First Day of School!

Luna was walking out of the dorm with Nina. They had just stepped outside when Ethan called out from behind.

"Ninaa! Lunaa!!"

They both turned around and saw Ethan running toward them like a cop in some anime.

He finally reached them, out of breath.

“Luna… how was last night? Did you get used to this place?”

“Yeah, it was fine. I think I can manage staying here.”

Nina suddenly hugged Luna tight.

“As if I’ll let you leave! Even if you hate it here, I’m not letting you go!”

“God... my own parents didn’t want me this much. Though back then I was a boy. Maybe if I were born a girl, they’d have liked me more…..”

“Anyway,” Ethan continued, “Luna, Nina—both of you, be careful. I don’t want you getting into trouble. But if something happens, tell me, okay?”

Luna and Nina gave him a double thumbs-up and headed off to class.

Luna sat in the last seat in class. Just like back when she was Leo.

“At least this seat hasn’t changed.” She dropped her bag and sat down next to the window, last row.

“It always calmed me down. I hope it still does.”

Nina sat two rows ahead, middle seat. She could see Luna—if she turned around, anyway.

Thirty minutes passed. Luna, out of old habit, lifted her shirt slightly to scratch her stomach. Not a great idea… especially now.

As she scratched, she noticed Nina staring back at her, face bright red with shock.

Luna just stared back at her, super chill… and ended it with a little smirk.

Class ended. Nina rushed over and took a deep breath—

"LUNAAAA!!! What the heck was THAT?! Why would you even do that?! I mean—sure, maybe you want boys to like you, fine—but this?! This is NOT the way!!"

Luna blinked. “What do you mean? My belly was itchy,” she said, casually. “So I lifted my shirt and scratched it.”

Nina looked like she was about to lose it.

“Luna, you can’t do that. Girls don’t just flash their belly like that in public!”

“What? There’s a law for scratching too now?”

Nina groaned.

“Ugh… Luna, seriously. You have so much to learn!”

Luna walked out of class alone. Nina didn’t come with her, so she went to find Ethan instead. Back when she was Leo, the two of them used to hang out in the quiet parts of the schoolyard.

She headed to their usual spot—but of course, her luck sucked. Behind the wall, three boys were sitting there. Luna tried to keep her distance and stood a little away, hoping Ethan would come soon.

“This is weird. I actually feel scared right now. I never used to care about this stuff before.”

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw a tall boy.

“Hey there, cutie. How’s it going?”

Startled, she jumped back a couple of steps. The tall guy had two other boys with him.

“What? Did we scare the lady?” the second one said. “We’re harmless. Just wanted to get a little closer.”

Luna tried to back away, but it was too late. She was cornered by the wall with all three boys standing in front of her.

Why am I panicking? Why can’t I say anything?! What’s wrong with me?!

The one in the middle—clearly the leader—stepped forward, lifted her chin with his hand.

“How about we start things off... nice and close?”

His hand moved toward her lower back.

But Luna snapped. With a furious kick, she nailed him right between the legs.

"AGHH!!!" The guy dropped to the ground, rolling in pain. "You psycho!! That HURT!!"

Luna was shaking. But not from fear.

This feeling… it’s the same one I used to get before a fight. No fear. Just fire.

A boy walking nearby saw the scene—one girl standing, and two boys in front of her.

He ran over to help, thinking she was being teased. But when he got there, all three boys were down… and the girl was just standing there, her hair messy and eyes watery.

"Uh... are you okay?" he asked, clearly freaked out.

Luna looked at him. His face showed no bad intentions.

She forced herself to speak normally—like a girl. “Yeah!” she smiled. “Thanks for coming, but… I think they’ve learned their lesson.”

The boy blinked. "Well... I'm glad you're safe." He turned to leave. "Take care, alright?"

Luna went back to class, still a mess. She dropped onto her seat. A few girls rushed over.

“Oh my god, what happened?!”

“Why is your hair like that?!”

“Are you crying?!”

Just then Nina walked in and saw everyone crowding around Luna. She hurried over.

“Luna?! What did you do this time?”

Luna smiled faintly—barely visible under her messy bangs.

“Nothing. Just... defended myself. Some guys tried messing with me.”

Nina froze.

“Wait. You fought them?”

“I guess? I don’t know if it counts as a fight… but it’s over now.” She laughed awkwardly.

Nina’s face turned serious—like really serious. No one had seen her like that before.

“Luna. Come with me.”

She grabbed Luna’s hand and pulled her out of class.