| We arrive so early that no one else is even here yet. I try to quickly cover a lot of the course basics and the material we’ll be covering. Francois-san is impressed with the calculator, and I’m reminded of how convenient a lot of modern conveniences are. We can’t really dwell on any one thing too long because we have way too much to cover. I feel overwhelmed by the scope and I have no idea how it must feel for her— | |
| “Who is this ?” A high-pitched voice interrupts my explanations. | |
| I look up and a taller girl glares at me. Oh, it's that brunette that hangs on Francois-san all the time, and the pink-haired girl is here too. Huh, I swore the pink girl was the one with the freckles. | |
| “Loretta-chan!” Francois-san jumps from her chair and gives Lackey One a hug. It catches both of them by surprise and Lackey One blushes. Francois-san grins and enjoys the hug before moving on to to Lackey Two. “Pepi-chan, it’s great to see you two.” | |
| Both of them are silent. Lackey One’s blush seems to be a feature now. Ha. Lackey Two finally breaks the silence. “Where did you go yesterday? We tried messaging you but you didn’t answer. And what is she doing here?” She does not sound pleased. | |
| “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t feeling terribly well, and I was meeting up with my Rei, I mean, my new tutor. I was just busy.” Francois-san tries her best to make the explanation sound plausible, but selling a lie isn’t really a strength of hers as it turns out. One more point in favor of the argument that she isn’t lying about all of this, I suppose. Not that I doubt it at this point. But she called me— | |
| “R-e-i?” Lackey One croaks out. | |
| Francois-san gets flustered, only now realizing her mistake. The mistake she keeps making . “Oh, yes, Rei-san, Rei Taylor, I mean, Rei Oohashi.” Oh no, she’s really fumbling now. I have to help her. | |
| “Yes, I’m Oohashi Rei . Francois-san needed a tutor and we met yesterday. We had a lot to cover and Francois-san wasn’t feeling well. She got light headed and had to lay down for a bit. She’s feeling better now, but we had to rush this morning to finish covering the materials, and you know how it is when the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.” | |
| Lackey One, still blushing, just stares at me. Oh get over yourself. Lackey Two is quiet, analyzing Francois-san intently. She can sense that something is off. She glances at me for a moment, reminding me of a cat, and then turns back to Francois-san. “Fine, but she better not get any ideas about hanging around too long—” | |
| “Excuse me?” Francois-san’s voice chills and Lackey Two stops mid-sentence. It sends a pleasant shiver down my spine. “That is my tutor you are talking to, Pepi-chan. She wouldn’t be my tutor if she wasn’t extremely capable and I expect the two of you to treat her with respect.” Okay, I need to unzip my hoodie I wasn’t expecting that and it’s suddenly very warm in this classroom. | |
| “Claire-chan?” Lackey One looks aghast. | |
| Lackey Two eyes Francois-san, then turns and glares at me. “Fine, come on Loretta-chan, lets get seats. Let’s talk later, Francois-san, okay?” | |
| “Of course, see you soon.” The ice is gone from Francois-san’s voice. Her normal cheeriness has returned, and it doesn’t even feel forced. | |
| Lackey Two just nods and drags Lackey One a few seats over. One glares at me the whole time, and wow I do not care. | |
| “Sorry, that was rude of them.” Francois-san says after they sit down, and she places a hand on my knee, giving it a soft squeeze. | |
| I let out a nervous chuckle. I swear I can function, “Oh, I don’t really care about what they think or say. If anything, it would make them suspicious if I did. I’m just supposed to be your tutor.” | |
| “Well, it’s not like I didn’t already make a disaster of introducing you.” She sighs. “But it’s just not possible for me to act like the Claire they know. I have some ideas of how I might have acted before, but I’ll have to get people used to the new me eventually. Those two were always my close friends before. Even if no one else caught on, they would notice. It might be easier to just explain it to them.” | |
| “Really? Are you sure? The more people we rope into this, the harder it will be to control. If the wrong person hears about it they could use this against you. You could even get sent to an asylum or something, I don’t know.” That would be the worst outcome, and if it spins out of control I won’t be able to help her anymore. | |
| “I understand, but they will need some sort of reason for my change in behavior. And I do trust them, but you are right. I just want to consider the options.” She looks defeated for a moment, then meets my eyes. There’s a playful fire in her gaze. She smirks. Oh no. “I could just tell them I fell madly in love with you.” | |
| Seventeen, nineteen, twenty-one, fuck… “Francois-san, please, we’re in class .” At least she’s keeping her voice low. |