Chapter 7: Beautiful Girl, First Day Ends

On our way home, we got stuck in traffic.

Apparently, there had been an accident a few kilometers ahead, reducing the two-lane road to a single lane.

Kaname was dozing against my shoulder, and while I lent her mine for support, I couldn’t fall asleep myself.

Yes. I really need to use the bathroom.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t gone once since morning.

In the morning, I’d been too panicked to even think about it, and at lunch, I’d been too busy enduring that humiliating ordeal.

Now, with everything finally over and me relaxed for the first time all day, the tension snapped. Hanging around the drink bar at the Denny’s family restaurant hadn’t helped either.

Right now, I desperately needed the bathroom.

"Kaah… M-Mama."

"What’s wrong?"

"I need the bathroom."

"Eh!? You can’t hold it?!"

"I don’t think I can make it all the way home…"

"If we weren’t in the car, I’d just tease you until you wet yourself, but in here that’d be a real problem."

What the heck is she saying so casually?!

If I wet myself at fifteen, I’d never recover!

"This is a problem… There aren’t even any convenience stores around here."

Mom glanced around. Sure enough, there wasn’t a single shop in sight, let alone a convenience store.

The car crawled forward at a snail’s pace, leaving me squirming in my seat, crossing and uncrossing my legs in a desperate attempt to hold it in.

"Oh, there’s a Denny’s over there. Shall we stop in?"

Again!? My limit was fast approaching, so I had no choice but to agree.

We woke Kaname and went inside, only to find the restaurant crowded, with a line of people waiting.

Mom and the others wrote “Sakura” as our surname and joined the queue.

I, meanwhile, dashed straight to the female staff member guiding customers.

"My, what’s the matter?" the waitress asked, looking puzzled.

"Uh, um! May I use the bathroom, please?!" I blurted out, my face burning with embarrassment.

"Of course. It’s down that way in the back."

"Th-thank you!"

I thanked her quickly and ran toward the restroom. From behind me, I could hear her chatting with another employee: "There was this super cute girl just now♪."

Don’t you have work to do?!

Anyway, I reached the restroom.

There were three doors: Men’s, Unisex, and Women’s.

The men’s room was obviously just urinals—no chance. Even I knew better than to try standing to pee in this outfit.

That left the unisex stall.

Clunk—locked.

"Occupied!"

A deep male voice rumbled from inside.

Yeah, no kidding! I can see that! And it’s not like I could shout, "Could you hurry up, please?"

I was cornered.

…No, there was still one option. The women’s restroom.

It wasn’t locked. Open! Yes!

But—no, no, no. That’s off-limits. I used to be a guy! After being dressed up all day, I’d almost stopped thinking about it, but still!

Women can walk into the men’s restroom, but men can’t go into the women’s? Totally unfair!

This was no time for pointless arguments.

Ugh, fine! I look like a girl, so it’s okay! Even if I used to be a boy, my gender right now is “female,” so it’s okay!

It’s an emergency, so it’s okay! I’m going in!

I yanked the door open, rushed inside, and locked it.

N-no one saw me, right?

After finishing, I returned to the waiting line.

Apparently, tables had turned over faster than expected, and we were close to being seated.

Honestly, I no longer needed anything from Denny’s, but leaving after just borrowing the bathroom would’ve been awkward.

"Ayumi-chan, did you wash your hands properly?"

"I did."

"And you didn’t make a mess? You managed, right?"

"Ahh, geez! That’s so embarrassing! I can handle the bathroom, okay?!"

…That’s a lie. Honestly, it was so different from being a guy that I struggled quite a bit.

Mom had hit the sore spot, and I turned bright red.

At fifteen, being asked “Did you manage the bathroom properly?” in front of other people was mortifying.

I never imagined using the bathroom could be this difficult. Men and women really are different creatures… I learned that the hard way today.

At least it was a Western-style toilet. If it had been a squat toilet, I probably would’ve splashed everywhere.

W-well, in the end, I managed without making a mess. Yep. I even wiped properly.

"Ayumi-neechan blushing like that is seriously adorable."

"She really is."

Mom and Kaname smirked at me.

I was completely being toyed with. From my perspective, it was nothing but a nuisance, but I figured they’d get bored eventually. For now, they were just amused by the novelty of me being a girl. Probably.

At Denny’s, we only ordered some fries to nibble on before heading out again.

The roads were still jammed, and it looked like we had a long way home.

