WHAT AM'I?

My fingers tremble, and my ears flatten against my head as I avoid looking at her.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll just find my classroom, okay? Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not a cat girl, and I’m not mad. Just… leave me alone.”

I don’t know why I said that. I need to get out of here quickly. Where is my class? Oh, no, I wish Cali were here. Oh, there it is. Classroom 208. Finally. I hope no one asks me about this again. Why did I have to bump into a cat girl on my first day? This is so embarrassing.

With my head on my desk, I look out the window, trying to ignore the rest of the class. Yes, I know I need to make friends; I don’t need to be told again. But I’m simply too embarrassed right now. Sigh.

Hmm, what should I do? The class is still empty, with only a few students, and the teacher hasn’t arrived yet.

“Hey, sorry about what happened earlier. Can you please talk to me about it?”

It’s the cat girl from before. She followed me here and has a soft, pitying look on her face. I simply can’t endure it. I hate it, but somehow…

“Sigh. Look, you don’t have to worry. It’s complicated. I’m not the same as you, okay? Just believe me. I don’t have the same experiences as you.”

She tilts her head, looking confused, which somehow makes her look kind of cute. Her ears twitch slightly with the movement.

“What do you mean?”

I look at her and the other students in the class. Despite the awkwardness, I go to the front of the class and decide to introduce myself. If I’m lucky, it won’t be as awkward as I imagine. Let me see who my audience is today: a cyborg boy with the left side of his body completely robotic, who seems to be fixing the desk he’s at; in the other corner, a human girl who doesn’t appear to have any modifications, which is quite rare, but I suppose it’s a personal choice; she looks shy and is focused on reading a book on her phone, so she’s unlikely to hear what I’m going to say; and then there’s the cat girl whose name I forgot to ask—I hope she doesn’t get mad about that. I take a deep breath and begin, gathering every bit of courage I can muster.

“Do I have a tail? Yes, I do. I have these cat ears, yes, but don’t mistake me for a cat girl. I’m human, you hear? A human with two human parents.”

I say this and instantly blush. My legs tremble slightly as I struggle to compose myself. Then, the cyborg boy raises his hand quickly and robotically, saying without pausing, looking firm and unemotional,

“This information is imprecise. The DNA for the Semis is genetically molded from years of study, and those created today always have at least one Semis ancestor. Therefore, your statement is incorrect. You should have at least one Semis ancestor.”

I’m surprised by what he said, but as I’m about to correct him, the nerdy girl on the other side looks at him and smirks, saying, in a surprisingly extroverted manner considering how shy she seemed moments ago,

“Oh, please, don’t flatter her. You know how technology is. She probably has too many implants. She’s trying to look cuter. Go on, little cat girl, you don’t surprise anyone. I have friends with attached tails and ears. This is no surprise.”

I watch as she returns to reading her book, her demeanor reverting to shyness. I open my mouth to explain the misunderstanding, but then the cat girl at the end of the class looks at the shy girl and says softly, trying to defend me,

“Don’t say that. She seems to have her reasons. Don’t be so mean to her. Why don’t you like your implants?”

I look at them all, still a bit embarrassed, but I compose myself to say,

“Hey, you guys, let me explain. First, I don’t have any family members who are cat girls, cat boys, or any other type of Semis. I was born to two completely human parents.”

I say this and look at the cyborg, slightly annoyed.

“But my mom had something like implants when she was younger, when the technology wasn’t as advanced, and when she wanted a daughter… poof, it happened. So, yes, these are real, but I don’t have cat girl genetics and have to take medication constantly because my body isn’t meant to be mixed with feline DNA.”

Despite my confident explanation, I can’t help but notice the pitying glances they give me, even though there are only four of us. I feel irritated and blurt out,

“Don’t look at me like that. My health isn’t that bad. Besides, my most annoying trait is that I can cause allergies in people, unlike normal cat girls like you who just have cat-shaped limbs.”

I say this and point at the girl who kept asking me about it. She calmly replies,

“But that doesn’t change much, right? You’re still like me, you see. Even though you’re not technically a cat girl, you seem more like me than other people.”

Taking a deep breath, I say,

“You’re right, but I still don’t like it when people call me that.”

The classroom door opens, and Cali enters, saying to everyone just as I finish speaking,

“Layla has a strong complex about her feline attributes, so it’s best not to mention them too much, or she might get very embarrassed. Even so, it was a big improvement for her to be able to say so much about herself, even if it was just to these three. Layla, I’m really proud of you.”

I blush deeply and get angry at her for saying it so openly. I run to my desk and bury my face in it, my ears flattening against my head and my tail curling around my leg as she continues,

“He-he, sorry about that. Hello everyone, I’m Cali, Layla’s personal assistant. What about you guys? Let me see… Johan Log6… Camille Commentary2 and… God of Destruction, Spatial Annihilation, Universal Massacre…”

The shy girl from the corner puts her phone down on the desk, goes to Cali, and covers Cali’s mouth, saying,

“Stop reading my full name, stupid bot. Just call me Limer Debug7, okay? My official name you’re looking up is too long.”

Cali stops reciting the list of atrocities, and as Limer returns to her desk, Cali murmurs,

“What a long name.”

Then she composes herself and continues,

“Well, it’s nice to meet you all. I speak for myself and for Layla, even though she gets shy sometimes. She’s really sweet. I hope you’ll be patient with her. She’s a good friend once you get to know her.”

I sigh, still trying to hide my face in embarrassment, but I manage to mumble,

“Nice to meet you all.”

My cat tail swings happily behind me, showing them that I’m genuinely happy to meet them despite my earlier shyness. Maybe I’m improving after all. Now I just need to wait for class to start, and then everything will be okay—no more misunderstandings or embarrassing confessions about myself. The teacher seems a little late, but I suppose it’s alright.