Stelle stepped out of the bathroom while drying her hands on her pants, only to find Mem in the corner of the living room looking down at something.
"Check this out!" Mem announced proudly.
Stelle blinked. "Is it something important?"
"Even better. Bureaucracy."
Stelle approached with caution. Under the side table next to the couch sat a binder that looked like it had been purposefully hidden from the world. A sticky note was slapped across the front with the words "Boring shit" written in big uneven letters.
"Promising," Stelle muttered.
She picked it up and a folded note fluttered out. She grabbed it before it hit the floor.
Hello! I enrolled you at Aurora Crescent High, your class is 3-5.
Your first day is tomorrow! See schedule below:
08:30-09:15, Literature, Ms. Harada, Homeroom 3-5
09:20-10:05, Mathematics, Mr. Tanaka, Homeroom 3-5
10:15-11:00, Physics, Dr. Morgan, Homeroom 3-5
11:05-11:50, History, Mrs. Kawamura, Homeroom 3-5
12:00-12:45, Lunch, Cafeteria
12:50-13:35, Art, Ms. Liu, Homeroom 3-5
13:40-14:25, Physical Education, Coach Hideo, Gym
14:30-15:15, Philosophy, Dr. Lygus, Homeroom 3-5
Stelle stared at the page for a long moment. "History? I don't know anything about this world's history. And Dr. Lygus…? Sounds like a familiar someone who likes to give long monologues."
"It's probably not the same Lygus, after all, this world probably doesn't have Antikhyterans," Mem said cheerfully.
"Hopefully it is just a coincidence." She tried to convince herself of that while flipping through the binder.
She flipped through the binder. Most of it was dull paperwork for the apartment and school: forms, receipts, rental agreements. Near the back, inside a zippered pouch, containing several forms if ID, including a student ID card. She stared at it before padding her pockets, realising that she only had her phone.
"I don't have a wallet," she realized.
She popped her phone case off, slid the card inside, and forced everything back together. Problem solved.
Her stomach grumbled. It was around midday. Time to address the real crisis.
She opened a notes app and started listing ingredients and basics she needed. While doing so she wondered if this world had online shopping. A quick search answered that. Amazon existed here, apparently with a special Pacifica version. She went to check language options and paused. There was no dropdown on the website. She backed out and looked through her phone's settings. Her phone settings had no language settings at all.
"What," she said aloud.
She checked the class schedule again. Literature. Not English, not Pacifican, not anything. Just literature. She pulled up wikipedia, scrolling until she found the language section. Only constructed languages were listed, each clearly labeled as such.
"So everyone speaks the same language," Stelle said slowly. "That seems highly improbable, guess this really is a fantasy world."
Stelle looked around, then back at her phone, "I guess it's not really a fantasy world is it? It's pretty modern."
She moved to her wardrobe to see if she needed more clothing before tomorrow. Inside were several identical copies of the outfit she was already wearing. Next to them were a couple matching sailor uniforms that resemble the one from "Spring Missive", with a white and grey sailor suit uniform top with gold accents, with a grey, white and tan skirt.
"Well. I guess I do not need more clothes for now."
Mem floated over her shoulder. "All identical. How boring."
Stelle squinted at her. "It is convenient. If you wear the same thing every day you do not need to think about outfits."
"That is sad. You should have a unique outfits ready to spice things up."
Stelle thought back to the Astral Express from her added memories. "Only Himeko and March wore different outfits. Dan Heng, Welt, and the Original Stelle all had wardrobes full of identical clothes."
Mem tilted her head. "You know that is not winning the argument for you."
"Besides," Stelle continued, ignoring her, "I only had the one outfit before I woke up. Herta Space Station had clothing printers so I just made copies."
She remembered her old life too. As Teiko, she did not have many unique clothes. Since she didn't get to go out much, and each time she did she bought several copies of the outfit she liked the most.
She went back to her shopping list. It seemed complete until she suddenly remembered something. Fan art. She added hair ties.
"Okay Mem. Time for the grocery."
She felt a little stir of excitement. She had rarely gone shopping by herself. It felt like a small adventure.
"Wait. Mem, what about you? Is your presence weird here? Will people freak out?"
Mem put her hands on her hips. "I can use the power of remembrance to make sure nobody remembers me."
"…Okay."
Stelle searched for the nearest grocery and found one four blocks away.
She headed to the door but stopped. How would she get back in? She opened the door and found a tap lock with a keyhole below it. She pressed her phone against it. The light blinked green.
On the kitchen counter beside the door, she noticed a wicker basket holding two identical keys on a lanyard. The lanyard read G.O.O, decorated with various symbols. She recognized a cross and a five-pointed star, but most of the symbols meant nothing to her.
She took one of the keys off of the lanyard. She considered leaving a spare under the doormat but imagined the true crime podcasts that would start exactly like that.
She put one key back and pocketed the one still attached to the lanyard.
Outside, the sunlight felt warm. Her phone said it was June 15th, a Sunday.
She headed down the stairs and passed a row of crowded bike racks. She'd never ridden a bike before. She wondered if they were expensive, then realized she could probably run faster than one now if she wanted to.
She continued north toward the city center. Two blocks later, she spotted a 7-11. Curiosity won, and she stepped inside. The food actually looked decent, shockingly enough. She grabbed an orange soda and checked out, scanning a QR code to pay.
"That's neat," she whispered.
Back outside, sipping her drink, she passed a manga store and a discount shop. She suddenly remembered she still needed a wallet and ducked into the discount store.
Inside at the front of the store was a crate filled with merch featuring Magical Girl Aurora, a flowy pink dress and oversized crystal bow heroine. The placement felt odd for a discount store.
Mem pointed excitedly at a plush mascot, a round grey cat-like creature with tiny floppy legs. "Look at it. It's adorable. Buy it."
Stelle glanced at the clerk, but they didn't even look up. They clearly didn't hear Mem.
"I don't have a bag. I'm not carrying that thing all the way to the grocery."
She moved to the wallet display. Mem nudged her. "Get the black one with gold trim. Matches your whole aesthetic."
"I thought you'd want the pink one with hearts."
"That only works if you go all in."
Stelle shook her head, grabbed the black wallet, and headed to the counter. She spotted hair ties near the register and added them to her purchase.
Outside, she stopped in front of the store window and began tying her hair into a ponytail using the reflection.
Mem let out a low whistle. "You look handsome. You could pick up every girl in the city like that."
"I'm a girl too. Shouldn't that mean I'm picking up boys as well?"
Mem tilted her head. "Didn't you hear the goddess of Yuri? You were destined to marry a girl and live a perfect romantic life. You're definitely a lesbian."
"You're a lesbian." Stelle retorted.
Mem froze mid-air, staring at her with the most offended expression possible, as if she couldn't believe that was the comeback Stelle chose.
Stelle couldn't help but laugh. And with her ponytail swaying behind her, she continued toward the grocery store.