Relieved after the bathroom, I thought I’d try to get some sleep.

But Kaname, who had been asleep the whole way until we stopped at Denny’s, suddenly perked up for some reason and wouldn’t stop talking to me, keeping me wide awake.

Well, at least it kept things from being boring.

When we got home, Dad was waiting at the front door.

"Oh my, thank you for welcoming us home," Mom said brightly, bowing her head slightly as she stepped inside.

Kaname and I followed her in.

"Ayumi, where’s my welcome-home kiss?"

"Huh? Why—what?"

I asked without thinking, and Dad visibly deflated.

Later, I found out that he actually kept a “Things Dad Wants His Daughter to Do” list in some mysterious notebook—and apparently, that was one of the top entries.

Stuff like that should really be left to Mom.

"Anyway, Ayumi-chan, I’m starting dinner. Come and help me."

We were finally home, and I was exhausted. My plan had been to flop onto my bed and laze around until dinner. But Mom’s merciless command left no room to escape.

"Eh, I have to help? Why?"

"A girl who can’t even cook one simple dish will get laughed at later in life! Doesn’t matter what kind of man it is—if you grab hold of his stomach, you can reel him in just like that."

Yeah, no. There’s no universe where I’m reeling in some guy. I’ve got zero intention of dating anyone. I mean, I used to be a boy.

And dating a girl? Looking at my body now, that felt questionable, too. Ugh… I guess I’ll just let the future figure itself out. My brain was too tired to think properly.

"You don’t have to cook. There are convenience stores, after all."

"Fine then. Starting tomorrow, Ayumi-chan’s dinner will be convenience store lunchboxes every day♪"

"I’ll help with cooking, Mama!" I said instantly.

Sure, I could survive on convenience store food, but imagine Dad and Kaname happily eating Mom’s delicious home cooking while I sat there with a plastic-wrapped bento. No way.

"Here, this apron is yours."

Mom handed me a brand-new apron. So this was part of today’s shopping spree, too.

It was pink, embroidered with little floral patterns—cute as could be.

"Whoa! Skirt with an apron on top is amazing!"

Kaname cheered.

I couldn’t help thinking—seriously, is my little brother really an elementary school kid? Or did he somehow shrink and turn into one? His reactions were seriously… off in the wrong direction for a child his age.

"Mm, very nice. I’ll grab the camera—wait right there."

"Ahhh, daughters really are wonderful. Ayumi-chan in an apron is moe overload! Oh, dear, make sure you use the single-lens reflex camera, okay?"

Dad hurried back into the house. Meanwhile, Mom hugged me tightly, pressing her cheek against mine.

Maybe Kaname wasn’t the strange one. Maybe being in this family naturally made you turn out like that.

I must be the only sane one here.

But helping Mom cook… I soon regretted it.

I’d thought she’d be softer on me now that I was a girl. At least, I used to think that.

When it came to cooking, she was full-on Spartan.

"No! You’re holding the knife like you’re about to stab someone!"

"Keep your left hand in a claw! You’re clumsy—you’ll cut your fingers!"

"Your slices are uneven. Cut them more cleanly!"

"The cucumbers are still connected—cut them all the way through!"

"Presentation is part of cooking too. Think about cutting beautifully and plating beautifully!"

And on, and on…

She just kept scolding me. I never realized cooking was this hard. I needed to show Mom way more gratitude for making food every day.

Never thought I’d get yelled at ten times just for making salad. I’d underestimated it, thinking it was just “cutting some vegetables.” Big mistake.

While I struggled with the salad, Mom simultaneously washed rice, set the cooker, prepped the meat, and made miso soup stock. She even sliced tofu in her palm. Amazing. Doesn’t that scare her?

The way she moved—efficient and sharp—it actually looked kind of cool.

So this is the strength of a housewife, huh? Not that I want to become one, but cooking might actually be kind of fun. Since I’m going to get roped into helping from tomorrow anyway, maybe I should try harder.

"Tonight’s salad was made by Ayumi-chan~"

When dinner was ready and everyone sat around the living room table, Mom said this with a smile, as if the Spartan drill sergeant from earlier had never existed.

"Ohh. I’ll look forward to that," Dad said happily.

To my surprise, my salad was a hit. Being told “it’s delicious” about something you made yourself really feels good. Alright, I’ll try harder tomorrow, too.

And so, my long, long day finally came to an end.