Saiko
Shy Girl C. 4
One of the things, of course, that Yumiko would talk about with Kazuko and Setsuko, the other two shy girls, was Saiki Ayako, almost literally the princess of the school. The second-year and her brother Shigeru were as aristocratic in behavior as their breeding would call for, though Saiko (as she was usually called) demonstrated a demure and modest version. Shigeru's was elegant but more decadent.
As life in general had become a bit more grim, they did what aristocrats often do - added some color and excitement to everyday life. Mainly by gossip.
Yumiko, unlike Setsuko and Kazuko, didn't proclaim herself a fan of Saiko, but inside, she knew she had a special feeling for the Lilian princess. Just this year, as Yumiko entered the final set of school terms as a first-year, the school had tried to build competence and independence into the girls by letting the older girls pick (or usually, be assigned) to a younger girl to teach them the rules, instead of the teachers and the nuns. Informally, they called the system "ane/imouto." To avoid confusion, some of the students called their mentor or trainee "sister" in English, but that conflicted with what they often called the actual nuns. Finally, the same French class that Yumiko was in declared that the terms "petite sœur" and "grande sœur" should be used, and it seemed to have stuck.
Yumiko was ashamed of the fact, but she often fantasized being the beautiful, elegant and unreachable Princess Saiko's petite sœur. "Yumi-chan," Saiko would say, "You've come along wonderfully." And then she would hug Yumiko to her chest and look at her proudly.
It was one of the visions that helped Yumiko make it through the day.
