Alexa woke up on her bed, this time atop it. The first thing she did after waking up was search once more for the data that [Main Core] had found about the [School system].

“[The school system was designed to streamline the education of Human Children. Its focused on increasing the amount of children that can receive a standardized education in the least amount of time. As such, this system prioritizes quantity over quality. It has been deemed highly inefficient in nurturing great intellect but effective enough in making sure the greatest amount of knowledge is passed to the new generations.]”

Was the evaluation from [Main Core] about the institutions known as [Schools]. Alexa had delved more and more into the subject after her talk with [Eleanore]. First, she searched for data points about the different school subjects that had been granted to her.

For starters…She could only go to three of the four options, it would be either [Elementary School], [Middle School] or [University]. Those allowed for students to have [5], [12] and [19] years old. [High School] required at least [15] years old to attend.

So if she had picked that option she would have needed to generate one extra form, it wasn’t even worth the attempt. Search about [Girls of that age] had ended showing her plenty images of [Women] and [Girls] whose appearance seemed to be close enough to what her [Young Woman] form was.

Weirdly enough, some pictures with a form between her [Teenager] and [Young Woman] form did show occasionally. Still, they were in the minority, so Alexa ignored those. Besides, most of the pictures of other [Women] showed that they were [Young] as the images had embedded the names [Fifteen-year-old girl] and [Young fifteen finds fun at the park].

Of course, Alexa hadn’t looked closer at those links, for she did not need the extra data. At the moment, all she needed was images to compare how she would look. And if she was to be honest, she could believe that her [Teenager] form would be happy with the progress.

[Humans] they grew so much in some places so fast, Alexa couldn’t believe how much her body would change from [12] to [15], but the data was there. It made her wonder what was the point of going for [19] year-old if [15] had most of the significant changes… Perhaps it was something more to do with inward changes? It should be.

She couldn’t believe most of the changes would finish in merely three years, her [19] body was more complex than her [12] year-old body after all.

“Main Core, search for what we will need to attend this [Elementary School].” Alexa said aloud while standing up from her bed. She had received a message from [Eleanore] telling her that her inscription had been finished and that she needed to know the relevant data.

“[Human Designation: Eleanore has already provided most of the material that will be needed. Host-only needs to go and get the Backpack from her and attend the school at the determined time.]”

Was the answer that Main Core provided to her, even so it did show a list for her to go to.

[Backpack]

[Lunch]

[Notebook]

[Pencil]

[Eraser]

[Pen]

[Uniform]

[Change of clothes]

[Money]

And apparently most of those things would be provided by [Eleanore], she had gotten no idea where to procure those articles, so it was good. Since so far her searches for them on the [Internet] had provided her with mostly the definitions. And while she could probably make some of them…Having originals to copy at a later date would be much better.

“[Notice: All points seem to serve a purpose besides the change of clothes. Host is able to change the composition and make of any clothing part as needed.].”

Then why had [Eleanore] added that part? Surely she should know…? At least some of them should know…[Stella] knew that her clothing was made with her power, and so did [Skye]...Right?

Either way, for now, Alexa was preparing to leave. [Eleanore] had said that she would come for her with her [Backpack] and her things. So right now, Alexa was preparing to leave, which meant that she needed to [Eat]. She had woken up in her [Young Adult] form since she hadn’t changed forms before sleeping after coming back.

[Main Core] hadn’t deemed the change necessary, so perhaps there was some arbitrary reasoning behind it? Was it because she went to sleep conscious of her current state? When she lost consciousness because of [Beer], Main Core had changed her to her [Child Stage]. Perhaps it was because the loss of consciousness wasn’t intended?

It was hard to tell, but in either case, Alexa walked to her [Kitchen]and prepared something to eat. She had some recipes that she wanted to try, like [Pancakes]. As far as she could tell, this recipe was easy and fast to do.

First she needed to find the ingredients. It was a good thing she had the recipe saved in the back of her mind. Flour, Sugar, Cornflour, Eggs, Milk, Yellow food coloring…Easy, her [kitchen] had most of those things, she was running low on the sugar front…But she had plenty on her own personal reserve, so she would use that.

As for the extra ingredients that wouldn’t be used in the pancake batter, well, she would use some regular premade stuff. Instead of making her own Whipped cream, she would use premade stuff. And the final part of her pancakes was already sitting on her table, waiting for her…

The holy grail of [Food]...The…[Holy Mango], she had a few of them ready and she would use them for her [Mango Pancakes]. From the moment she found this recipe while surfing the [Internet] she knew that she had to make it.

After assembling her ingredients, Alexa started working on it. She followed the steps to create the batter, and while the recipe called for refrigeration for an hour…Alexa had no such time to waste, so instead, she altered the properties of the batter to simulate a flash freeze.

Surely, that would work. After doing so she went ahead and spread the batter over a cooking pan. The recipe called for the creation of something called [Crepe], as far as she could tell it was a fancy way to describe [Cooked] batter in a thin, easy-to-fold form. So she made such a thing.

