Why I Became a Girl

Chapter 3 - The Others

With my mind more prepared, my morning routine went smoother. I dressed myself, brushed my teeth, and tidied up my hair. Staring in the mirror, I still couldn't believe the girl staring back at me was me.

I went to class with slightly more confidence than the first day.

At least, until Natsue sat next to me.

Natsue placed her hand on my back and firmly rubbed up and down. "Ah, you managed it this time."

"Y-yeah."

Natsue took up her pen and opened her notebook. She wrote, "Having fun being a girl?"

Kiyumi must have told her. I opened my own book and wrote, "No."

"Then we'll have to fix that," Natsue declared out loud. "Let's go shopping this weekend!"

"Shopping?" I repeated, bewildered.

"Yeah! It's a new year, time for new clothes, right?"

"My current clothes fit fine," I objected, very much not wanting to go.

"It'll be fun! I'll even let you pick out clothes for me to wear!"

"How is that supposed to be an incentive?"

Natsue stared at me for a few seconds, then burst into laughter. She wrote, "You're so different from the old Kiyumi."

I wrote back, "Does she have a," then paused and thought about how to word it before finishing with, "forever name?"

"Kaeru is her nickname."

Quite direct. The word had meanings like, 'exchange,' 'substitute,' or 'replace.' Probably the only people who used that name knew about the swapping.

"How many know?"

"The four she's swapped with, your girlfriend, and me."

It being such a small group allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief. "She's not my girlfriend."

I then flipped to a new page. Class was starting.

At lunch, I went to the cafeteria. The previous day, I'd basically starved myself. I had no appetite due to everything going on, sustained by only a single melon bread. My new body was holding it against me.

Amana was in the cafeteria too, of course. She sat with Rin or Kaeru or whatever I was supposed to call him or her. I took my tray of food and joined them, Natsue soon following.

I still couldn't get used to seeing 'myself.' Kaeru acted totally differently in my body than I did. He sat with his legs crossed and reclined, and unfriendly expression on his face. He really gave off an unapproachable air. I wondered if Kaeru had acted that way in Kiyumi's body as well.

The food tasted a bit weird, but I was too hungry to care.

"People are gonna get jealous," Natsu teased Kaeru. "One guy surrounded by three pretty girls."

"Two pretty girls, at least," he replied.

"Please clear something up for me," I cut in before that could continue. I lowered the volume of my voice. "Should I think of you as a girl or a boy, and what name should I use?"

"My name is Rin Nakamura, but you can just call me Rin. I'm a boy," he replied. "I'm only borrowing this body, so I won't do anything permanent or damage its reputation by acting weird."

I probably could have expected that response.

"Do you hope next time you swap with a girl or a boy?" Natsue asked. "I'm fine either way."