After that, I thought that I was acting like a girlfriend as much as I could so that everyone would see me as a girlfriend, but when the man at the concession stand asked me, “What do you want, little sister?” I was broken-hearted.
Did I look that much like a younger sister?
–I was selfish.
I wanted my parents to think of me as a sibling, but I wanted other people to think of me as a girlfriend.
I was confident in my pretense to be a younger sister, and I was happy when people complimented me for being “sisterly” when I was pretending to be a younger sister. However, I didn’t like it when people treated me like a younger sister when I wasn’t pretending to be one.
I thought that since I couldn’t do anything lover-like with Daiki at home, I wanted to do something lover-like with all my might when we would go to the pool, but… the result was a disaster.
I think that because of me, Daiki didn’t enjoy the pool and I felt so sorry.
I wanted to be more like him.
I wanted to be the kind of girlfriend that Daiki would be proud of and wouldn’t be embarrassed to show anywhere.
Today, Daiki and I would be separated because we had a summer course at our respective cram schools.
I missed being with him, but I needed some time alone to sort out my feelings, so that helped.
As siblings-in-law, we lived together, and not a day went by that we didn’t see each other. Even if it felt a little awkward to see each other, we had to act well so as not to worry our parents.
It was the first disadvantage of living together that I felt and that I couldn’t rant and rave, “Oh God, I hate it!”
Now, I was waiting for the start of the summer course.
Everyone was passing the time by chatting with people nearby.
“Haaaaaaah!”
“What’s wrong, Neneka-chan. Are you that depressed about summer school?”
My friend sitting next to me responded to my grand sigh.
Her name was Kurata Nao-chan. She was a good friend of mine since junior high school, and she invited me to this cram school’s summer course.
Cool Nao-chan was a very beautiful woman. But perhaps she was too beautiful to be approachable, or perhaps she was very popular, but I never heard of her having a boyfriend.
“Not that I’m depressed about summer classes, but… I’m having a little trouble with something.”
“Oh, yeah. What’s up?”
As expected of Nao-chan, she was immediately ready to listen to my problems.
But, my concern was about Daiki. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Nao-chan, but I promised Daiki that I wouldn’t tell anyone at school about what happened with us being siblings-in-law, so I couldn’t honestly discuss everything with her…
Yeah, but I wanted her to listen to me. I wanted to talk to her.
I was so distressed that I decided to talk to Nao-chan about it as a friend.
“Actually, I’m struggling with something a friend of mine asked me about…”
“Yeah, what kind of advice?”
“She just started going out with her boyfriend, but she’s worried that she’s not doing the things that make her a girlfriend. She asked me for advice, but I don’t have a boyfriend, so I have no idea…”
“I see.”
Nao-chan nodded “Mmm.”
–I was okay, right? She didn’t know it was about me, did she?
As I was nervously waiting for Nao-chan’s reaction, she began to worry with a serious look on her face.
“Well, I’ve never had a boyfriend either… What is that girl’s goal? Does she want to get closer to her ideal girlfriend image, or does she want to please her boyfriend more? … Maybe the method changes depending on whether she wants to improve herself?”
“Oh, I think she wants to please her boyfriend more! I bet she wants him to think, “I’m so glad that she’s my girlfriend!”
“She wants to serve him in her own way. Then, that’s it. Make her boyfriend’s dreams come true.”
“Boyfriend’s dreams?”
What’s Daiki’s dream…?
No. We lived together and I had no idea.
“It isn’t a dream like being a soccer player or a lawyer or anything like that, okay?”
“What?” Really? Then what kind of dream?”
“You see, boys have a lot of desires, don’t they? The desire to have a girl do this or that… I think that she’s the one who can fulfill them. If she makes her boyfriend’s secret dreams come true, he will be overjoyed for sure.”
I was like, “Wow… Nao-sensei. How does Nao-sensei know that?”
“I wonder if it’s knowledge that comes naturally when you read a lady’s comic.”