By the amount of batter this recipe made, she cut enough [Mango] pieces and spread the resulting [Pancake] on a plate. When it was there, she put the required [Whipped Cream] and placed a singular piece of cut [Mango] atop. Then, folding the [Pancake] over the [Mango], she made what the recipe called [a mango burrito]. And it was done!

Her Magnus Opus was finished!

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

With that ready, she repeated it as many times as she needed to finish her current ingredients, and when she was done, she started eating!

It was…

“[Passable]”

Wonderful, the taste of the holy [Mango] spread around her mouth augmented by the use of other ingredients. It was indeed a marvel of creation that increased the might of the [Human] race in Alexa’s mind. For who but the apex of the apex could create such wonderful delicacy and spread it far and wide…Who could but those at the top of the top.

*Ding-dong-dang-dung*

A weird sound came from near her [Door], followed by a message in her [Message Application] that seemed to have come from [Eleanore]. It read ‘I’m at your front door,’ so Alexa left the remaining [Mango Pancake] and walked to the door. She was still in her [Young Adult] form, but that was mostly because she wasn’t able to [Cook] in her other forms.

“Oh, you are awake, good….And you are in this form?” [Eleanore] said while looking at her. She was holding a couple of bags in her hands. The right one had a pink-yellow bag with a star on it, while the left hand had a plastic bag.

“Yes. I can’t cook in the other forms.” Alexa answered as she moved away from the door so [Eleanore] could walk in.

“So you cook for your other forms?” [Eleanore] asked, somewhat amused.

“No? I cook for myself. If I eat, my other forms also benefit from it.” Alexa answered. That had been such a weird take. Imagine having to cook three times because your other forms wanted to eat, too. It was not only inefficient but…

“[Utter Madness].”

“...right. Anyway, here is your backpack. I put in what you will need, and this other bag has clothing…of roughly your size, if Billy is to be believed. The pervert has your sizes in all your forms since you used his bodysuit without any clothes. Don’t worry; I made sure that he would not share them.” [Eleanore] said with a scowl on her face as she presented the bags to Alexa.

“Thank you, I will change then…Do these change in size with me too?” Alexa said as she took the plastic bag with her change of clothes. She could see a pair of shorts similar to the ones she had made before, but the make seemed more…bad.

“We can provide clothes that stretch with you, but ones like the bodysuit that Billy makes that change back to smaller sizes are hard to get for civilians. If you get good at your job and earn more money you could probably pay for a pair of outfits like that…” [Eleanore] said while shrugging. “That is for the future, for now these will not change with you, unless you use your power in them. And I was told that you could do something like that, not that I doubt you…but that seems like a weird power for a shifter to have.”

…Was it weird? If so she may need to dial down that application of her power…

“Thank you anyway; these clothes seem cute,” Alexa said while taking the bag and walking towards her [Bedroom]. She had seen that [Humans] didn’t like changing [Clothes] with other people looking, both from [Skye] changing while making sure she was out of her sight and from some searches about people asking for advice on dealing with that situation on the internet.

So Alexa took her clothes and changed away from prying eyes.

The new outfit consisted of a pair of [Sports shoes], [White socks], [shorts], [sailor uniform], [overoll], [button up shirt], [ribbon], [hat] and of course [underwear]. It was a primarily blue uniform with some decorations in yellow colors.

The harder part was changing from her [Young Adult] form and making sure her [Child Stage] form didn’t run straight to the [Mango Pancake] that was left at the table.

“I WANT PANCAKE TOO!!!” But that was easy enough by having set a restriction on her younger self actions that prevented her from leaving the room unless she dressed herself. “INJUSTICE! THIS IS INJUSTICE! MAIN CORE, THE OLD ONE IS BULLYING ME!”

Not that her complaints would serve anything. Even if Alexa was starting to feel the influence of her [Child Stage] increase and affect her thought process…

But that was okay! For Alexa was great no matter her stage! And she would have her [Mango Pancake]!

Even if she needed to put the weird and fancy clothes first! She would tolerate them since they looked [Cute], and [Eleanore] had said to put them on!

How? Easy!

First step! Put on the socks! Underwear! Shorts! Blouse! Skirt! Blazer! Shoes! Ribbon!

Ready? Yes! Then now “We Run Towards Pancakes!” So Alexa declared!

And with great speed she kicked open the door into freedom! What? She could deconstruct the door and earn her freedom earlier if she used her [Nanites]? It matters not! For she was free anyway!

“MANGO!” PANCAKE!

“...I’m glad it fits you.” [Eleanore] said as Alexa ran past her straight to the kitchen where a single [Mango Pancake] was already waiting for her.

The old one had eaten like four of them, and only left one for her? CHEATING! That was CHEATING!

But Alexa would forgive it for she was a kind soul….

What was a kind soul? She did not know, but she was one!

So, taking her [Fork], she pierced the [Sacred Meal] and struck it into her mouth in one go, for her [Tummy] was the ultimate sacred place for its rest!

What was she saying? She had no idea, but she was eating the most delicious meals ever! The old one was wonderful and great, for she had made a work of art!

