Chapter 16: Beautiful Girl, Invited to Join a Club (Part 1)

It was my third day of high school. As I stood outside my house, waiting for Ryoji, my heart felt lighter than ever.

Because—I finally had a smartphone! Yesterday, I went with Ryoji and the others to check them out at the electronics store, and later I went back with my mom and bought one.

The reason it happened so quickly? I reminded her she still hadn’t kept her promise to buy me a computer from when I turned into a girl.

Not that “I’ll buy you a computer if you wear a skirt” mattered much anymore… I mean, during spring break, I wore skirts most of the time anyway, and now my school uniform was a skirt.

But a promise is a promise! So I decided to claim a smartphone instead. Sure, I lost my chance at a computer, but smartphones connect to the internet, so I figured I wouldn’t need one anyway. Besides, I hadn’t even decided what I’d use a computer for!

“Nowadays, smartphones are more expensive than computers,” Mom grumbled. But maybe she felt guilty about leaving the promise hanging—she bought it for me anyway. For some reason, the cash came from Dad’s spare wallet… but I didn’t question it.

And just like that, my smartphone debut was complete.

Thinking about showing it to everyone today made me giddy.

“Someone’s in a good mood today, Ayumu.”

Ryoji rolled up on his bike while I stood there grinning like an idiot.

“Guess what! I have a smartphone now!”

I proudly pulled it out of my blazer pocket.

By the way, my pleated skirt has pockets too—but once it’s folded over, you can’t use them anymore. What a ridiculously inefficient design.

“Whoa, buying one the very next day? Not bad! Let’s swap email addresses and phone numbers.”

“Sure thing!”

We used something called infrared transfer. I had no idea how the data actually sent itself, but somehow it worked, which was pretty amazing.

“At last! I have obtained—a girl’s contact info!”

“You say ‘girl,’ but I'm basically a guy.”

“Wroooong! You're mostly a girl now!”

It didn’t make much difference either way, but since I was still a guy on the inside, I couldn’t help feeling it didn’t count.

I climbed onto the back of his bike, and he started pedaling. From today, there was a cushion tied to the rear rack, making the ride much more comfortable. That kind of thoughtfulness—very Ryoji, the handsome guy. Still, the pink cushion was a little embarrassing.

“Hey, Ayumu.”

He spoke as I settled behind him.

“What?”

“Is it okay if I text you? Like, in the morning, at lunch, or in the evening?”

“I don’t mind, I guess?”

“Really? So I can send you good morning and good night messages?”

“Yeah, sure, but… isn’t that kind of creepy?”

“If you could add hearts or something, make it sound girly, that’d make me really happy.”

“Isn’t that just sad? I’m still a guy, you know.”

“If a soft, cute little girl like you were actually a guy, every gentleman on Earth would be crying blood.”

And with that kind of nonsense, we rode off toward the station.

Rustle!

When I opened my shoe locker, a familiar-looking envelope fell out.

Why… why is there another one? And there are six this time. Double what it was before.

If I have to meet and turn down all of them, my spirit might break. Even rejecting one person yesterday was mentally exhausting.

“Just throw them out already,” Ryoji said flatly.

If only it were that easy.

If they all want to meet after school, I can’t handle that many anyway. Turning them down face-to-face would be too much.

…It can’t be helped. Maybe I’ll just shred them at home. If I read them, the guilt will hit me hard. I’ll destroy them unread. Sorry, everyone.

When I entered the classroom, Sakurako and the others were already there.

“Morning, Ayumi-chan!”

Moeka greeted me brightly. I smiled back.

As someone who had been practically invisible in middle school, starting the day like this felt really nice. If I were still a guy, would I have made friends this easily? Maybe becoming a girl had its perks after all.

Oh, right—I had to tell Moeka about my new smartphone!

“Hey, Moeka-chan, look! I got a smartphone!”

“Whoa, Ayumi-chan finally joined the mobile world! Let’s exchange addresses!”

“Hey, that’s not fair, Moeka! I wanna exchange too!”

And just like that, I swapped email addresses with Moeka and Sakurako.

“Not gonna exchange with anyone else in class?” Moeka asked.

I wanted to, but… I was scared to start a conversation myself. Now that I thought about it, I’d never really been the one to approach others before. Way too passive.

Ah, right. Since we’re on the same committee, I should at least exchange with Yoshikawa-kun.

“Yoshikawa-kun! Hey, Yoshikawa-kun!”

I walked over to where he was chatting with some other guys.

Yesterday, our homeroom teacher, Mr. Yamanaka, had randomly forced him to be the class moderator. Poor guy. Not only that, he got roped into joining a committee, too. Definitely the “gets stuck with everything” type.

His full name is Togo Yoshikawa.

He has short, spiky black hair, sharp eyebrows, and a firm mouth—looks like one of those strong, serious characters. But in reality, he’s already teased by the other boys. Yesterday, when they found out he was in the same committee as me, they surrounded him and poked at him until he looked like he was in pain.