Nao-chan smiled coolly.
Lady comics were comics for women who were a bit geeky. Maybe I should read and study them too.
“So, Nao-sensei, what kind of dreams do boys have…?”
“Yes… for example… naked aprons.”
I responded like, “Naked… aprons? An apron with an illustration on it that made it look naked?”
“If it’s an illustration of a very glamorous female body, some people might be pleased, but it’s not that. It’s a naked, unclothed apron.”
“And underwear?”
“That depends on the person’s courage… I think there were mangas wearing aprons over tops, and there were also mangas wearing an apron over a bathing suit.”
“I see. So it’s okay to wear a swimsuit.”
It was indeed embarrassing to wear an apron on top of nudity, but I thought that I could do it if I wore a swimsuit underneath.
I made a note in my notebook “Naked apron.”
“Nao-sensei, anything else?”
“I’m sure that boys like the nurse’s outfit, the little devil costume, the cat ears, the Chinese outfit, and so on. Surely it would be great if your favorite girlfriend wore one, right?”
“… Kind of like a Halloween costume.”
“It’s classic cosplay. Also, maid costumes would be nice. I heard that boys were attracted to the knee-high socks and the absolute area… Ah, what I’ve said so far is just orthodox stuff. If you know what fetish the person has, you can come up with a more niche story.”
“Fetish? What is a fetish, Nao-sensei!?”
–“Chokey-chokey! What are you talking about when you come to summer school, Nao-chan!?”
As I was listening intently to Nao-chan’s story, Kimura Harumi-chan, a friend from the same school, stopped Nao-chan from the side.
“Good morning, Harumi-chan.”
“Good morning. I forgot that the summer course started today, so I came running in a hurry. It’s really hot… So, what did you guys talk about while I wasn’t here?”
Harumi-chan, who just retired from the tennis club, was a sporty girl with tanned skin.
Harumi-chan and I met in high school and became good friends.
We were in the same class in the third year, we ate lunch together, and we also acted together in events. And Harumi-chan was also invited by Nao-chan to join the summer course here at this cram school.
“I was just talking about the elements that boys seemed to like.”
“Don’t you dare infuse the pure and lovely Neneka-chan with your strange knowledge!”
“Neneka-chan asked me, so it’s fine. Right, Neneka-chan?”
“I was just talking to Nao-chan about something my friend had asked me about.”
“Friend? Who?”
Harumi-chan asked me a direct question, and I was at a loss for words.
I didn’t actually have such a friend. What I was hiding was that the friend was actually me.
These two were dear friends and maybe I could be honest with them. I was sure they would be surprised, but they wouldn’t make it sound bad…
But… no. I couldn’t tell them.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust them both, but I was still embarrassed to talk to them.
Let’s keep it a secret here…
“Umm… she’s a kid from another school.”
“A kid from another school? Someone who went to the same middle school?”
“Hmm…”
As I was struggling to figure out how to fake it, Nao-chan took out her phone and displayed the time.
“Well, it doesn’t matter who it is. That girl talked to Neneka-chan about it, so it’s wild for us to ask her who she’s talking about… It’s almost time for the class to start, isn’t it? Why don’t you take your seat too, Harumi-chan?”
“I’ll see you both later.”
“Yeah. See you later!”
After waving to Harumi-chan as she headed to her seat, I felt relieved.
–Nao-chan… Thanks for the great follow-up. Too cool.
Thanks to the mature and cool Nao-chan, I was able to escape Harumi-chan’s questions.
Soon the tutoring teacher entered the classroom and the students taking the course hurriedly took their seats.
I usually didn’t attend cram school, so this was my first time studying at a cram school.
It had a different atmosphere, and I was very excited.
–But I see… A naked apron, a nurse, a small devil, cat ears and knee-highs…
While I was receiving the essentials for the college entrance exam, an equation was developing in my mind that would lead to an effective way to please Daiki.
Akiyo 
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