“....So wasn’t it weird for you to eat in this form if your other form had eaten already?” [Eleanore] said with a [Smirk] on her face.

“mghsdsfsdkh.” Alexa answered with a smile on her face as she continued wolfing down her [Mango Pancake], what was wolfing and why it was used on her [Mango Cake]? She also didn’t know!

“Alexa dear, don’t speak with anything in your mouth. That is bad manners,” [Eleanor] said in a…cute tone. Or was it a comfortable tone? She didn’t know! But she liked that tone! “Cute girls don’t speak with something in their mouth.”

Oh no!

Alexa was the cutestest! She couldn’t speak with something in her mouth! No wait, did the tongue count? She couldn’t speak without a tongue! What about the teeth?!?! She…could probably speak without teeth…But she liked her teeth! It was what made her smile so cute!

How could she be the cutestest without a cute smile!?!?

“*Gulp* The old one is a cheapstake; she doesn’t want to let me eat good things and she eats weird things. Like the [Beer] thing, it tasted awful and dirty and made Alexa dizzy!” Alexa complained as she prepared to eat the last part of her [Mango Pancake]. “See! I DECLARE INJUSTICE!”

Alexa said as she pointed at the last bite of [Mango Cake], “The old one ate like…five! [MangoPancakes] but only left me one! And she probably wasn’t going to let me eat it!” It was the greatest creation of [Humanity]. And she hadn’t wanted to share it with her!?!?

The gall! (Alexa wasn’t sure what that word was, but it seemed like the correct word for this situation)

“I see, so tell me Alexa. What did your older self tell you? Do you know what we will do today?” [Eleanore] asked with a smile on her face as she brought her [Backpack] into the table.

Alexa was too busy licking the plate clean (she refused to allow her nanites to eat the remains of [Mango Pancake]), so between lickings of the plate, she answered, “Going….to…..school….to…..learn…..about…..[Human].... behavior….” That had been what was logged after all.

“That….isn’t wrong, but that is also not right. You are going to school to make friends. Billy claims that you have some type of sub-tinker core. And Vulcanus seems to think the same, so you are smart enough as is.” [Eleanore] said the last part as if she was doubting it.

Why?

Alexa was smart!

She had been smart enough to know that there would be some remains of the [Mango Pancake] in the dirty plates that her old self had used! And she had been smart enough to know that stretching her tongue to get into all the hard-to-access parts would be the best way to get them clean!

See? Alexa was smart!

“....Just….try to keep a mostly Human form at school, okay? Most kids don’t have Core Powers, and those that do….usually don’t go to school.” [Eleanore] said while sighing and pointing at her bathroom. “Now go and wash your teeth, I will brush your hair before leaving.”

Wash her teeth? But her teeth were clean?

Alexa wasn’t sure what this was about, but walked towards the bathroom nonetheless, since that was what her [Brain] told her to do, for some reason she was feeling more…compelled to obey [Eleanore].

“[Notice: This seems to be an aftereffect from hormonal instability settling up. Human Designation: Eleanore seems to have risen in the host’s brain chemistry hierarchy. More data is required, this can be reversed at a later notice.]”

It was good that it wouldn’t be permanent, so for now she would obey…She wanted to know what this [Washing her teeth] and [Brushing her hair] was about. It sounded like something she ought to know how to do.

Maybe it could help her in becoming the cutestest plus two?

That would be good.

“So Alexa, how do you usually brush your teeth and hair?” [Eleanore] asked as they arrived at her unused bathroom. She hadn’t found much use for it besides the occasional discharge of waste from her body.

Her [Young Woman] stage had used it quite often after the [Beer] event. But her [Teenager] and [Child Stage] hadn’t seen much reason to go beyond that.

“I…don’t? What is this [Brushing]you speak of?” Alexa asked to the horror of [Eleanore].

The older [Woman] sighed and turned to look at the things in her [Bathroom]. “You only have one toothbrush and hair brush…we will need to buy another two…Okay so no one has used this one yet right?” [Eleanore] asked as she picked the weird tiny brush-like object.

No wait…tiny-brush-like object? Was she supposed to…use that on her teeth?

“Yeah…? I didn’t know what it was for so it has been sitting there.” Alexa answered, as soon as she said that [Eleanore] grabbed it and poured some mysterious white cream on it. The woman offered it to Alexa.

“Okay, you know what. Never mind, open your mouth and show me your teeth.” [Eleanore] said as she stood behind Alexa, “Look at the mirror, and I will show you how to brush your teeth.”

The [Eleanore] on the mirror stood behind her with the weird tiny-like brush near Alexa’s mouth. Alexa…could make an idea of what was about to happen, but…she wasn’t sure if she liked the implications of it.

The idea of shoving a weird [Paste] into her mouth…She could analyze it and search for new applications to it, she could probably make sure nothing remained…but…it was so weird!

Why would they try to…brush…their teeth? What was the point? Alexa didn’t see one!

Her mouth was always clean and no food remained there! No waste! No nothing! Only spit! And that was supposed to be there anyway!!! WHY?!?!?!?!?!?