Systematic Reflection

I tugged at the school uniform slightly, and it fit almost unnervingly well.

“Luckily, you have a build that's quite similar to my younger brother's.”

Cloey walked beside me, her eyes scanning me from head to toe, clearly proud of herself for finding me a uniform.

“I honestly don't know what we would have done if it hadn't fit.”

“Probably hide you under my bed until I got home,” Cloey snickered. “Or maybe even leave you outside like a dog.”

I let out a sarcastic laugh as we continued our walk to Cloey's school.

I’ve bought myself at least enough time for an entire school’s worth of delays.

“Let's just hope Amy gets back before midnight tonight.”

“Until then, let's make the most of our time at school.”

⏣⏣⏣

“I'll do as you say," I said. "As long as you can do me one small favor.”

She seemed a bit surprised but listened anyway.

“It’s about 18:00 back in my universe. If I don’t do anything, my parents are going to get worried, and I don’t have universal Wi-Fi to message them from here. Or a dry phone to add to that.”

Amy seemed to get it. “So you just want me to send a message to your parents from your phone?"

“Exactly. Can you do that?”

Easy peasy.” She flashed me an 'okay' sign.

“Great. Just send something simple, like ‘I’m staying at a friend's house for a school project’ or something along those lines.”

“Got it.” Amy opened the bedroom door and paused, glancing back at me. “Sorry about the mess. I promise I’ll clean it up as soon as I can.”

With that, she stepped out, leaving me alone with Cloey.

We both sat on her bed, and then I stood up. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Cloey grabbed my hand, stopping me. “You can’t do that!”

“Well, I was hoping you'd at least give me a blanket and pillow.”

“I mean, I’m not going to let you do that.” She tugged on my hand, pulling me back onto the bed.

“Then what do you suggest?” I raised an eyebrow. “It’s not exactly normal for a boy and a girl to sleep in the same bed, is it?”

“Why not?”

“...”

I stared at her. My face felt a little warmer, but I decided not to make note of it.

“You've got a lot more to deal with than worrying about anything naughty,” she continued, striking a playful karate pose. “Plus, you saw my moves earlier. I’m confident in my abilities.”

"So you can miss me by a mile?" I teased, grabbing the blanket and curling up on the side of the bed closest to the wall, my back to Cloey.

“Meanie.”

She stuck her tongue out before turning off the lights. Then, she climbed into bed, settling on the other side, our backs brushing. The silence stretched on until I heard the unmistakable sound of snoring from her side.

I glanced over and saw her fast asleep, no sign of waking up.

I really do overthink everything.

Thanks to her, I ended up falling asleep soon after.

Long enough for morning to arrive, and for Cloey’s door to open after a couple of knocks.

“Morning, sweetie.”

Honestly, I’d already been awake since the first few knocks, but I found myself still in the embrace of Cloey, who was holding me rather tightly.

With the slightest bit of sight that wasn’t covered by the blanket, I noticed a man, arguably taller than Cloey. He had a well-kept full beard and a buzz cut, paired with a professional suit. At first glance, he was pretty intimidating. The only thing that made Cloey seem less so was the fact that her body wasn’t as muscle-bound in comparison.

But her grip? That told me otherwise.

“Five more minutes,” Cloey mumbled, still with her eyes closed. She shifted slightly, positioning herself to lay more on top of me. As she grumbled, she pulled the blankets further over herself, turning back toward me.

Did she just realize the position we were in?

“Just make sure you’re up in time and eat breakfast,” the man’s voice called out. He closed the door behind him, and we waited for his footsteps to fade into silence.

Once we were sure he was gone, Cloey slowly loosened her grip and shifted herself back a little.

“Sorry about that,” she said, her gaze averted from mine. “I hope I wasn’t too bothersome last night.”

“I-it’s okay,” I replied, also looking away. "You made sure I wasn’t visible, so I kind of owe you for that.”

Letting out a nervous laugh. “I’m not sure how he would have reacted if he saw me in your bed…especially with you holding me like that.”

“True, that would’ve been tough to explain,” she chuckled, matching my awkward laugh. We both sat there, feeling embarrassed, unsure of what to say next.

“I’m…going to get some breakfast,” Cloey said, breaking the silence. “We can figure things out afterward.”

I simply nodded as Cloey made her way out of the room. A cute detail caught my eye, her ahoge had drooped forward slightly, as if even it was drowsy.

After a few moments of idly glancing around the room out of boredom, I found myself observing the surface-level details. There was nothing in particular I was searching for, just letting my eyes wander. A while passed before I heard footsteps growing closer, and I quickly tucked myself back under the covers, waiting to see who it was. When Cloey entered, I scrambled to my feet.

“Sorry for the wait,” she said, though there really wasn’t much to wait for. “I snuck you some toast.”