When I called his name, he squeaked, “Hweh!?” in a weird voice.

“Ah, sorry for startling you.”

“No, n-no, it’s fine! Really, I’m okay!”

I thought, was he always this kind of character? He stutters way too much! And, sure enough, the other boys teased him for it.

“So… uh, what do you need from me, Sakura-san?”

You don’t have to suddenly put on that sharp, serious expression.

“Ah, um… since we’re in the same committee, I thought maybe I should give you my email address…”

Oh no, why am I this nervous? I was practically frozen. My voice almost faded by the end.

“Eh!? Really!? You’re actually giving me your email!?”

“Yeah… i-is that okay?”

“No, it’s fine! Totally fine! I’ll even give you my address, full name, and birthday if you want!”

No, I really don’t need that… absolutely not.

I exchanged email addresses with Yoshikawa-kun. Wow—my list of classmates’ addresses is growing.

I want everyone to share theirs too, but asking randomly might be weird. Better not push it.

“Oi, Togo! You traitor!”

“Hahaha, you losers didn’t get into the same committee, so you’re the losers!”

“Ah, today’s the first time I’ve ever thought I might kill someone out of jealousy!”

Yoshikawa-kun was dragged to the corner of the classroom, still in ultra-high spirits. He’s popular, huh? Actually, this group of boys is kind of funny.

I watched him go and returned to Ryoji and the others.

“That boys’ group is hilarious,” I said.

“Wait, Ayumu… you only exchanged with Yoshikawa?”

“Yeah.”

Ryoji muttered something like, “Oh… Jesus!”

“You seem to have a natural talent for ranking people. Kind of a little devilish, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“That’s harsh, Ayumi-chan! Everyone wants your email! Why would you make a distinction like that?”

“Huh? I’m the bad guy?”

For some reason, I ended up being the villain, and before I knew it, homeroom had begun.

“Today’s the club recruitment event. Clubs set up booths around the school to invite new members. By the way, there’s a small event in the gym this afternoon. Unfortunately, that part is organized by the student council.”

Student council… that means President Mitsui, the so-called “tragically beautiful” girl. Ugh, I have a bad feeling… but maybe she’s the only difficult one. I clung to that tiny bit of hope.

Putting the student council aside, the clubs themselves seemed interesting.

When it comes to making friends, joining a club is a big deal. Right now, Sakurako-chan, Moeka-chan, and Ryoji get along with me, but if they join different clubs, they’ll probably expand their social circles there. That could leave me on the sidelines. Ideally, I’d join the same club as them and stick together… but Ryoji and the girls would likely choose different clubs, so it was tricky.

And, of course, I’m terrible at sports.

If I joined a sports club, I’d instantly become a ghost member. I’ve never been athletic, and now—being in a girl’s body—it would probably be even worse. You notice these things about your own body fast!

…Plus, sports clubs are kind of intimidating.

So that left cultural clubs. But I’d spent most of middle school with basically no hobbies, so I wasn’t really good at anything. There was nothing I particularly loved, either.

Ugh… what even am I?

Anyway! I needed to challenge myself and try something new!

I clenched my fist while listening to the teacher.

“All right, homeroom’s over. Clubs are recruiting outside until lunch break ends, so feel free to check them out. Be back in the classroom after lunch!”

With that, Mr. Yamanaka left the room.

“Ayumu, let’s go around together,” Ryoji called.

“Yeah, sure,” I nodded.

The class buzzed at our little exchange.

“He’s so smooth asking her!”
“Damn, I want to be like that!”

Maybe everyone wanted to go with Ryoji.

“We’re coming too! Is that okay?”

Moeka-chan and the others joined in as naturally as ever. Hmm… with one boy and three girls, Ryoji might feel a bit awkward. Visiting the boys’ clubs might be uncomfortable for him, too—not ideal. Honestly, I wanted to check out the boys’ clubs myself… but with this body, it was impossible.

Right, I might as well invite Yoshikawa-kun too. That way, we’d have two boys and the balance would be better.

“Yoshikawa-kun! Want to come with us?”

“Y-yes! I would be honored to accompany you!”

He gave a perfect salute that practically snapped into place. It was a little funny, so I laughed.

“Hey, Yoshikawa, that’s cheating!”
“Don’t get cocky!”

The group he was with buzzed with reactions. (I just made up a name for them for now.)

I was about to say, “Let’s all go together…” but Yoshikawa cut me off.

“Sorry, everyone. I will live as Sakura-san’s loyal servant. I cannot walk with you.”

“Damn it!”
“Ah, if only I could curse someone out of jealousy…!”

I didn’t really want him living as a servant, but the atmosphere didn’t allow for arguing. He was probably joking, so it was fine to leave it at that. Right? Fine…?

And so, the five of us—Sakurako-chan, Moeka-chan, Ryoji, Yoshikawa-kun, and me—headed off to the club recruitment event.