People always say turning eighteen means you've finally become an adult. So I figured it was finally time to start acting like one.
On the last day of university orientation, I finally decided to do what I'd been too scared to do for the past five years. And I was absolutely convinced I'd unlocked a new route.
"KAZUHA SAEGUSA!" My voice echoed across the university hallway.
Students stopped walking. A few upperclassmen looked over with expressions that clearly said, Who let this idiot into college?
Kazuha slowly turned around and covered one ear. "You're too loud, Kaoru."
Behind a nearby pillar, Joseph flashed me two enthusiastic thumbs up.
This is it.
I inhaled so deeply I almost choked.
"I LIKE YOU!"
...
Why did my voice crack now?!
I coughed once before forcing myself to continue.
"Please go out with me!" I bowed with all the sincerity I had.
Honestly, I wasn't even that nervous anymore. I liked her since middle school. Then against my grades, we somehow ended up attending the same university.
Come on, even fate couldn't make it any more obvious than that.
Kazuha slowly walked toward me, then she gently took my hand.
YES! I knew it.
Then she smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Kaoru."
"Hm?"
"But I'm only interested in girls." She gently let go of my hand, gave me a small bow, then quietly walked past me.
I remained frozen with my hand still hanging in the air like a complete idiot.
Only interested...
In girls?
Only...?
My brain spent a full five seconds trying to process those words and it failed spectacularly.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" I threw both hands into the air, my voice echoing throughout the hallway. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO COMPETE WITH GIRLS?! CAN I APPEAL THIS DECISION?!"
Without even turning around, Kazuha simply raised one hand. "No."
The entire hallway fell silent.
Several students looked between Kazuha and me before quietly pretending they hadn't witnessed the most embarrassing confession of their life.
A classroom door slid open, and the professor slowly peeked outside with the exhausted expression of a man who'd already given up on life. "Ahem. Excuse me."
I pointed dramatically toward the direction Kazuha had disappeared. "Professor! My love life has been canceled before it even aired!"
He glanced down the hallway, then back at me. "My lecture is also about to be canceled if you keep yelling!"
By lunchtime, the entire campus somehow knew. Apparently information traveled faster than Wi-Fi when it involved embarrassing someone else's love life.
I lay face down on a cafeteria table. "My youth is over..."
Joseph sat across from me carrying two lunch trays. We'd been best friends since middle school. He was half Japanese, half American, and a full time pervert. Which explained why we got along so well.
"I heard about it," he said.
"I know."
"I wasn't talking about the confession."
I looked up. "There's something worse?"
"They're calling you 'Rejected Guy.'"
I immediately buried my face back into the table.
"I'd like to transfer universities."
"You've only been here three days."
"Exactly. I can still escape."
Joseph slid a melon soda toward me. "Drink."
"Thanks."
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then Joseph leaned across the table with the expression of someone about to spread state secrets. "So..."
"What?"
"I found out Kazuha's type."
I instantly sat upright. "You what?"
"I asked one of her friends."
"When?"
"While you were mourning."
"You're an amazing bro."
"I know." He proudly unfolded a notebook page.
"Short black hair," Joseph began reading.
I confidently pointed at myself. "That's me."
"Technically." Joseph looked at my messy bed hair. "Taller than her."
"I'm winning."
"Cool, pretty," Joseph continued.
"Still me."
He slowly lowered the paper and stared directly into my eyes. "Sure."
I ignored the sarcasm. Clearly, he was jealous.
Joseph's lips slowly curled into a mischievous grin as he looked back at the list. "A woman."
I clutched my chest dramatically. "Damn it!" I wiped away imaginary tears.
Joseph burst out laughing. "That was the most important and the only one you couldn't reach."
I let out an exaggerated sigh before peeking over the paper. "Fine, what else is on the list?"
Joseph kept reading. "Kind hearted, loves dogs, hardworking... smart... reliable..." Joseph frowned as the list continued. "Man... Girls have this many requirements?"
I snatched the paper from him. "There has to be an ending."
...
There wasn't.
"Calm under pressure... good at cooking... strong... responsible... not afraid of bugs..." I looked up. "Is she looking for a girlfriend or hiring a superhero?"
Joseph burst out laughing. "I know, right?"
I threw my hands into the air with a dramatic sigh. "Compared to hers, I'm an easy man to please."
"Oh?"
"Pretty."