She handed me a piece, which I eagerly took.

“You didn’t eat dinner, right? Consider this an appetizer, I’ll treat you to something later,” she added with a smile.

I almost felt the urge to drop to my knees and clasp my hands in exaggerated gratitude.

Is she a goddess?

I ate the toast as Cloey tossed a set of clothes my way. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was a school uniform that looked very similar to the one she had.

“What’s this?” I asked, holding it up between my fingers.

“You’re coming to school with me,” she said casually, as if there weren’t a dozen problems with that statement.

“Is that really the best idea?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as I examined the uniform.

“You can’t just stay here all day. The rest of my family’s already gone, but what if something happens? What if they come back early or randomly check in and notice food’s gone because you haven’t eaten all day?” Cloey kept going, listing off possibilities. “And my younger brother might catch you after school, so why not just pass you off as a friend when we’re done with classes?”

“How about the bigger issue?”

She tilted her head, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t attend your school! How am I supposed to pass off as a student if I’ve never been there?”

“I’ve got an idea,” she said with a mischievous grin. “But for now, just trust me and get changed.”

“...Okay.” I stared at her for a second, unsure, but ultimately decided to go with it. Worst case, I could just wander around for a few hours.

“Good boy.” She grabbed my arm and nudged me out of the room. “You can change in the bathroom.”

With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving me to get ready.

“…I almost want to say I have a bad feeling about this, but honestly, I’ve got nothing but confusion right now.”

I walked over to the bathroom and changed into the uniform, which fit way too perfectly. Compared to my usual school attire, this one was more straightforward, just a simple white shirt with a blue necktie. Cloey’s uniform was clearly a traditional sailor-style, so I figured this must be the male version. Instead of the skirt she wore, I had black pants, which matched the outfit. For reference, my previous uniform consisted of a black long-sleeve undershirt with a white vest, same black pants I had on now.

I left the bathroom, and there she was, waiting for me.

“Don’t you look good,” she said with a smile and motioned for me to follow. She handed me a backpack. “Here’s an extra one. It’s empty, but at least you’ll look the part.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the bag.

“Shall we head out?” she asked, ready to go.

I nodded, unsure what I was about to get myself into, but at least I had toast.

She headed toward the door, and I followed close behind. The school was barely five minutes from her house, so it didn’t take long to get there.

I gave the school uniform a small tug, still thrown off by how unnervingly well it fit.

“Thankfully, you’ve got a similar build to my younger brother,” Cloey said, walking beside me, her eyes scanning me with a proud smile for finding me a uniform.

“I’m not sure what we would’ve done if it hadn’t fit.”

“Probably hide you under my bed until I got home,” Cloey snickered. “Or maybe leave you outside like a dog.”

I let out a sarcastic laugh as we continued our way to the school.

Well, I’ve bought myself at least an entire school’s worth of time.

“Let’s just hope Amy makes it back before midnight tonight,” I said.

“Until then,” she grinned, “let’s have some fun at school.”

It didn’t take long before we reached the school entrance. Some students were already filing in, so we followed the flow. I kept a couple of steps behind Cloey, not entirely sure where we were headed. She led me toward the teacher’s lounge and stopped in front of it, her hand on the doorknob.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked.

Cloey paused, looking over at me as she nervously scratched her cheek. “I’m going to beg…just for one day.”

“…”

This girl was about to give me a migraine.

“Stop looking at me like that!” she huffed, a little too loudly.

Maybe it was her tone, but the doorknob to the teacher’s lounge began to turn by itself. Cloey quickly released the handle and backed up slightly, stepping closer to me. The door swung open, revealing a tall, dark-skinned man who looked pretty intimidating.

“Can I help you with anything?” he asked in a neutral tone. Despite his calm voice, the way he said it had Cloey and I both sweating. It sounded way more intimidating than it probably was.

“Can we talk to you for a second, dad?” Cloey asked.

“Of course,” he replied, stepping aside to let us in.

We entered, and he led us to his desk, standing behind it as if waiting for us to do the talking. Maybe it was a show of respect; he didn’t sit down yet, leaving us to stand before him.

“I assume you’re here to talk to me about him?” he asked, gesturing toward me with a nod of his head. I immediately avoided eye contact, not knowing how to handle this situation.

“Well…” Cloey began, but her father cut her off before she could continue.

“Especially because he isn’t a student here.”

I could feel the nervousness radiating from both of us. It was pretty clear that Cloey was going to have to come up with some kind of explanation, and it wasn’t going to be easy.

I don’t want things to get any harder, so I might as well take the plunge.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” I said, bowing slightly, placing my hand over my chest. “My name’s Anon Kadekaru.”

I glanced at Cloey, who looked startled by me speaking first. Our eyes locked, and she seemed to realize what I was trying to do.

Please back me up, Cloey!