoying myself, I swear.
Being popular isn't all sunshine, you know.
You have to hide from the high school delinquent who has asked you out half a dozen times.
You end up throwing away stacks of love letters from your locker, like a daily house chore.
Your privacy becomes a relic of the past—actually, no, it never existed in the first place.
Still, the perks are there: Everyone is nice to you, even obedient at times.
You feel like you're perched at the top of the food chain, some kind of benevolent figurehead. And best of all, you almost never get into trouble with the male teachers.
I'm shortening my skirt some more next month!
*
One day, while I was walking to class with Yasuna, a certain cool beauty appeared.
Short black hair. Toned arms that spoke of regular time spent at the gym. Piercing dark eyes that seemed to see straight through you.
Her name was Sophia Anderson.
She was one of the school idols, just like me… But unlike me, she had barely spoken to anyone since our first year.
Well, until now.
SLAM!
K-KABEDON?!
I never dreamed it would ever happen to good old me.
Sophia suddenly changed course, stepping right into my personal space in one smooth motion.
And that was saying something, since so far, only Yasuna had ever managed to get that close, without me being able to react properly.
"Yo." She tilted her head slightly.
Kyaahhh… so cool.
She even smelled nice—soft and floral, like a delicate blossom hidden away in a quiet garden—despite her stoic demeanor.
Wait… way too close!
"Y-Yo…" I managed to stammer back. "Uhm… there are people staring, so…"
Sure enough, students were starting to gather around us in a tight cluster. Even that idiot Yasuna was blushing and staring wide-eyed.
Wait… Nakamura-sensei?! Don't just stand there and watch!
"Do you not like me getting this close?" she asked, leaning forward until her nose was practically touching mine.
"Ah, not that I m-mind, but…" Ugh, I felt like a doll in her hands, completely at her mercy.
The only thing I had going for me was that my chest was actually a bit bigger than hers.
"I like you."
…Eh…?
Out of the blue? We hadn't even talked before!
"KYAAAHHHHH!!!" The entire hallway exploded into cheers. "Two of the school goddesses are about to tie the knot!!"
Sophia ignored the noise completely, her dark eyes fixed on me and only me.
"I like you," she repeated. "And I'd love to go out with you. What do you say?"
What do I say?! Th-th-th-th-this was so sudden!
A-and… aren't we both girls? Does she really swing that way?
Sophia was a cool beauty, straying from the classic Japanese Nadeshiko image, yet still carrying some of its grace.
Any normal guy—and quite a few straight girls too—would jump at the chance to date her.
But… I'm a PURE maiden! I've never been asked out before, not even in my past life (though to be fair, I was just lazy about romance back then).
I was all set to turn her down gently and suggest we just be friends for now—
"Date her! Date her! Date her! Date her!"
That idiot Yasuna started the chant, quickly joined by the even bigger idiot, Nakamura-sensei, and then the entire crowd sang.
Ah… one of the many disadvantages of being popular.
"...If you don't want to, just turn me down," Sophia said, briefly glancing at the crowd. "But I won't give up, just so you know."
Sigh…
I was at my wit's end, and she was still far too close for comfort.
"Fine, fine!!" I yelled. "I'll g-go… out with you."
The hallway erupted in victory cheers again.
Go to your studies, brats!
"With the power invested in me as Head Teacher," Nakamura-sensei suddenly appeared beside us with a solemn expression, "I hereby pronounce you man and wife!"
"KYAAHHHH!!!! Congrats!" Yasuna squealed.
Wait, who's supposed to be the man?
Before I could even think about asking, Sophia's lips caught mine in broad daylight, stealing my real first kiss (and that's counting my past life, too!).
*
And so, with the enthusiastic support of the entire school, I somehow ended up with one hell of a girlfriend.
But… it wasn't so bad. Not at all.
A few months into our relationship, I learned that Sophia was actually quite talkative once you got close to her.
I'd even been using her as my excuse to slip away from other kids unrelenting invitations. And love confessions and letters… reduced drastically.
Though, I'd prefer it to stop for good.
"And hear this—he said I was cute. Cute? Me? That's clearly just flattery!" Sophia continued, recounting another one of her many tales about failed confessions from poor, unlucky guys.
I simply nodded along, adding a few "uh-huhs" in the right places.
She could talk for literally two hours straight without stopping. That's a skill in itself. She should groom it.
"Hey, Nagisa, are you listening?!"
"I swear I am. You have no idea how LISTENINGFUL I actually am." I made a wry smile before taking another lick of the ice cream in my hand.
Sophia stared at me for a moment, then suddenly moved in so close that I couldn't avoid her in time.
And that's saying something—because the only things fast enough to catch me off guard are bullets, Yasunas, or something close to them.
She leaned in and licked the ice cream off the corner of my lips.
My goodness… we're outside…
That's just how she is: super clingy and ridiculously touchy-feely.
"Hey, Sophia," I said as she moved back to her "side" of the bench—which was exactly zero inches away from me—"if anything's bothering you, you can tell me, you know?"