Behind the round glasses are the unusual pink eyes studying my face.
Right, she must know me—-or rather, the former user of this body.
After I managed to stand straight, her soft hands were still clasping mine. As if afraid he'd go anywhere. Well he did, Now what's left is me.
A few minutes pass, and I feel my head a little cooler.
The pink girl asks if there's anything she can do. Recommending to see the nurse—-even offering to carry me herself. Looking at her thin arm, I don't think that'd ever work.
"I could get someone to help," she says.
Am I supposed to know her? I think I could have. But for now, I won't try to remember. I can't consume anymore memory. It was torture.
So that left me guessing. I know from the memories I have that I am at a high school. And based on her clothing—white coat and blouse with a tiny necktie—-she is probably a student here. Her pretty and young face, with little help of makeup, supports that idea.
Her hand tightens around my finger. Her eyes are glossing, reflecting a poor image of his (my) face.
What am I to her? I have one or two ideas with how she reacted just now. One, she and the former user are friends. Or a more interesting possibility is, they are more than that. Neat.
Then should I act as such?
I probably should. Our hands are sweaty now from sharing heat. If I act more like how she wants, she might finally let my skin breathe.
"Don't worry, I just had a headache," I say.
After a good minute, she lets go. She pauses, scanning up and down once. Her mouth presses firmly for a second.
Is she going to grab my hand again? I give her a smile. See? I'm just fine.
Seeing that, she sighs and smiles back—-one that doesn't reach her eyes. She turns her head to the door just a few steps away from us, and back to me. "Well, if Sunbae says so…"
She steps back. And moves.
I follow her to the door. 'Special Class' so the tag on the dark wooden wood says.
So if I have this right… This is the place the former user wanted to enter. Everything is still a mystery to me. Maybe, if I stick a while longer I could have my answer. Maybe if I go in, I'd meet the person who brought me here. Who are they? God?
Is this the second chance thingy?
Am I supposed to live better than my last?
"Sunbae?"
Oh.
The pink-haired girl I have yet to get her name, has been holding the door, waiting.
Sure.
I'd play for a while longer.
I enter.
The room is too spacious for the little furniture it has. In the center of the room, a couple of long ruby chaise longues; seating between a white long table; while facing away a large window set with elastic-bloody drapes. The other four fifths of the room are nothing but plain air, marble floor, white wall. It's like I am in some kind of an experiment room.
Then these girls must be the subjects.
Only one girl turns to look at me. She has a brown long-layered haircut, hiding her pale skin as much as it can. Her cute thin bang settled on her tiny forehead. Cowering behind it, wide emerald eyes—-shaky.
Next to her, a black-long haired asian beauty. A japanese, perhaps. Laptop on her lap. Her fingers ran around the keyboard and her face glued on the screen. I can't get a good look at her face because she doesn't bother to show it to me.
At the same side of the couch but slightly further away from the last person, a petite girl with abnormally long red hair. They are spilling from the sofa. She sits with her bare feet up on the mattress, even sitting and stepping on some of her hair. Because of this posture, her underwear almost shows. Luckily (for her) her skirt is long. And just like the girl next to her, this one I can't get a good look at her face, too, since she's covering it with a bulky black game console.
And then the last girl is dead. Silver hair. Her eyes closed, her long white eyelashes standing up. Both fist above her tummy. Her pale corpse uses most of the couch to lie on. Her tranquil look facing up the ceiling. Is no one going to call someone to take off this body? Oh, hold on, her chest moves up and down. I was wrong. She is just asleep.
These girls have the same uniform as the pink-haired girl except the sleeping silvered-hair girl who has white hoodie instead.
All right… I'm done staring. Now what?
"Sunbae, these are the girls."
The pink haired girl steps into the view, waiting for a reply.
"Yeah, they look good."
"Look… good?"
They are pretty. Five of you. You all are out of the world. Look at those eyes. That doesn't look like contact lenses back where I came from. I can tell they were there ever since you were born.
Yes, I am sure that this is another world now. I had a suspicion it was so when I gained the memory but now after seeing this, it confirms it.
And that very memory tells me that the body I inherited now is someone who wanted to be a tutor for these girls. Didn't it also say that he's the third smartest student in the Center—-the city I am in. Then, am I supposed to pretend to be that? That would cause quite a trouble. I wasn't much of a student even back then. Before I inherited this body I was nothing but a…
Nothing but a… Well, that's funny. Who was I?
Have I forgotten?
No. It must be the shock right? Am I in shock right now? It'd make sense, since I did just die a few minutes ago.
Minutes? Is that the right time gap since then?
"Sunbae," a tug to my sleeve, "what are you staring at? How about you take a seat?"
