Chapter 81

The schoolyard was a grass field.

When I crouched down to touch it, it felt artificial.

Since I didn’t know the difference between natural grass and artificial turf, I just let it be. Probably because it was cheap.

I didn’t rush, but I arrived at school relatively quickly, yet I still saw a few students heading in. I wondered what was the intent behind starting the day so early since the first day of school.

While I was looking around the campus, a strange kid who had also arrived early approached me. Maybe sensing some shared experience, they shyly started a conversation. I ignored them.

The school was excessively large to be a high school. It seemed like the hard work of the policy team was visible. They must have struggled to compensate for the blunder of the Members of Parliament who only allocated space for one high school in the new city that was supposed to house places like the Blue House and the Parliament building. How inconvenient.

I had taken a pretty good look around. Since I’d be spending three years there, I only needed to get a general sense of the school’s atmosphere. Actually, knowing the location of the snack bar was what really mattered.

When I opened the door to the principal’s office and walked in, I saw my mom putting on her coat.

“Knocking is a good thing, oh? You’re here! You came early.”

Mom, who had been frowning as she turned around, broke into a smile.

“Isn’t the school too big? I feel like walking around for classes would just make your legs ache.”

I voiced my complaints while sitting on the sofa.

“Our daughter, you shouldn’t disrespect your mom. Everything about the layout is calculated.”

“The layout is calculated, but it’s still big anyway.”

Without saying anything, mom picked up a cookie from her desk and popped it in her mouth, clearly intending to sidestep the issue.

The cookie was salty and delicious.

“But what worries me more, Mom, is Sky.”

Mom tore open an instant coffee package and poured it into a paper cup. The electric kettle tilted, and the smell of coffee wafted through the air. Instant coffee… I wondered why, when we had a perfectly good coffee machine, mom was using instant mix.

There was only one cup of coffee made. Mom sipped from the paper cup.

“My cup…?”

“Since you’ve started living on your own, isn’t it about time you did things for yourself?”

“Not at all. I still need looking after.”

Mom shook her head, then opened another mix coffee packet. A new cup of coffee was steaming faintly. In the paper cup appeared a dull black liquid. If I added milk foam, could I call it cappuccino? Sprinkle some cinnamon, and I might argue that it was one. Anyway, we need to upgrade to mugs instead of paper cups.

After a sip, it was just the taste from my previous life. Surprisingly refreshing.

“I’m really worried…”

Mom sighed.

“What’s there to worry about? I don’t cause trouble…”

I was about to say that I didn’t cause trouble, but all the days I missed classes flashed back into my mind. But that wasn’t causing trouble, was it? Students sometimes get bored with classes. I wasn’t even hitting people.

Thinking about it, there was one kid I did kick for provoking me. But that was self-defense and shouldn’t count.

“Worried…”

She said that a third time.

“Mom, don’t worry. As long as they’re high school students, the kids will think about what they’re doing.”

After consoling her, mom became gloomy, maybe reflecting on life.

I understood what mom was worried about. She was afraid of unnecessary trouble for our family.

The new city was built to cope with threats from outer space. Due to its special nature, real estate here found its owners quickly, leaving few properties available. Even with money, moving into the new city now would take time.

Still, families who had already moved, enrolling their kids in this high school, were likely those who had privileged access to information. Gathered together, their children would find themselves in potentially difficult situations if conflicts arose. Conflicts among students could escalate into conflicts among adults, even if that transition wasn’t easy. Once sparked, the chaos would be massive.

Though, the ones who should be worried are from the other families, not our side.

“Mom hopes Sky will make lots of friends. Since we’ve changed locations, this is also a chance for a fresh start.”

This was not the reason I expected. Mom evidently regretted the quality of friends I had in the past.

“Having too many friends isn’t good. Research shows the number of friends correlates with stress levels.”

“Reference?”

“My thoughts.”

It was just fabricated on the spot.

“Even though it’s made up in my head, it’s an objective deduction based on my sincere evaluation.”

At my words, mom smiled wryly and murmured.

“Is it a failure of parenting…”

Oops.

“Wasn’t it Dad’s fault?”

“Even I agree with that.”

Mom nodded casually. She was truly an artist at dodging responsibility.

“Alright, since you said you’ll manage on your own, I’ll believe you! Still, try to make at least one more friend. You mentioned a foreign girl living together, right? How about trying to be friends with her? Or are you already friends?”

“Friend…friend?”

“Laplace’s nickname suggests he’s not foreign. And he’s just someone I know. We probably won’t get closer.”

Incredibly, I don’t even know his real name. He claims to have an expiration date, but I didn’t tell Mom about it, feeling unsure whether he truly had one. Maybe he was just exhibiting a cynical case of middle-school syndrome.

“If your personalities don’t match, it can’t be helped. Still, living together, it’s worth trying to get along.”

“Yeah…”

If Mom insists like this, then, as a well-raised daughter who doesn’t cause trouble, I can at least try. Someday.

“How’s living together? Anything inconvenient?”

“Hmm, there are a lot of inconveniences, but it feels like life itself is inconvenient. Is there a solution?”

“There isn’t anything we can do about that.”

Mom chuckled.

“It’s disappointing.”

“Is everything else going fine? Are you eating properly? Not just rushing through meals?”

“Of course I just get by. Today’s breakfast that Yumina made consisted of some pasta without a single tomato in sight. I wondered what it even was.”

“Daughter, breakfast is not something you should be picky about.”

“Mom wouldn’t understand. There was no tomato, just pure ketchup.”

After a few more comments of evaluation, I got scolded.

After mom finished speaking, I quietly sipped at the instant coffee as a sign of repentance.

A knock on the door resounded.

“Come in.”

A staff member, looking like administrative personnel, entered cautiously.

“Miss President, you haven’t come yet. Is there something wrong?”

“Oh, has it already been this long? I lost track of time talking with my daughter. I’ll come now.”

Mom stood up. Thinking about it, she had been wearing her coat since I arrived, so she was probably just about to leave. Then she wasn’t actually oblivious to time but was deliberately stalling until the staff came looking for her?

Since mom was also about to leave, I stood up too. I needed to stop by the classroom to drop off my bag before heading to the office for the enrollment briefing.

Upon entering the classroom, it was clear that many students had arrived during the time I was elsewhere. About half the class was present. Scanning the room, as expected, most faces were unfamiliar. Hmm… Where should I sit? If everyone just left, I wouldn’t have to make this decision. Sudden desire for homeschooling arose.

I headed toward a random empty seat when the classroom door abruptly opened.

“Hello! Everyone!”

A loud voice captured everyone’s attention. Yumina, whistling nonchalantly, noticed me and blinked.

“Our young lady left quite a while ago; why are you here?”

“I was chatting with Mom, so I arrived late to the classroom.”

“With the president? But she’s busy preparing for the enrollment ceremony. That’s not allowed.”

At the word “president,” all eyes shifted from Yumina to me. My body shivered.

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