Security Measures

Ethan took out his phone and placed it on the table.
“Leo! Come here. We need to figure out what things a girl actually has to take care of.”

Leo got up from the bed, grumbling as she walked over.
“This still feels so weird… Like I’m gonna wake up from a dream any second now.”

Ethan typed in: “All the things a teenage girl needs to take care of.”
A massive list appeared instantly.

“Ethan, if we really try to do all of this, it’ll take us like… a week!”

“Still, no matter how long it takes, if you don’t take care of this stuff, you might end up hurting yourself, Leo.”

“Come on, Ethan. Shouldn’t we be more worried about not getting kicked out of school? Right now, I’m technically not even supposed to exist there like this.”

Ethan went quiet, thinking deeply.
“You’re right… I didn’t even think of that part…”
He paused. “How about we just say you're a fembo—”

Before he could finish, Leo kicked him straight in the jaw.

“Don’t even think about saying something that stupid, Ethan.”

Ethan slowly got up, rubbing his face.
“I mean… it’s not that far from the truth, Leo…”

“You want another kick, don’t you?”

“No, Leo! I’m sorry! Your kicks really hurt!”

Ethan kept brainstorming—cutting Leo’s hair, oversized clothes, all kinds of ideas.
None of them worked.

Meanwhile, Leo had collapsed on the floor, totally exhausted.
Ethan, still stuck in his thoughts, reached out to shake her like always—

But his hand landed right where it absolutely shouldn’t have… directly on her chest.

Leo’s expression shifted instantly.
Another brutal kick sent Ethan to the ground.

“Ethan! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you! It just… happened on its own,” Leo said, looking completely flustered. “It’s like a reflex or something…”

Lying flat on the floor, Ethan had a peaceful little smile.
“The hit’s not the problem… I think the idea I had just flew out of my brain.”

A few quiet minutes passed. Then Ethan sat up, suddenly remembering.
He pulled Leo close.

“Leo… maybe this sounds dumb, but I think our best shot is to just tell the truth. To the principal, to the teachers. Not the whole school—but the ones who need to know.”

Leo opened her mouth to say no, but hesitated. After a pause, she nodded.

“If we can prove you actually turned into a girl, they might believe us. Might even help.”

Leo rested her chin in her hand.
“If we have to prove it the same way I convinced you… then nope. But if they just believe it, I’m okay with it.”

“Great. But maybe you should stay in today, Leo. Just chill here in the room for now.”

“Why should I stay in? Let’s just go talk to the principal now.”

Ethan grabbed his bag and headed to the door.
“I’m not messing with you, Leo. But it’s better if we wait till tomorrow. That gives us time to come up with an excuse.”

“What excuse, Ethan? What nonsense are you even talking about?”

As he stepped out the door, Ethan lifted a hand for a quiet goodbye.
“Just hang in there, Leo. You’ll understand when the time comes. Leave this one to me.”
And with that, he closed the door behind him.

Leo had to wait around two more hours before Ethan returned, so she started checking out her body, hair, and all the changes.

A nicely shaped figure, pale and smooth skin, long blonde hair flowing past her shoulders, and brown eyes…

“I never noticed before, but… I actually don’t look half bad.”

She stared at herself in the mirror. As a girl, she was surprisingly pretty.

While striking tough guy poses in the mirror with her very much not tough-guy body, a sudden knock at the door made her flinch so hard she almost flew across the room.

“Ethan! You in there? I need to talk to you. Can I come in?”
It was one of Ethan’s friends…

Leo panicked.
“If they see me, I’m toast. And Ethan’s screwed too…”

Another knock came. Totally flustered, Leo accidentally shouted back in her girly voice,
“Ethan’s not here! He’s still in cla—”
She froze. Right. She’s a girl now.

“What was that, brain?! Why did I answer in this voice?!” she hissed to herself.

The door opened, and a guy stepped inside. His eyes immediately landed on Leo.

She stared at him, frozen in shock, cold sweat trickling down her back, a nervous tic twitching at the corner of her eye.

“What’s a girl doing in the boys’ dorm?”
The guy walked over, grabbed her arm, and started dragging her out.
“First you steal Leo’s hoodie, now who knows what you’re taking.”

Yep. It was the same guy from this morning.

Leo tried to pull her arm away, but sadly, she no longer had the strength of a 20-year-old guy. She was just an ordinary girl now.

When she realized there was no escape, she sighed and gave up, following the guy all the way to the principal’s office.

He knocked, walked in, and Leo followed with her head hung low.

The principal stared at her for a moment, clearly curious about the unfamiliar face. There was a pause... then he marched up to the guy and slapped him hard across the cheek.

“Let go of her.”

The guy released Leo and rubbed his stinging face.

The principal returned to his desk, looked him straight in the eye, and asked calmly,
“What’s going on here?”

The guy stepped forward and began,
“Sir, this morning this girl came to class wearing one of my friend Leo’s hoodies,” he said, pointing at Leo. “She claimed she borrowed it from a friend. And just now, I went to my friend’s room, and she was there.”

The principal glanced at Leo. She was visibly nervous, and he could tell.

“So you’re saying this girl stole something?” he asked, rising slowly from his chair. “Can you prove anything is missing? Or are you just playing superhero today?”

The guy stepped forward again.
“But sir! She was alone in my friend’s room! And besides, girls aren’t allowed in the boys’ dorm, right?”

The principal was about to respond when Leo suddenly interrupted.

With a shaky, embarrassed voice, she blurted, “Excuse me!” then swallowed hard.
“Ethan—Leo’s roommate—is related to me.”

She paused, trying her best to sound normal, even though her brain was on fire:
"Why did this moron have to show up now?! What do I even say?! I used to be good at lying! Why is my talent gone?! I need to slam my head into a wall!!"

She continued in awkward pieces,
“A-and when I found out his roommate wouldn’t be staying with him anymore, I quit my job… so I could enroll in your school.”

It was a ridiculous excuse. Leo knew it. She had definitely messed up. Her eyes nervously met the principal’s cold, intimidating ones...

But then… those eyes sparkled.

The principal leapt up and struck a weirdly cutesy pose—like something straight out of a catgirl anime. Which, frankly, was disturbing from a bald old man with a 30-centimeter beard.

“A cute girl like this wants to join our school? Why not?! Welcome to Vellmere Academy!!”

Leo and the poor guy both froze in shock. There was no way that story just worked.

Still flushed, Leo asked hesitantly,
“So I can really study here?”
She tried to look a little more innocent and glanced up at the principal.
“Then… can I go back to the same roo—”

The principal cut her off, suddenly cold and serious again.
“No boy or girl is allowed to enter the other’s dorm. Period.”

And then, just as fast, he switched back to his overly cheerful tone.
“But I’m sure you’ll be an excellent student here~!”