"Mhm."
"Cute."
"..."
"And maybe... big boobs."
Joseph nodded. "There it is."
"What?"
"I was wondering how long it'd take before your true colors came out."
I pointed at him. "As if you're any different."
Joseph scratched his cheek. "Actually, yeah."
"See?"
"We're both hopeless."
We looked at each other, then laughed loud enough for several nearby students to glance over.
That evening, I lay on my bed reading Kazuha's list again.
'I'm only interested in girls.' Those five words kept replaying in my head.
"If only..." I let out a long sigh.
I blinked. "Nah..."
Even I knew that sounded stupid. I tossed the paper onto my desk, turned off the light, and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, my alarm blared beside my bed.
"Five more minutes..." The words that came out of my mouth made me pause. "Huh?"
I blinked a few times before clearing my throat.
"Ahem." The voice that came out wasn't mine. It was noticeably higher and softer. "What the heck? Did I somehow catch a voice changing cold?"
Still feeling sleepy, I reached over and silenced my alarm before stretching as hard as I could. The moment I stretched, something on my chest shifted.
"Why does my chest feel so heavy?" I scratched it absentmindedly before climbing out of bed.
My balance felt strange. It wasn't like I was dizzy, but my body felt different, as if its weight had been redistributed overnight.
"Did I get fat while sleeping? That's impossible."
Yawning, I wandered over to the bedroom window.
A girl stood in front of me. She looked just as sleepy as I did.
I frowned. She frowned.
I tilted my head. She did exactly the same.
I raised one hand. She copied me.
"Don't tell me..." I stared at her for several seconds before suddenly nodding to myself.
"Oh." I finally figured it out. "I'm dreaming."
That had to be it. There was no other explanation. I'd spent the entire night thinking about Kazuha rejecting me. I even caught myself wishing I were a girl before falling asleep.
"So this is just my brain messing with me..."
Dreams were weird. Last month I dreamed Joseph married a vending machine and cried because it only accepted cash. Compared to that... Dreaming that I'd become a girl because I couldn't stop thinking about Kazuha all night somehow made perfect sense.
"Yeah." I nodded confidently. "This is definitely a dream." I felt strangely relieved. "As expected of my imagination."
Feeling much calmer, I walked closer until I was almost touching the glass. "My height's the same..."
I looked at my messy short black hair. "My hair's still short too."
Then my eyes slowly moved to my face.
The hairstyle and height hadn't changed much at all, but my face had. My jawline was softer, my eyes looked larger, and my features had become far more feminine. "Why do I look this cute?"
I immediately shook my head. "No, that's not the point!"
Since it was obviously a dream, there was only one thing to do. "I just need to wake up."
I marched into the bathroom and nearly slipped on the floor before grabbing the sink.
The mirror showed exactly the same girl. "Persistent dream..."
I pinched my cheek. "Ow."
I pinched harder. "OW!"
I splashed cold water onto my face. The girl in the mirror did exactly the same.
I slapped both cheeks. Nothing changed. "This dream has way too much budget..."
Trying very hard not to panic, I looked over the rest of my body. My shoulders, they looked slightly narrower than before. My waist, definitely slimmer.
Then my eyes drifted downward.
"Hold on." The unfamiliar weight on my chest finally caught my attention.
"So that's why it felt heavy..." I cautiously placed a hand against my chest.
"They're actually real?" I bounced lightly on my heels without thinking. The weight bounced with me.
I stared blankly.
Then another realization struck me. My smile slowly disappeared.
"Wait a second..." I looked down again.
My expression stiffened. "No..."
I checked again. "No, no, no..." My sleepy brain finally accepted reality.
"WHERE DID IT GO?! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
My scream echoed through the entire house.
A loud crash came from downstairs.
"KAORU?!" Dad shouted.
Another crash followed immediately.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Mom yelled.
I pointed frantically at the mirror. "THERE'S A GIRL IN MY BATHROOM!"
Mom and Dad rushed inside. They looked at the mirror, then at me, then back at the mirror again.
"WHAATTTTTT!!" Mom screamed.
"DON'T SCREAM NOW!" Dad shouted.
"I'M PANICKING!" Mom shouted.
"DON'T PANIC!" I yelled.
"THEN WHY ARE YOU PANICKING TOO?!" Dad yelled.
The three of us looked at each other, then, almost at the same time, "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"