'It sure is hot today...'

Gojima took a sip from the water bottle he had brought with him. The weather was getting hotter lately. One should always keep oneself hydrated during these kinds of days.

He noticed a girl walking calmly towards the gate, but he could see her knees trembing a little.

'Is this girl alright?'

Just nervous. Any girl would if she suddenly had a makeover in the middle of her second year in high school. That's Ishida Saki by the way. –0.07 AP.

'Oh.'

"Good morning, Go-jima Sensei."

"...You are surprisingly early today. Usually girls get even more late after doing makeup."

"Eh? Ah, no... I... uh..."

"Calm down. Your makeup is still within the school regulations. Go to your class then, its way too hot outside."

"..." Saki was still standing, looking troubled.

"What happened? Is there something still wrong?"

"Will... others... fun..."

"What? I can't hear you."

"W-will the others make fun of me?!!"

Gojima stayed silent for a moment. How should he reply to her?

"Make fun of you? Most of them will not. They will mostly be curious, as to what led to your sudden transformation. Well, there will always be some who will make baseless assumptions. As long as you are not doing anything improper, there is no need to fear them. Rather, cowering in front of them will only make it seem something is wrong and give them more fuel."

Saki just stared at him.

"What?"

"...Y-you are completely different from my middle school PE teacher."

"Am I now?"

"H-he was... uh... more strict when it came to things like these. He was much more... o-old school. He would have definitely scolded me."

"There is no way I would make fun of someone who wants to make themselves more visually appealing to others. Society is much more dependent on first impression than one thinks, you know. Looking beyond someone's outer appearance and into their true inner self takes time. But the thing is, nobody has got any time for that in modern society. Bland looking and ugly folks sometimes do not even get the chance to present themselves, that is the harsh cold truth. So... if you can get any chance to make that first impression, you should seize it. Just don't go overboard."

"B-but I am already second year? It is way too late for first impression..."

"Thats assuming you have actually been noticed till now..." Gojima subconsciously muttered.

Then he realized what he said.

'Shit! I said it out loud!' Gojima had only been a teacher for a week, he still was not used to set the proper boundaries. He got a bit too casual. As a teacher, he should not have said that. Even Saki was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Ah! Sorry, I meant–"

"I don't want to hear that from someone with a family pack...?!!" Saki instantly shut her mouth with her hands.

"..."
"..."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Then Saki burst out laughing. Gojima just smirked. He was a teacher, after all.

"For someone whose words always get stuck in her tongue, you sure are snarky, aren't you?"

"For someone who should never be around children's park, you sure give good fatherly advice, don't you?" Just look at the gall of this girl.

"Hmph, cheeky brat. Go to your class.
" See ya, Godspeed!"
"Oi!"

Saki just stuck out her tongue for a moment, and ran away. Some people are really good at talking with others, while some are... just no good. Some people just have a high initial barrier. Get in their comfort zone, and you get a person who never shuts up, or maybe is a really fun to hang out with. Saki was probably that type.

Gojima wished her luck.

 

---

 

Saki felt a little uncomfortable with everyone staring at her. She tried her best to ignore it, and sat on her desk.

" Eh?"
"No way, Ishida san?!!"

Soon, there was a crowd surrounding her.

"Wow... you look so pretty?!!"
"Damn, Ishida san, you look totally my type!!!"
"Why the sudden change? Did you perhaps get a boyfriend?!!?!!"
"Eh? Ah... no-"
"Come on, come on, don't be shy~"

Saki felt a little overwhelmed due to everyone's attention suddenly on her. How should she explain herself?

Then she remembered.

"Ah, I uh... I have to attend an important family gathering after school! So my mom put makeup on me as I had no time after school!!! Yeah, thats all!"

"Eh~ don't be embarrassed~"
"Ne~ just tell us who is it?"
"Ishida san do you have a Lime-"

Saki, for a moment, looked at a group of gyaru girls standing far away from her. They all had a condescending look on their faces.

'There are those people GS mentioned, huh.' She also remembered his advice.

