It was a sad, strange feeling, waking up alone. Every morning, for the past many months, I always had to squirm my way out of bed because Violet would latch on to me, not wanting me to leave her sleeping alone. It was the first day without that, and it was already being this painful.

Lingering in bed with only Mr. Sealy was depressing, so I jumped out of it and started getting ready.

“Hey!”

“Ah sorry!” I cried out, shutting the door to the bathroom after seeing my sister wrapped in a towel.

“Abby, it’s you!” I heard her sigh on the other side of the door. “Sorry for shouting, I thought it could be dad.”

An understandable reaction, since no one in my family stayed in bed for long in the morning, and as such, it had been a fifty-fifty chance of being either of us.

She got out, telling me I could use the bathroom and walked away.

I watched her, using the fact she had her back turned to me to confirm a suspicion I had from yesterday, when she arrived: she had lost weight. It got me a bit worried about the reason behind it. Had it been a diet or stress from the internship?

…I should ask her about it…

I couldn’t bring myself to it, though. Any time we came face to face, none of us would look at the other in the eye, not to mention, words also didn’t seem to come out. Believe it or not, our short exchange after surprising her now had been the most we talked since her arrival. This would be the second day, but with me going to school, we wouldn’t have many chances of holding a conversation.

“…I want to see her…” I told to my reflexion.

It all made me feel a bit lonely, and as always that it happened, Violet came to mind. As soon as I was done showering and eating, I’d go straight to her. If I got there soon enough, we should be able to stay in bed together for a bit before she has to get up and also get ready.

◊◊◊

I felt the bed shift and a very nice familiar scent getting more intense. Turning around and opening my eyes as much as I could, I saw an adorable creature crouching by the bed, her hands on the edge of the mattress, serving as support for a smiling face.

“Hi there,” she softly chirped. “May I join you?”

Of course she could. I tried pulling her right in, but she pushed back, telling me she had to take out her uniform so it wouldn’t get wrinkled.

“Pervert,” Abby joked once she got in bed after I watched her strip.

“You’re my girlfriend, so it’s fine,” I grumbled as I pulled her closer. “Did you sleep well?”

Yes and no, apparently. There were no nightmares, but since that was due to Abby missing my presence, it was hardly a sell point.

I also had a hard time falling asleep. I told her about it as I rubbed my nose in her hair, it tickling me pleasantly. The bed felt so big and empty without her. It also sucked not having anything to hold.

Abby joked about getting me a body pillow with her print on it, but to that I said it wouldn’t be the same thing.

“Hehe, sleepy Violet is the most honest Violet,” she laughed, unaware that I was wide awake since the moment she started opening her shirt. “What if it was an inflatable doll made to look like me?”

Again, I said nothing could compare to the real deal, giving her a very nice squeeze until she let out a happy noise. This type of sound was something only she could do. Smell? She could hold the doll or pillow close to her after showering, maybe even using her bathing products on them, but again, it wouldn’t be the same. The feeling? Nope, impossible. Abby was soft, but there was also a certain firmness about her. Weird way to describe someone this way, but she was incredibly comfortable to hold.

“Pfft, fufu.”

“What?” she asked, also giggling.

“I love the sound you make when you’re happy.”

She had no idea what the sound I was referring to was, and as such, I gave her another nice squeeze. She then noticed it as soon as she let it out. A squeaky moan when I applied the right amount of force in my hold. I told Abby she always did this or something similar whenever she was really pleased with my pampers.

“Huh, that explains how you get so good at it so fast.”

“Yeah, it is all thanks to your cute sounds.”

“Am I cute?” she asked, barely holding a giggling fit.

“Mmh-hmm, super,” I moaned, starting to get frisky.

She was now giggling away, playfully grabbing my hands and running her fingers up and down my arms, but while I was nibbling her neck, she let out a sigh.

“Babe, we need to start getting you ready for school in five minutes,” she told me, disappointed about how little time we got left after checking the clock.

“Haah, right… I forgot about school…” I groaned. “What about a shower?”

“I already had one, so…”

There was no helping it, we had to do stuff differently than our usual. It was proving a lot harder than we initially thought though.

Still, as a compromise, Abby told me she’d help in drying my hair after I got out of the shower. It was something we deeply enjoyed doing and would allow me to take it easier in getting prepared, and as a result, she too could relax a bit.

“Could you lay belly up?” I asked.

