"So, how's your school life been, Jenn?"
My dad asked me while putting down his glass of red wine on the table after having taken a big gulp.
"It's been alright. I made quite a few friends"
"Excellent", then he took another sip before continuing.
"I'm hoping they are not a bunch of troublemakers?"
"No, they are not"
"Dear, Jenn even brought one friend back home and she stayed over. She was a lovely girl", my mom chimed in.
"That's a bit unusual, but I guess it's a good sign"
"Dad, did I… did I have some trouble making friends before?"
"If you forgot about them, keep it that way"
"Well, I guess they were not good friends anyway since none of them contacted me since the accident"
"Exactly. Be selective about your friends. You don't need to get along with everyone"
"Right"
"What are your classmates like?", Dad kept on probing me.
"They are mostly alright, but…"
"But what?"
"Well, there are also some nasty kids that are absolutely horrible bullies"
"Did they do anything to you?"
"No"
"Then don't mind them"
Huh, what kind of parenting is this?
"Just make sure you don't get mixed in with those kinds of guys like be-"
"Shush, dear", Mom intercepted.
"Ahem, right. But anyways, Jenn, if anybody's giving you trouble let us know"
"You are gonna have Hana 'sort it out'?"
"Haha, that would be too much"
Too much?
"But actually, one of my business partner's son also goes to your school. He's supposedly a big strong boy now so I'd think that he could help you with a few things"
"Uh huh… but I think I can take care of myself just fine"
"I'm sure you can, Jenn", Mom said and exchanged a smile with my dad.
Then there was a bit of pause in our conversation as a maid came in to bring us some tea and took our plates away.
"Jenn, listen carefully".
Once the maid left again Dad leaned forward and spoke in a somewhat serious tone.
"Ok"
"I think in a way it's a blessing that you have forgotten a few things and got a chance to start things over fresh"
"Did I have some horrible life before or something?"
"No, you've always had a good life. But let's just say you haven't always been on the right path"
"What path should I be on?"
"That's for you to find out and walk by yourself. But what I'm getting at is, don't walk that path together with the wrong people"
"Ok, Dad"
"Good girl"
The following day, there was a little change of schedule for me. Dad had to go somewhere in the afternoon and he was taking Uncle Tan with him, so I was told to just stay in school until they came to pick me up later. So although I wasn't in any clubs, I ended up staying after all the classes were over but then noticed Miran was staying behind for some reason as well.
"Hey, what are you staying behind for?"
"Don't you know it's a club activity day?", Miran asked me back like I was stupid for asking her.
"Er, yeah, but you are not going to any clubs and just reading in the classroom"
"I'm in the literature club"
"Oh, I didn't know that. But why are you here then?"
"It's a small club and not many members are very active. We have many people listed as club members but only a few ever turn up at the club room"
"That sucks"
"Not really. It doesn't make much difference whether I read here or at the club room"
"Is that all you do? Just read?"
"Well, we also aim to create"
"Like what?"
"Never mind"
"Oh-kay"
"Now, let me get back to my book"
Then I got an idea. It'd be boring just to stay in the classroom. As my previous self, I would have been happy just being left alone, but now that I decided to live my new life to its fullest I wasn't gonna sit on my ass and twiddle my thumbs till Uncle Tan gets here.
"Hey, let's go check out the manga club"
"Huh?"
"Last time I visited they were planning some interesting plot for their doujin. Maybe we can go and you can give them some feedback?"
"Why would I do that? And you are not even in their club"
"Chin said I'm always welcome to visit"
"I bet he did, sure"
"C'mon, let's go. It's gonna be fun"
"No, I'm reading a good part. I don't want to stop now"
"Which part are you reading now?"
"Anna and Rene are with the tree people"
"Ah and they go bear hunting, and you know what happens there?"
"No, No, don't tell me"
"They go bear hunting and then-"
"Ok. Ok! I'll go with you"
"Thanks"
So with that, I visited the manga club with disgruntled Miran following me from behind.
"Hey, I'm here~", I opened the club room's door and made a cheerful entry.
Man, I've really come a long way from entering classrooms with my eyes cast low to avoid eye contact with anyone to this sort of entrance now…
"Hi! Jenn! Welcome!", Chin saw me first and greeted me cheerfully too.
"Hi, Jenn", many others sitting around all looked my way and said in unison.
"I had nothing to do so I thought I'd visit and see what you guys are up to. Did you make any progress on that story you told me about last time?"
I did come very far. I could even make light of the fact that the old me had become a doujin character for the manga club. Well, at least when I was in a good mood like today.
"Who's this?"
I heard a girl's voice. Oh, I didn't know they already had a female member.
"Hi, my name is Jenn. Nice to meet you. I'm in the same class as Chin"
"Whatever. Hi, Miran"
"Hi, Gina"
"Oh, you guys know each other?"
"We are in the literature club together", Miran explained.
"Why are you here, Miran?", this Gina girl asked.
"I was bullied to come by this girl here"
"Hey-, I wasn't like that"
"You threatened me with spoilers"
"Tehe-, sorry about that"
"Whatever, what is a girl like her doing here?"
This Gina girl had some attitude and it was easy to sense that she didn't like me at all right from the start.
"Beats me", Miran responded.
It was like they were talking about me right in front of me but not really addressing me. I thought maybe I should just try to start and get involved in some kind of conversation.
"Why are you guys both in the literature club but are here instead?"
"Gina started recently to help us with the scripts and girl characters we had problems with", Chin answered on her behalf.
So that's how it is. They are both in the literature club but one of them rather be here writing something and the other one be in the classroom reading by herself.
"Anyways. Don't disturb us", those were the first words Gina said that were actually directed at me.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just curious how the story was going"
"Don't worry, Jenn. Gina here likes to be a bit of a tsundere character but she's more dere dere than tsun once you get to know her"
"Idiot", Gina smacked Chin's head with a rolled paper.
:Pffftt:
It was such a typical tsundere act that I couldn't hold back from letting out a short muted laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry, but it looks like Chin is right"
"Just be gone"
"I do actually like mangas too though"
"Yeah right, probably just some sappy stuff"
"Hey, why would you think that?"
"You look like one of those girls"
"Well, I wouldn't be so quick to judge"
"What's your favorite manga then?"
I took a moment to think before naming one. On one hand, it would be awkward and too unexpected to name something that just doesn't ring true with Jenn's image. On the other hand, though, my manga aficionado credentials were being challenged here. I then also remembered that time in karaoke when I sang Mamoha songs and that actually worked out alright, so well, I'll just 'be myself' and say it like it is.
"Onanimaster Kurosawa"
"What?", Gina automatically reacted with an expression that couldn't hide her surprise. Yeah, she knew that manga and thought this was really unexpected from a girl that she thought was a normie.
"Ladies and Gentleman, we have a girl of culture here", Chin announced theatrically.
"Tssk, whatever", Gina looked annoyed that I could answer but beneath the surface, I could see that I gained +1 respect from her.
I won't bask in the glory too much and rub it in though.
"So, Chin, how's the story going"
"We still working on it, but at least we got a good name for the male protagonist"
Oh? What name were they going to give 'me'?
"What is it?"
"Juuni, just like Chuuni"
"Idiot"
I picked up the rolled paper Gina used before and smacked Chin's head with it too.