Étude of Humanity

Chapter Six

"Did I dooey the ribbon-y right?"

My klutzy self asked in front of the mirror early in the morning tinkering with the thin blue ribbon in front of my collar, while I already wore a white top with sleeves, a dark indigo pleated skirt, and black shoes. For some reason, mama wanted me to wear stockings the most.

After that, I headed downstairs towards the kitchen.

"Hm?" Mama noticed and looked at me. "Oh, you look great and cute sweetie!"

"Ahahaha, thankoo mama..." With bliss, I gracefully turned around in place and mama and I shared a giggle afterward. "I'm heading out now!" rushed to her and stood up on my toes to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Awhh!" Mama then patted my head. "Alright, have fun there! 'Love you!"

"Love'chu too ma'!" Sayre gave mama a kiss on the cheek before I headed out of the house.

Two years have flown since then, Sayre's now seven! I can't believe it, because things for me were the same as usual. It wasn't like I've grown for the past two years—I barely ever got taller. The height at which I can see whenever I stand in front of the front door is still the same as it was two years ago.

That part is something that never changed.

Otherwise, everything else around Sayre changed.

School? Yeah, you heard that right from mama earlier! About that, both of them felt like I would now fare better at school after getting homeschooled for a while. Mama and papa told me that I was already at their limit—something like that. Sayre could say there was nowhere to go but up—there's no exam papers from mama where I didn't get a perfect score. Papa jokingly thought at first it would be hilarious of me to take an entrance examination at a prestigious school. Well, it was a shocker-bocker that I landed in fourth grade despite the fact that I should be a first grader around my age. That means I passed.

But hey'yo! It's kinda nice that I'll be finally wearing those cutie sailor uniforms—seifuku as they're called. I mean, mama said I'm cute wearing one!

As much as my smile radiates around mama and papa, for some reason—my smiley just slowly fades into oblivion the farther I am from them. Unlike the fiasco-bogos that happened when Sayre went into kindergarten, it's not much of an issue for me where I completely turn against everyone (maybe because I've grown somewhat maturely?). Then maybe, this feeling is just me saying that I already miss them.

Speaking of me back in kindergarten,

Today's also the first day of school.

This rather prestigious school is a somewhat long stretch of walking distance, though it's roughly the same stretch as when mama and Sayre used to walk a lot to her bakery back then. There's just something about the walking, and that is Sayre gradually not being able to walk for long distances—like I get super-duper tired right around the time I get to school! It wasn't like this when mama and I walked all the way to the bakery nor the long hiking I did in the park back then.

"Haah... haa..."

Sayre panted, arriving at the front gate after that long stretch of walking. I was holding on to my knees as I look forward to get a view of the school I'll be attending.

Well, it can help if I wasn't surrounded by colossal towers passing by—I am quite shorter than the average after all.

"Yahoooo!"

I jumped and did just that, just the energy I needed before moving forward.

Sayre got inside and changed shoes in the shoe locker before going into the classroom that I was assigned to. It was a bustling class as there were several of my classmates talking to another on various tables. What caught my surprise is that they're unusually taller and bigger than Sayre! Almost all the time I have to look up to them other than the teacher.