“babe, there’s no time for—”

“No, it’s not for that. I wanna try something.”

She raised an eyebrow, but still complied.

I uncovered her, giving fuel to her suspicions about me trying something naughty, but again, that wasn’t it.

I draped my hair over her, lying on my side and with my head level to hers. It was something she had joked about before, and since it came to mind after thinking about how long my hair had gotten, I decided to give it a try.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The result was it looking like she was wearing a short black dress.

“Does it look good on me?” she asked, acting like she had indeed put on a dress.

It’s not that it didn’t, it’s that I think Abby looks better in more colourful dresses.

Question now was, should I cut it? If so, how long should I leave it?

There was a knock on the door, and Abby got up, saying it most likely was Oliver. Borrowing my shirt, she opened the door. Sure enough, Oliver walked in, his tail all upright as he wobbled by her, meowing a thanks or hello.

“There you are you murderous beast,” she laughed as she picked him up.

“Murderous beast? What?”

“Yup. See?”

She had his back pressed against her chest, one hand supporting him while the other held him up, buried in his fluffy underside. She had her thumb being gently chewed by Oliver as he hugged her hand. A murderous beast indeed.

◊◊◊

Last year’s psycho was still at large, it seemed. Just like in tenth grade, we were starting the week with Math. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but Violet… she looked like she’d rather have jumped in front of the bus than coming to school.

Arriving to the classroom, we were swiftly greeted by Mathilda. She got up from her seat and waved at us, calling out our names until we returned her greeting, Violet acting a bit reserved.

We didn’t have to search for a place to sit as our mutual friend has reserved two seats for us. It was the second desk from the end and right by the window. Mathilda would be sitting to our right, and as we settled down, the two boys in front of us turned their chairs sideways to face us.

Wow!

While Violet ate, I did a long braid with her hair, and just now, as she moved it over her shoulder so she wouldn’t be resting her back on it, she looked stunning.

Back to the boys, Mathew was the first to talk, asking how we were doing, followed by Stephen complementing our uniforms and tans.

With Mathew I was ok, but Stephen irked me a bit because I thought he was trying to hit on Violet.

“Erm, thanks, but… Abby and I…”, she staggered as I hugged and rubbed my cheek on her arm to mark my territory.

“They are an item,” Mathilda finished.

“Yeah, so?” Stephen said back to Mathilda. “I can still tell them that they are looking good as a friend, right? At least they won’t be getting the wrong idea.”

“You are so tactless,” Mathilda groaned, looking away.

Right, Mathilda likes him.

Even if he was only being friendly towards us, it must bother her seeing him complementing other girls.

But maybe there’s something I could do to help her along?

“Aren’t you afraid other boys give you crap for hanging out with three beauties?” I asked, trying to bait him into calling Mathilda pretty.

“I’m used to it,” he said with a shrug. “Mostly they’ll ask if I’m dating any of you, but since you’re a couple, they’ll ask about me and Mathy.”

“Does that happen a lot?” I asked, now curious to also see if I could get some reading out of him.

“I lost count the amount of times they asked for advice on how to hit on her after telling them that we are just friends.”

Mathilda—Mathy, apparently—looked at him, sounding surprised about hearing that. I could see her trying to hide a smile when he told her that a pretty girl like her attracted some superficial guys and he wouldn’t be helping anyone getting close to her if they weren’t serious about it.

The fact none had tried to kinda proved his point, and honestly, his seriousness about his friend earned him some points in my eyes. Whether there was any deeper feeling beyond that or not, I had no clue as of yet.

“What are you, my dad?” she grumbled bashfully.

I was going to poke fun at Mathy, but once I called her by that nickname, she raised her hand and looked at me very seriously.

“Sorry, but could you not call me that?”

An interesting discussion arouse from her request, Stephen curious about why he could call her that, but not me. She was fine with him calling her that since it’s been their normal ever since they were friends, but she didn’t like it when it was somebody else using that name.

So, it’s something that only he could call her? Got it.

And before I could start my tease again, the whole class got dead silent.

Looking at the door, I was surprised not to see a grey, hunched, wrinkled figure, but a young woman—not much older than my sister, I assume— walking inside. She was clearly regretting her attire choice, a blazer over a white shirt and jeans, as some strands of dark-brown hair that weren’t tied in her ponytail were sticking to her forehead.

“Please tell us you’re our new teacher!” a guy clamoured from his chair somewhere on the other side of the classroom.

