The need to wash myself was growing stronger and stronger by the minute. I took the clothes out of the bag, lay them on the bed, and stared down at them. I was no longer hesitant to use guy's clothing, but the fact that I had to get naked was destroying me.
Even though I had already used the bathroom, I didn't see nor touched anything, while I had to do both to clean myself properly.
Showering with a towel crossed my mind many times. It would've been enough to get rid of the bad smell, but the feeling of being dirty would stay.
I had been arguing with myself for several minutes when someone knocked on the door. I approached it to open it. It was Keita.
"Yes?" I asked.
It took a couple of seconds for me to notice he was holding a bra, panties, shorts, a shirt, and a towel; all of them we had just bought. My mind went blank as soon as I realized what was about to happen.
"I'm sorry, but I have to," he said.
My mind remained empty for a moment. "Why are you telling me?" I stuttered.
"I'm not sure. It's your body, so I feel like I need your permission."
The way he had phrased his answer didn't help the situation at all. I could only feel how my face quickly grew hotter and hotter until I couldn't take it anymore. I slammed the door in his face.
My heart beat faster than ever before. Even though I was breathing, it felt like I wasn't. I thought I was going to die.
"Emi?" Keita called me.
I couldn't blame him. We were in the same position of simply wanting to be clean, something we had to do sooner or later. I also felt bad for slamming the door in his face.
Even though I gathered the courage, my voice broke when I replied, "Just do it."
Steps faded away on the other side of the room. Just as I thought it was over, another wave of panic hit me. He's going to see me naked!
As obvious as it was, my brain had just processed it. It had to be done and there was no avoiding it. I told myself I was going to do the same and tried my hardest to accept it, but I failed.
I ran out of the room toward the bathroom. I grabbed the knob but hesitated to turn it. It wasn't like me to be this doubtful. Although it made sense for me to behave differently in another body, that didn't mean I liked it.
Suddenly, a growl came from inside the room. I heard clothes folding and that was my limit. I stepped inside and slammed the door behind me. Keita was holding my tank top and my bra was exposed.
He yelled, "Emi?! What are you doing—"
"Shut up and close your eyes! I'll take your clothes off."
"What?!"
"Close your eyes!"
Frowning, he complied. "Are you seriously going to take my clothes off?"
"Yes. It's my body, so it counts as seeing myself naked."
"That doesn't take away from the fact that you're undressing me!"
"I know! But do you have a better idea?"
He sighed. "Just… do it quickly."
I stared at him, hesitant to continue. However, the less time I took, the faster it'd be all over. I unzipped the shorts and pulled them down.
"Lift your feet," I asked.
With his face painted red, he did so.
The easiest part was done, but here came the part I had been avoiding.
"Turn around," I said.
He took a moment before doing it, just as I had to take a deep breath before unhooking the bra. He's shaking.
"Did you see anything before I entered?" I asked.
"No, I didn't. I promise."
"…Good."
A couple of seconds later, the straps were unhooked. I pulled them sideways for the bra to slide off the shoulders and, even though I hadn't asked Keita to do anything, he moved his arms forward to make it easier for it to come off. Gravity did the rest of the work as I held the bra by one of its straps.
"I'll kill you if you open your eyes," I shuddered.
My heart was about to burst out of my chest, but I forced myself to keep going. I inserted my thumbs between the panties and the skin on each side and pulled them down. Once again, I asked Keita to lift his feet.
It was done; my body was naked in front of me. I felt so lightheaded that I had to grasp onto the sink.
"Okay, I'll guide you into the shower," I said.
"What?! Are you going to wash me?!"
"No, you pervert! I don't want you to open your eyes."
"But I'm not used to this bathroom. You'll have to catch me if I slip and we'll—"
"Fine, fine! Just… cover my chest with your arms."
"But that means I'll touch…"
"I know, but we don't have a choice!"
He sighed and, a second later, he covered my chest with both of his arms.
"Alright. Open your eyes," I said.
He slowly did and the first thing he did was peek at the mirror to his right.
"What are you doing?!" I yelled.
"I'm sorry! Something caught my eye and I instinctively looked…"
"Save your excuses and get in the shower."
I placed both my hands on his back and pushed him into the shower. I turned it on and stepped back before water could hit me, but as soon as it hit Keita, a moan came out of his mouth.
"What was that?" I asked.
"The water's too cold!"
I slid my hand into the stream; it was cold, but nothing too bad. Still, I regulated the temperature until it felt hot enough.
"Is that better?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Okay, I'll leave now. Don't you dare look down or touch anywhere inappropriate, just let the water fall on those parts."
"Don't worry, I promise I won't do anything inappropriate."
