Chapter 37: Pool Class (Part 1)
From the morning, I’d felt off somehow.
Even when the alarm went off, I couldn’t get up, and it took a loud duet from Yuna and Alicia—who came into my room to check on me—to finally force me out of bed.
It was probably because I stayed up a little too late last night reading a web novel. I just wanted to read a bit more of the next chapter, that’s all... but even so, I was still unbelievably sleepy.
I felt like I had a bit of a headache too.
…Maybe I’m just worn out? School life is surprisingly full of stimulation.
I quickly ate breakfast and finished getting ready in the washroom.
I think I’ve gotten a lot better at tidying myself up… maybe I’ve really started getting used to life as a girl.
While I was thinking about that, Yuna poked her head into the washroom.
"Alice, did you pack what you need for P.E. today?"
"Huh? …I’ve got my gym clothes, yeah?"
"Thought so. You still didn’t get it. Today’s P.E. is in the pool, remember? I told you—our school keeps pool classes going until the end of September."
"Oh, right, the pool... wait, pool!?"
"I’ve been telling you about this for a while now… You did buy the school-designated swimsuit, didn’t you?"
"Y-yeah… I guess."
When we were buying school supplies, I’d picked up a full set of swim gear too. But the thought of myself wearing a school swimsuit just made me uncomfortable, so I’d shoved it into the back of my drawer and tried to forget about it.
"You bought the swimsuit, swim cap, and the under-shorts as a set, right? …Here, take this—your bath towel and face towel. Pack them all in your swim bag."
I took the two towels Yuna pressed into my hands.
"Honestly, you should’ve practiced wearing it beforehand, but… there’s no time for that now. Come on, hurry up or we’ll be late!"
I rushed back into my room and quickly changed into my uniform.
Then I grabbed the brand-new swim set from the back of my drawer and stuffed it into my bag.
Standing in front of the mirror, I straightened my ribbon and checked my skirt hem. By the time I was done, we were cutting it really close.
"Alice! If we don’t run now, we’re gonna be late!"
I scrambled down the stairs and headed for the front door. Yuna and I slipped on our low-heeled loafers and dashed outside together.
"“We’re off!”"
Ugh, why did I have to oversleep today of all days? Alicia and Yuna should’ve just woken me up earlier!
Pool class was fourth period, just before lunch, and for me, that was a small blessing.
Apparently, getting out of the swimsuit is harder than putting it on, and at least I wouldn’t have to worry about cutting into class time when changing afterward.
Still… I have to change into a swimsuit in the middle of a bunch of girls.
Now that I’m in Alicia’s body, I’ve gained a decent amount of knowledge and experience about being female.
But the only naked girls I’ve ever seen are myself and Yuna—my family.
It’s completely different seeing the naked bodies of female classmates I interact with daily.
So I spent the morning classes feeling incredibly on edge.
Even when girls in class tried chatting with me during homeroom or break time, I couldn’t relax, knowing we’d all be changing together later. It made things awkward and unnatural.
Yuna, the only one who understood the situation, gave me a look like “It can’t be helped” and subtly backed me up.
On top of the headache I’d had since morning, I felt like my stomach was starting to hurt too.
Everything just felt heavier and heavier.
During third period, I couldn’t take it anymore and reached out to Yuna through telepathy.
『…Hey, Yuna, what should I do?』
『What do you mean, what should you do...? Just act normal, right?』
『I’m asking because I can’t act normal. You wouldn’t want to change in front of guys either, would you?』
『Well, no, of course not. But you’re Kisaragi Alice now—a girl, through and through—so there’s nothing to worry about.』
『Yeah, but… inside, I’m still a high school guy. It feels like I’m deceiving my classmates or something…』
『Of course you’re deceiving them. What are you even saying at this point? ……That’s why you have to take responsibility and keep the act going till the end. That way, no one gets hurt.』
『Deceiving… yeah. That’s true. I guess that was always a given.』
『……I don’t think you need to take it so seriously. Just think of it as, "Lucky me, I get to see naked girls!" and lighten up a bit?』
『T-That’s… a little much, even for you…』
『Well, either way, you’re going to see more naked girls than you’ll know what to do with from now on. It’ll stop feeling like a big deal soon enough.』
『You really think so…?』
『That’s just how it is.』
Thanks to Yuna saying it so naturally, I felt a little lighter.
And just like that, third period came to an end—and I was about to step foot into the girls’ changing room beside the pool: a forbidden sanctuary.
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