I find myself moving. And then I sit on the different side of the couch from the girls. The pink-haired girl takes the space beside me. Just close enough.
The asian beauty steals a glance at me with her deep dark eyes, and returns to her laptop's screen, all the while still clanking her keyboard.
"So who's he, Sohee?"
The pink haired girl replies, "First I want you all to stop and listen."
So the pink is Sohee. Pink hair-eyes-lips girl: Sohee. Got it.
She asked them to stop.
Click. Click. From the console game. The red-haired girl can't listen, her ears are plugged in. Music spilling out.
Clank. Clank. Keyboard. The asian beauty did hear, she just didn't want to stop.
Fuu… a girl is asleep. She either listens in her dream or not.
The only girl who stops is the brown-haired girl. In fact, she listens so well she is sitting like a statue. In other words, she is not breathing.
"Nelly," Sohee leans forward to the statue girl, "breathe."
Nelly. Brown-hair, emerald eyes, shows little to no skin: Nelly. All right.
She breaks free and starts breathing. Her whole body turns sideaway, away from me. I have a feeling she don't like me so much.
"Soh, Sohee…" Nelly voice, slipping past her hairs. "Is he…"
She speaks but I can't hear anything. Neither does Sohee based on her concerned face.
"I can't hear you, Nelly."
The asian beauty, instead, raises up one of her hands while the other is still typing. "She asks the same question as me, chief."
Nelly nods, ever so slowly.
"I told you to stop calling me that, Shizuka."
So she is indeed Japanese. Asian beauty, black long silky hair, dark eyes, laptop: Shizuka. Okay two more.
Sohee sighs, watching the girls. "You guys aren't going to stop, aren't you?"
No one gives her a reply.
Her face turns to me. Our eyes meet, and stay for a while. She nods.
Huh, is she expecting something? I'm sorry, Sohee, right? I don't know much about this world yet but if you're sending me a message via telepathy, I can't hear you. Can you hear me?
She raises her eyebrow.
No?
All right, all right. You want me to talk, is that right? Fine then, I did say I'd play a little while.
"I think," I say, "I'm to be your new tutor."
Click. Clank. And then no more. They stop.
Huh. I didn't, like, cast a spell, or something, didn't I?
Sohee is nodding with a slight smile.
Either it was magic that froze them—-or what I said was a slam to their head.
She takes it off. The earphone. And lowers her game console. A deep red eyes, like a dragon portrayed in high budget movies. Her anger is pointing at me and Sohee.
"You forced me to come and listen to this impossible, Sohee?"
So she was listening?
Sohee replies, "What's the impossible, Varlie?"
A tiny sharp finger jabs at me, "No men, is that not the rule?"
Woah, now, let's not be quick to judge gender here. For all I know I could be a XX haver. Let's see… okay, nevermind. I can feel something between my legs.
"There has not been a rule that says so," Sohee says, "I think you're mistaken about Sunbae's role here. He's not a teacher, he's a tutor."
"A man is still a man. He must've been hoping by becomin' our tutor, have his chance to fuck one of us."
Looks like someone has a bad experience with my gender. But she is not entirely wrong about me. Ever since I saw how she is sitting, my eyes have been subconsciously settled at the area of her skirt. Hoping for a chance it shortened suddenly.A man is still a man after all.
"Varrie!" Sohee raises her voice, "Need I remind you we're still in school? Do you want me to take you to the disciplinary teacher again?"
Is that her name? That is quite unique. Red-hair, dragon, games: Varrie. One more to go.
"Tch. 'Kay, no one here likes to hear what I say anyway. Sohee, my answer should be obvious."
She groans and plugs her earphone back in. Oh and also she puts her legs down. Dang.
Shizuka raises her hand. Both her hands now.
"Shizuka."
"As much as I hate to be on the same side as Varrie's, I am in sort of an agreement with her. Oh and also, I am going to write a letter on you, to the school, for bringing him up here. Maybe this time they'd listen. I'm kind of bored with you now."
Sohee crosses her arms, "Really? With your failing grades and low attendance scores, you think they want to hear a student like that complaining? And to let you know, Sunbae being here is already approved by the School Administration."
"Sunbae?" Shizuka scans me. "Ah, senpai…"
Hm? Sunbae is not a name? You know I have a feeling it's not when I first hear of it. So it is a seniority title after all.
Shizuka gives me a little smirk.
"So, Sunbae? What do you think? Should I be grateful that you have come here to try to be our tutor?"
Sohee cuts in, "Of course you do. He's a top former student in the Center a few years ago. The school did a lot to have him come here."
Sohee, if you try any more, protecting the former user of this body's honor, I might feel bad for you. He's gone now, I'm sorry—-well, not that you'd believe it if I told you that. He's dead, and now you got me.