Chapter 44: Becoming a Woman (Part 3)

After being taught how to put on a sanitary pad, I changed into my gym clothes and stepped out of the bathroom.

The pad in my underwear felt stiff and awkward, especially around my crotch.

According to Yuna, it needs to be changed every couple of hours. The first three days tend to have a heavier flow, so it’s best to check during every break.

...Just hearing about it was enough to drain me.

Yuna brought me to the infirmary.

She handled most of the explanation to the school nurse, who was a woman.

Yuna even mentioned that I’d gotten my first period, and I was a bit worried the nurse might find it strange for someone my age. But she told me there are girls like that from time to time, which was a bit of a relief.

Apparently, the underwear I was wearing had been borrowed from the infirmary. The system is that you don’t return the used ones—you just bring a new replacement later to the school.

I was told to lie down on the infirmary bed. Since a lack of sleep was part of why I felt unwell, I was honestly grateful.

As I laid down on the plain, white bed, a wave of comfort washed over me, and drowsiness quickly followed.

Yuna drew the curtain around the bed. The view around me disappeared behind a white veil.

“Just rest up, okay? I’ll check on you again during lunch.”

She said that while holding a paper bag. Inside were the clothes I had stained. She’d later wash the skirt and take it to the cleaners for me. I really owe her.

“Mmh… 'Night… Thanks for everything, Yuna…”

When I thanked her, she gently stroked my forehead and gave me a comforting “There, there.”

It felt a bit childish, which I wasn’t totally okay with… but I closed my eyes and let it happen.

The feeling of her fingers combing through my hair was so soothing, I could feel my cheeks relax into a dopey smile.

『This… feels really nice… so calming…』

As I heard Alicia’s voice faintly in the distance, I drifted off into sleep.

During lunch break, Yuna, Jun, Fumika, and I left the infirmary together, stopping by the bathroom first.

I was still grossed out by the smell and the mess as I rolled up the used pad, wrapped it in the packaging of the new one, and tossed it in the etiquette box in the corner of the bathroom.

Then I put on a fresh pad in my underwear. The used one had absorbed so much that it felt heavy and disgusting. Just swapping it out made me feel a bit lighter.

“Were you okay?”

“Yeah… somehow…”

I replied as I washed my hands with soap.

My stomach still felt heavy and crampy.

Thinking that this happens every single month was just overwhelming.

I really wanted to go back and punch last night’s me for thinking “female bodies are awesome” or whatever.

We decided to eat lunch together in the courtyard.

Yuna had bought me hot cocoa and a walnut bun. Even with my appetite shot, I was able to finish everything—it was all genuinely good.

“During your period, it’s better to watch what you eat,” Fumika advised. “Try to avoid caffeine, dairy, anything that cools your body, and foods high in sugar or fat.”

“I don’t really care about all that,” Jun said. “If you’re already feeling down, you should just eat tasty stuff like cake and cheer up.”

Yuna, it seemed, was a middle-ground type—she tried to be mindful, but if she wanted something delicious, she’d go for it.

Everyone seems to have their own way of dealing with their period.

“I got mine for the first time during class in elementary school,” Jun said with a laugh. “Some dumb boys started teasing me, so I kicked one of them across the room.”

We ended up spending lunch swapping stories about our first periods and embarrassing moments. I could tell they were doing it for my sake, since I had just started mine. I was honestly really grateful.

I decided to skip afternoon classes and rest in the infirmary.

I still wasn’t feeling great, and more than anything, I’d have to attend class in gym clothes. That alone would’ve made me stand out way too much today.

So I spent the rest of the day napping in bed. After school, Yuna came to get me and we headed home together.

On the way, we dropped the hand-washed skirt off at the cleaners, then went to a clothing store where we bought some replacement underwear and several pairs of sanitary shorts.

Sanitary shorts are made of waterproof, easy-to-clean material and are shaped to hold pads securely in place. They’re purely functional, but I found a cute design that actually lifted my mood a bit.

When we finished our errands and got home, we were greeted by a surprise visitor.

Kisaragi Ikuo—our dad.

“Alice, Yuna, welcome back.”

“Hi, Papa! We’re home!”

“Hi, Dad. Welcome back. So you came back to Japan, huh?”

“Yeah, work stuff came up last minute… Alice, what happened to your uniform?”

“Ah… um…”

“Is someone bullying you? If they are, come to me, okay? If there’s some jerk like that around, I’ll make them regret it so badly they’ll be begging on their knees, bawling their eyes out and apologizing to you for the rest of their life. That much, your old man can definitely pull off, you know?”

What is this, some kind of monster parent? Terrifying.

Please don’t say things like that with a smile.

“It’s not bullying or anything. I just got my first period at school today, and my uniform skirt got stained, that’s all.”

I hesitated for a second, but I didn’t really feel that awkward telling Dad about my period. After all, on the inside, I’m still his son.

“O-oh… I see…”

Instead, Dad was the one who got flustered.

…I get how he feels.

“Well, my stomach still hurts, so I’m gonna go lie down in my room.”

“Got it… take care.”

Wouldn’t “hope you feel better” have been more appropriate?

Seeing Dad—who almost never loses his composure—so shaken actually made me smile a little. Then Yuna and I headed toward the sink at the end of the hallway to wash our hands and rinse our mouths.

…Before going back to my room, I should stop by the bathroom to check what kind of pads we have stocked and change into a new one.

Apparently, there are a lot of different types of pads.

…Being a girl is seriously tough.