When you'd gotten back to the dorms that afternoon, after class had ended, you found that Izumi hadn't returned. It was just you, it seemed. You didn't know when he was going to come back, but this moment provided ample opportunity for you and you shut the door as you entered.
"Classes today were swell," you said to no one in particular, laying your books down onto the desk. Izumi had promised to clean it, and you knew he would keep his word. It was just taking him too long. Papers were still piled up everywhere, along with textbooks as fat at the American Dictionary. Well, you weren't going to clean it.
Then you pulled off the shirt you wore and tossed it onto the ground. It lay there, crumpled in a heap.
It was a boy's shirt, seeing as the only uniform at Osaka Gakuen was designed to fit on a male's body. You'd gotten a size bigger than your normal size, to make sure that it didn't show any of your developing curves.
Yes, curves. At the thought of that, you glanced down at your chest. You wore a tight vest around your torso, one that flattened your chest at a slightly painful level. It was there to hide your breasts. As much as you hated wearing no bra (you were so used to wearing a bra all the time, this new style was killing you), you'd have to live with it.
You sat down heavily on Izumi's bed, lowering your head into your hands. Being a girl at Gakuen was difficult. You had to watch your every step and tread gently through the water. One wrong move would cost you dearly. If your secret was out, then you'd be expelled, the boys would go wild, and you would be in a lot of danger.
"But it's all worth it," you reminded yourself, unfastening the vest. "I came here on my own choice."
It had been your decision to make the appearance change from a young woman to a teenage boy. You'd been the one to cut your voluminous hair to a boy's length. You'd gotten clothes from your male friends and brother back at home, in America. You'd found a few vests that showed no evidence of your blossoming breasts. It's a good thing that you had a small chest. That helped a lot.
The reason behind coming to Osaka Gakuen?
You had a crush on Izumi Sano.
It was a silly crush, really. Your brother had been competing in the high jump two years ago. He'd gone to Nationals, where he had faced other top competitors from around the world. One of them had been Izumi. He and your brother had made it to the finals, where they went against each other.
You had gone along with your brother, to offer moral support and see how well he did, in case he won. For a long time, you'd always thought that your brother was the best high jumper in the world. Nobody could best his technique in your eyes. But when you'd seen Izumi jump…it was breath-taking. It was beautiful. The way he'd jumped over the pole with absolute grace and style…
Izumi hadn't won the competition, due to a slip-up, but he'd done his work on you. You were absolutely mesmerized. When your brother and Izumi shook hands, you gazed at the Japanese male, wondering how in the world you would ever see him again. That was when you had started to put together your plan.
It had to have been a miracle when you were put into the same room as Izumi. Not only was he your crush, now he was your roommate! You could get close to him in better way than if you were a girl.
"Another reason I'm here," you muttered, sitting topless on the bed, "is to keep an eye on Minami."
You and the ladies' man were good friends. His father was a friend of your dad's, and you'd met him on a business trip, when the two of you were little toddlers. Ever since then, you would hang around with Nanba whenever your family took a trip to Japan or whenever your father had to come and work here.
When you were fifteen and Nanba was sixteen, you'd considered a relationship. The two of you decided to exercise that possibility. But it wasn't working out, it had been awkward and you called it off before it could damage your bond.
Nanba was always a good friend of yours'. You figured that he would love your plan. But when you'd met him two weeks ago to discuss your coming to Gakuen, he'd been clear that he was against it.
"Enough about Minami," you told yourself. You stood up and walked over to the closet. Two of your suitcases lay on the ground, untouched. You leaned down, unzipped one of them, and went through it, searching for a shirt and some pants. You pulled out a baggy red shirt with an American rap group on it and black shorts. These would have to do.
Standing in the center of the room, you pulled on the shirt. It felt great to be able to wear a shirt without that horrible vest. The vest was itchy and scratchy and it would be a while before you got used to it. Then you started to shimmy out of your uniform pants.
Behind you, the door opened and in stepped Izumi, finally back from wherever he had been, carrying his books in one hand and two cans of soda in another. "Sorry I'm late," he started to say, and then he saw that you were in the process of taking off your pants.
A blush flared up onto his cheeks, as did one onto yours'. "Sorry, I didn't know you were—I'll just wait outside!" he stammered, and then went out into the hall, closing the door quickly.
You stood there for a moment, your heart hammering. Wow. That must've been such a tease for Izumi… Then you laughed under your breath, sliding into the shorts. "That scared me," you murmured to yourself. You'd have to be more careful. What if you'd been taking off your vest—? That would've been horrible. You'd be found out, exposed. Exposed in more ways than one…
"I'm finished," you called, throwing your uniform into the laundry basket. Then you sat down in the chair. "You can come in now."
Izumi slowly opened the door, peeking in first before fully coming inside. He was still red-faced. A smile came onto your lips. The blush made him look absolutely adorable.
"Next time, maybe you should lock the door or something," he said, setting his books down next to yours' on the desk.
"Okay," you replied.
He then handed you a can of something. "Here. I stopped at a vending machine to get an energy drink, and this can popped out along with it. You can have it. I'm not a fan of peach juice."
Peach juice happened to be your favorite. You took the can and then smiled up at him. "I love peach juice! Thanks!"
Izumi stared at you for a second, and then the corners of his mouth rose into a smile. "You're welcome," he replied. The two of you sipped your drinks and lapsed into an easy conversation.