'Cowering in front of them will only make it seem something is wrong and give them more fuel.'

Fine then, she would not. She gulped, looked right into their eyes, and gave a 'Is there something wrong?' look, ignoring her knees that were violently shaking.

The other girls simply stared at her, then looked away. The SF gyaru girl (what was her name again?), however, did not back off. She approaching Saki with a smirk on her face. Her clique also got the courage to follow–

"Alright class, time for the assembly!" Class rep shouted.

Everyone groaned as usual. Saki, however, was relieved. Crisis averted, for now.

 

---

 

Fortunately, the school ended without anyone causing any trouble.

'They probably forgot about me.' Saki thought with relief.

"Ne, Ishida san! Now that school is over, do you want to go shopping somewhere?" A girl suddenly asked her from behind.

"I do-"
"Cut it out Riko! Ishida san already said she has to go somewhere,right?"

"Eh? Ah, yes." That Riko girl pouted.

"Well then, we will be off. See you tomorrow, Ishida san. Also, best of luck with your... 'family gathering'," the other girl winked at her.

'She totally doesn't believe it...'

Saki sighed. The girl, whose name she did not remember, was not wrong to be honest. She did not really feel like going home though.

"Hmm... what should I do to kill off time?" She suddenly saw a magazine store nearby.
"...Maybe I should look at some fashion magazines. I cannot always rely on mom for everything."
She sometimes wondered why she was so different from her mother, even after receiving 50% of her DNA. Hmm... must be the other 50% she got from her dad. He was the stoic type that was bad at talking and easily got flustered. It was really funny to see him fluster trying to give her compliments on her makeup last night.

She took a magazine and started going through it.

'There are so many terms I don't know... also, the models are so pretty that they are not really ideal examples for someone like me. Also, isn't the focus on clothing a bit too much? I will have to burn through my pocket money to buy all of these... but that might be a necessary expenditure... what to do...'

"Ohh, is that the latest MunMun? I was looking for that."

Saki turned and saw a guy with flashy cloths, flashy accessories and an equally flashy hairstyle. He looked around 20-25. A university student? Graduate? Saki felt a little awkward to suddenly have a grown up person talking with her. What should she do?

"Ah, sorry. I was just flipping through it. If you want it... here." She simply handed the magazine to him. But he did not take it.

"Oh no! God will smite me if I took away a magazine from such a cute girl."

'Huh?! C-cute?! This is the first time somebody has ever called me cute!'

"How about this? I'll pay for it, so let me read it a bit afterwards."

"Huh? Ah- no, i-its fine! I-I'll buy it myself!"

"Seriously, its all right! Its a cheap price to get to talk to a pretty girl like you."

'Huh?! Its pretty this time?!!'

"But MunMun huh... you sure have great taste. Are you by any chance a model?"

"Um... ah... no..."

"Seriously?!! I thought you were definitely a model! You are way cuter than any of these girls in the magazine!"

'Wha! This guy again called me cute!' Saki felt heat rising up her cheeks. 'Is this what being flirted with feels like? I do feel happy being praised...'

Saki looked carefully at the guy.

'Now that I think about it... this guy sure has a good sense of current fashion... and although he doesn't even hold a candle to the HFKs, he does look a little handsome... and he does have a way with words... is this what having confidence in yourself is like? Is it... is it possible for me to be like this person?'

"Ah! Where are my manners? I have kept a pretty girl standing like this for so long! Why don't we sit somewhere, grab a drink and read the magazines together? I know a really good place nearby."

"Eh? But..."

"Its alright, I'll pay for you, cause I am the grown up here, right? Now please go ahead, ojousama," the guy said with a deep voice and a butler like pose.

Saki started to giggle. 'This person really is amusing. He seems like a fun guy I'd like to hang out with, I'd like to become like. If its just talking, then-'

"No, she will not be going anywhere with you."

'Eh? That voice-'

Saki turned her head sideways at the source.

Gojima Kenzaburou was standing there.