It was hard to believe him, yet the look in his eyes gave me a weirdly-soothing feeling. Before I realized it, we had been staring at each other for too long. I pulled the shower curtain to stop seeing him. Was that because I was looking at myself?
I turned around and approached the door, but I had to ask something before walking out, even though it was extremely embarrassing.
"Keita?"
"Yes?"
"Is there any way to… calm down?"
"Calm down? Well, I'm pretty nervous myself," he laughed nervously. "I don't think I can tell you anything to—"
"No, I meant…"
A long silence encompassed the room.
"Oh. N-Not really," he stuttered. "Just distract yourself and it'll eventually…. Yeah."
"I see."
Without saying a single word more, I walked out of the room and leaned against the door. I needed to calm down, but seeing Mom standing in front of me stopped the process. We merely stared at each other.
"I…"
She interrupted, "You don't need to explain anything."
"Yes, I do! You'll assume bad things if I don't."
"Alright, alright. I'm all ears."
I began telling everything to her. Despite it being embarrassing, she had gone through the same, meaning she could help me or at least comfort me. Luckily, she did both and I soon calmed down.
Enough time had passed for Keita to come out of the bathroom. A towel hung around his neck and he was already wearing the new clothes. I wanted to ask him if he saw anything, but I chose to trust him.
It was time for me to shower, but I struggled to make my mind up. Although she didn't mean it, Mom took a shower first and gave me enough time to gather the courage.
To make things short, I went through another odyssey, although alone this time. To keep our promise, I didn't see nor touched anything. I also didn't do it because I didn't want to be traumatized.
The rest of the evening flew by as I watched videos on my phone while lying on the bed. It was time for me to sleep so I could get my beauty sleep, but then I remembered I wasn't in my body. To make sure nothing bad would happen, I messaged Keita.
"Make sure to sleep exactly nine hours."
"Why?"
"That's the time for my beauty sleep."
"Beauty sleep?"
"Yes. If I sleep more or less time, I won't feel like I'm at one hundred percent. I can also get pimples."
"Really? Okay, I'll try to sleep now."
"Thanks. Should I sleep now too?"
"Well, I sleep a bit later, but you can try."
"Okay. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
He was right. Two hours had passed when I checked the time for the last time before falling asleep.
Sadly, the weekend was over. Since Mom was a teacher at the school, she had to arrive at the school a bit earlier, meaning that Keita and I were in our classroom half an hour early.
There were people that arrived early as well, but it was the minority. This time, we saw how older students jumped between classrooms to hang up small posters to announce that their clubs were admitting new members.
The few people that were in the classroom gathered around the posters each time a new one was hung. None of them interested me, except for one. There's a robotics club!
"Do you like robotics?" Keita asked me, standing beside me.
It was quite embarrassing to admit it, but I did. "Yes."
"Apply for it, then."
"I will. Luckily, it is a mental skill, meaning there won't be any problems for me while being in your body. I'll just clarify that I swapped bodies with you."
"Sounds like a good plan," he smiled, but something felt off.
"Aren't you interested in any club?"
His mouth remained open for a long time. "I am, but it is physical. It wouldn't make sense to go through the trials in another body."
"Trials? Clubs don't have trials…. Wait, are you talking about the marching band?"
He lowered his head and nodded.
"I didn't know you were into music. What instrument do you play?"
"No, I don't play any," he sighed. "To be specific, I want to be a cheerleader."
"Seriously? That's awesome!"
His eyes opened wide and sparkled, but they quickly stopped doing so when I continued, "But you're right, you can't go through the trials in another body."
He laughed nervously and the conversation halted.
We stared at the posters for another while until I suggested, "Let me do it for you."
"What? I know you're in my body, but I don't think our skills are swapped as well."
"It doesn't matter, I've had gymnastics and dancing lessons. That was years ago, though. My skills obviously won't be at your level, but better to try than regret it, right?"
He took a moment to reply, "Are you serious?"
I nodded.
"That would be awesome, but what about the Robotics Club? Every club's registration will take place on Friday at the same time; you might lose the chance."
My mind went blank. "True, that would suck," I laughed nervously.
"I can sign up for you."
"That's an option, but what if they make you solve some test?"
He glanced at the poster for the Robotics Club. "It doesn't say there will be a test. In any case, I have my fair amount of knowledge about electronics."
"You do?"
He nodded. "My mamma works as an engineer at a processor laboratory. She used to play with me by helping me make fun projects with breadboards. There was a time I got invested in it and studied a lot, but I lost interest over time."
"That's amazing! You must've been a child when you got invested in it to say you lost interest over time."
"I was eight."
"Wow! Alright, that's a plan. You'll sign up for the Robotics Club and I'll sign up for the marching band."