She smiled and nodded, opening her mouth to speak but having her voice drowned by the wild cheering of the whole class. I’d have joined them in celebrating were it not for knowing Violet would also get annoyed at me, her hands covering her ears and face frowning as she looked around.

“I should also tell you that I’ll be your class supervisor and I take that task very seriously,” she informed us all as soon as the noise died down. “I’ll let this slide today because I’m aware that my predecessor was… not very well appreciated, but I expect everyone to be on their best behaviour from now on.”

Yeah, he wasn’t appreciated at all.

Still, it begged the question: what happened to the old crone?

To that question, posed by a girl sitting at the front, the answer was, he had retired earlier. As to why he did, nobody asked. Nobody cared, really.

“Which of you are Abbigail Gardener and Violet Evergreen?”

We raised our hands, feeling uncomfortable about being singled out after classes had barely even started.

She looked at us, taking a bit to inspect us. She was reminding me a bit about my mum, if only the woman who birthed me was so soft-faced. I mean, in comparison. Our new teacher was looking at us with a stern expression, but not of someone who looked like they’d start shouting at any second.

“By the way he described me, it’s a miracle you two don’t have horns,” she joked, lightening the mood. “I’ll let you two sit together, but no funny business.”

“Erm, if I may…” Violet started.

“…yes?”

My girlfriend looked at me briefly, her face, already bit flushed due to the heat, turning slightly redder. Silently, I told her to go ahead and speak her mind.

“I-I know we acted up last year, but… we were going through some stuff at home, and, well, he called Abby a spoiled child when that’s simply not true… also, erm… w-we are dating now, b-but… we take school seriously, and… Abby is very smart, but gets bored easily due to how easily she picks stuff, but since she sits by me… I used to work and was exhausted most of the time last year, so Abby would help me stay awake and pay attention… s-so, erm… sorry, I forgot what was the point I wanted to make. I guess… we won’t be causing you trouble, is what I wanted to say…”

I was equally surprised and overjoyed by her words. What’s more, despite choking a bit, she spoke in a clear, loud enough voice for everyone to hear until the very end, not like any other time where her final words became a mumbled whispered mess.

I was sitting there, rocking side to side, muffling a giggle and I fought the impulse to give her a big hug in front of everyone.

“I see,” our new teacher said. “So, you two are dating, huh? Very well, I’ll see to it that what I’ve been told won’t bias my approach to you, but my warning still stands to you, and for anybody else for that matter.”

We exchanged a look and a smile. As far as we cared, that was a win.

Class proceeded with introductions. Most of us were new people, but there were some people who were the same, those being our new friends.

As a clarification, our school divided their student body by academic achievement. Last year, we were in class D, the lowest of them all, due to having only finished nineth grade on the second phase of exams. With the previous year of academic achievements that we had, topping the class chart on all subjects with only PE marring Violet’s sheet, we were moved all the way to B class now, and if we kept it at the same level, we’d get to the A class, the top class, next year with no problem.

And speaking about it, how did Mathew, Stephen and Mathilda end up in the same class as us on the previous year? Those three were directly behind us grades-wise, Mathy being more or less at the same level as my Violet.

“Stephen’s parents got tired of him just barely making it, so they became very strict. I simply helped him in the grind and Mathew joined out of charity,” Mathilda explained when the class ended. “Say, we should all gather for studying! Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?”

It did, but it also sounded like a pain due to how Violet and I studied. Me taking only thirty minutes while she’d go at it for hours and with some pauses for groping due to her not resisting putting her hands on me when I sat on her lap for long. Not exactly something we could do in front of others, is it? Not to mention, it would cut our alone time even shorter.

Even so, with all that considered, Violet was looking like she was getting into the idea as she thought about it. Maybe gathering around with a group of friends to study was some sort of fantasy she had? For someone so carnivorous, she sure could be innocent at times, huh?

“Pfft, hehe.”

“W-what?” she asked, embarrassed by me reading her like an open book.

“You’re adorable,” I teased with a hip bump.

She didn’t say a word, but her eyes spoke volumes. “No, you are,” was what they were telling me.

“Don’t you ever get tired of flirting all the time?” Mathilda asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Getting tired? How was that possible if we never got enough of it?

A loving girlfriend, a nice friend, and two new ones for me to get to know. All in all, school wouldn’t be so bad after all, right?