Ranko rolled out of bed with a quiet groan, looking up at the red digital numbers on the folding tray table that currently passed as her nightstand. Brushing her hair out of her face with her fingers, she stood, plodding barefoot to the window and looking out on the still-darkened city from her second-story perch. It was going to be a day.

Carefully avoiding the few creaky boards she’d identified in the flooring of her new bedroom, she crept out into the living room, hoping not to wake Akane. She pulled the door most of the way closed behind herself, looking over the state of her new apartment. Several of the boxes had been unpacked, but there were quite a few left to go, and the ones they’d worked through already were still nested haphazardly on one corner of the couch, torn bubble wrap overflowing from them.

After a quick pit stop in the restroom, Ranko walked into the kitchen, filling the tea kettle and the rice cooker with water and starting both. She willed the tea kettle to boil faster; after less than three hours of sleep, she needed caffeine, and she needed it now. She removed a plastic container of a light brown liquid from the refrigerator, pouring it into another pot and turning on the burner beneath it to reheat.

Moments later, Ranko sat cross-legged on the ratty gray couch, holding a covered plastic cup full of tea and ice cubes. She looked up at the clothes hanger that dangled from the curtain rod over the living room window, sighing. She couldn’t believe, after all this time, she was having this conversation with herself again. She couldn’t believe Akane and Hana were going to make her go through with it. She’d worked her butt off to earn the right, but now that she had gotten here, she didn’t think she wanted it after all.

As the rice cooker began to sing its little song, Ranko felt a hand on her shoulder. “Nervous?”

Looking up at Akane from her place on the couch, Ranko nodded and did her best to smile. “Hey, you. Breakfast, such as it is, will be ready in a second.” She started to stand. “What’s your schedule today?”

Akane pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket. “Let’s see… public speaking at ten, calculus at one, and physics at 2:30. And then I have tryouts tonight, so I’ll be home a little late and might just have to meet up with you at work. But nice try, Ranko. You didn’t answer my question.”

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Ranko scooped a bit of miso paste into each of two bowls of the reheated dashi, sighing. “Terrified. Do I have to do this?”

Akane wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist. “I’m afraid so. But it won’t be as bad as you think. None of the crazy people from home. Try to have some fun with it! You really never got that chance before. Don’t worry about all the other junk. Nobody knows about the homeschool stuff or the… other stuff, and they won’t unless you tell them. Just go be a normal girl and enjoy yourself for a while. You deserve it. You’ve earned it.”

“I don’t think I’m ready, Akane. I don’t know if I’ll ever be.”

Akane kissed her on the temple from behind. “Are you kidding, superstar? There’s nothing you can’t handle. I believe in you. You’re smart and pretty and talented and sweet and, well, just everything. You have absolutely, positively got this, love. Besides, it’s just a year, and then you can have whatever you want.”

The redhead turned, blushing as she looked over her girlfriend in her white jeans and pale blue T-shirt. Suddenly, she felt a little awkward about still being in her nightshirt. “What if I already have everything I want? What if I just want to stay here, forever, with you?” She cuddled into Akane’s chest, holding on tight.

With a smile, Akane kissed the shorter girl’s forehead. “Flattery won’t get you out of this one, babe.”

As Akane released her and scooped some of the rice from the white plastic appliance into a bowl, Ranko walked back into the living room, looking once more with dread over the red-and-white school uniform that hung from the curtain rod.

Akane squeezed her shoulders from behind. “C’mon, Ranko. It’s getting late. You need to eat and get dressed.”

With a sigh, Ranko nodded. “It’s not nice to interrupt me while I’m procrastinating.”