"Hi, Lillith! How are you?" Catherine chirped as the school bus doors opened. The driver, a girl around twenty-five or twenty-six with curly hair tied into a ponytail and chewing gum, grinned at her.
"Alright, kiddo, hop on if you don't want to be late," Lillith tilted her head, her tone mock stern but her eyes twinkling with amusement.
Catherine shrugged and climbed up the steps, then turned to the bus's interior with a bright smile, hands on her hips. "How's everyone doing?"
"Hi, Catherine!" a chorus of voices greeted her, accompanied by giggles. It was clear she was quite popular—well, with the girls, at least. The few boys on the bus shot her mixed looks of annoyance and admiration.
"Tell us a joke, Catherine!" called a girl with pigtails from the front row.
"Yes, we want to hear one!" a group of girls chimed in.
"Alright, today's joke is..." Catherine tilted her head, thinking for a moment before grinning. "During a test, Jack didn't know any answers, so he wrote on the back of his paper: 'Only God knows the answers. I don't.' When he got the paper back, the teacher had written: 'God got 100, you got 0!'"
The bus erupted in laughter, even the boys who had been scowling couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Kids, stay in your seats! I don't want anyone getting hurt!" Lillith's voice called from the front.
"Okay, okay," Catherine placed her bag down and sat beside a girl with curly hair.
"Poor Jack, he's going to get teased at school again," the girl next to her stuck out her tongue. Her mixed-race features made her look especially cute and pretty.
"Oh, Jessica, you can't blame me. That's what the joke book said. I was just reading it out," Catherine shrugged. She wasn't one to worry too much. After all, who had cared about her when she transformed into a girl?
"But you hurt a boy's feelings. Don't you feel even a little guilty?" Jessica persisted.
"Fine, if he turns into a criminal or murderer because of this, I'll apologize. But before that, I need to teach someone a lesson for always messing with me." Catherine made a mock threatening face and reached out to pinch Jessica's cheek.
Jessica giggled and dodged her attack, and soon the two girls were playfully wrestling. Other girls joined in, leaving the boys at the back feeling completely isolated—one of the reasons they hated this bus.
Lillith sighed and glanced in the rearview mirror. Although school rules forbade roughhousing on the bus, Catherine always knew when to stop, so Lillith had learned to let it slide.
The bus soon arrived at school, and Catherine, as usual, restored order before they arrived. The boys were the first to rush off the bus.
"Why do you always ignore the boys?" Jessica asked as they walked together.
"Do I? I don't think so," Catherine feigned ignorance.
"Yes, you do. You're always polite but distant," Jessica accused.
"Why should I pay them any special attention?" Catherine retorted.
"Everyone likes you. You shouldn't hurt their feelings," Jessica argued earnestly.
"Alright, Jess, I know everyone likes me, but I have the right to like who I like. I'm just keeping a respectful distance, is that so wrong?" Catherine countered.
"But..." Jessica frowned, struggling to articulate her thoughts.
"Class is starting. I'll see you after school." Catherine patted Jessica's shoulder and headed to her sixth-grade classroom.
"Okay, I'll wait for you. I have something to tell you," Jessica called after her. Catherine waved and hurried off.
Truthfully, Catherine found her situation quite awkward. Ever since she was reborn as a girl, she seemed to have a certain charm that made everyone like her—likely helped by her well-mannered behavior and adorable looks. But as a former otaku turned girl, how could she relate to those boys? If she had been born a girl or remained a boy, things would be different. But this was the cruel joke life had played on her.
If there's a god, he's definitely a pervert, Catherine thought bitterly. Even now, she sometimes felt like she was dreaming. Was her past life the dream, or was it her current one? She vividly remembered graduating from high school at eighteen and becoming a shut-in. With a name like Caesar, her parents must have hoped for great things. Little did they know their son would turn into a complete recluse, spending his days on movies, anime, and games.
Then, on his thirtieth birthday, he decided to celebrate his "eight-year closure" by going out for a day. Exhausted, he went to bed early, only to wake up in 1980s America as a newborn baby girl. This bizarre twist of fate left him—now her—utterly bewildered.
Thinking back on it made Catherine grit her teeth. As a shut-in, she had poor social skills, especially with women. Now, as a girl, she had to navigate a world where even simple things like self-gratification were impossible without the right... tools.
But, as a shut-in, Caesar had developed a resilience to setbacks. So, Catherine adapted to life as Catherine Mason.
"Honestly, Jess, if I were a guy, I'd marry you!" Catherine proclaimed to Jessica by the swings, feeling a sudden urge to confess.
Jessica laughed. "If I were a guy, I wouldn't marry you."
"Why not?"
"Because if we're both guys, why would I marry you?"
The joke was so cold that Catherine felt herself cringe. She decided to change the subject. "Alright, what did you want to tell me?"
Instantly enthusiastic, Jessica asked, "Do you remember that thing?"
"Which thing? Let me think..." Catherine struck a cute thinking pose, her finger on her cheek. "Is it that your mom agreed to buy you that limited edition Barbie doll?"
"No!"
"Did Miss Green give you an A+ on your homework?"
"No~!"
"Are you performing in the school play?"
"Catherine~!"
Seeing Jessica's growing frustration, Catherine laughed and hugged her. "Alright, congrats on getting closer to your dream!"
Jessica hugged her back, cheering. "My dad agreed to let me take acting classes! It's awesome." Little did she know, Catherine had mixed feelings about this news.
If those internet friends from my past life knew I was hugging a young Jessica Alba, they'd be so jealous! Catherine thought, conveniently forgetting she was now a young girl too. For the uninitiated, Jessica Alba was the future star of "Fantastic Four" and an all-around bombshell.
Meeting Jessica had been a coincidence. Catherine had enrolled in public school to escape her mother's relentless etiquette training, not expecting to run into Jessica Alba.
Jessica had transferred in third grade, cute but not yet stunning. She was lonely, and Catherine's natural charm drew them together. Catherine later realized who Jessica was—her mixed heritage included five nationalities, much like Catherine's own diverse background. Her father, Vincent, was half-Jewish, a quarter Swedish, and a quarter East Asian. Her mother, Susan, was half English, a quarter French, and a quarter Greek. Their shared multinational roots only strengthened their bond.
Catherine, with her otaku-level research skills, knew everything about Jessica Alba's rise to fame, personal struggles, and family background. Thus, in the minds of certain less-than-innocent individuals, the two became inseparable. Where one was, the other was sure to follow.