Red Data Girl - Series 1 & 2

The First Makeup - 2

Red Data Girl: The First Makeup
By Noriko Ogiwara
A Translation

Red Data Girl: The First Makeup
By Noriko Ogiwara
Chapter 1: Mayura 
Part 1 (2 of 2)

Sawa was in a good mood on their way to the girls’ dorm. Daisei kept quiet.

When they got to their destination, they were ushered inside by Saijou, the woman in charge. She was a cheerful woman around Sawa’s. She and Sawa chatted for a while as Daisei waited in the lounge, muttering to himself. Eventually, he and Miyuki disappeared off somewhere, leaving Sawa and Saijou to talk while Izumiko listened on.

“—that’s true. There are also students who commute, but even the ones who live the closest to campus still have rooms here just in case. And it’s not as if the ones who board never take a step off campus either. With times as they are now, if a student fills out the right forms, we’re lenient about them spending nights off campus. Still, there’s a reason for the dorms and we want them to understand the merits of concentrating on their studies here. We have plenty of facilities for whatever the students might need.”

Saijou broke her narrative with a nod before continuing.

“Right now, most of the students have gone home to their families, but a few who want to get settled in early like Miss Suzuhara are just starting to trickle back in. The students will all be here the day before classes start.”

Like Saijou had said, there weren’t many students in the dorm. Only one or two girls had walked by while the women talked. Izumiko didn’t like the idea of suddenly meeting a crowd of people but spending the night in a big, deserted building wasn’t appealing to her either. She inwardly wished she had come the day before classes like everyone else.

“Izumiko isn’t used to living with other students at all so we thought it would be better for her to come earlier and see how things work here. She hasn’t been away from home much either.”

“The students usually aren’t used to living together at first. She’ll be fine,” Saijou said to Sawa reassuringly. “The dorms are entirely made up of double rooms and there aren’t any exceptions at the moment. However, we put a lot of thought into choosing the right roommate for everyone, so there’s no need to worry. Izumiko’s roommate is from far away and she came up through the middle school. She’s very used to this establishment. With her help, Izumiko will get used to it in an instant too.”

Sawa was quiet for a moment before asking, “If it’s already been decided, can you tell us the name of Izumiko’s roommate?”

“Sure,”

Saijou pulled out a cellphone, opened a page, and checked.

“Izumiko’s room is room 208. Her roommate is Mayura Souda. She spent break in Nagano with her family, but she’ll be back soon.”

When they went to room 208, Izumiko’s suitcase and belongings were already there. However, no one else’s bags were to be seen. There was a neat, wooden bunk bed and a window at the end of the room that looked over the auditorium. Either side of the window was flanked by a desk, each complete with its own bookshelf. The area across from the bed was taken up by a wooden wardrobe covered in a striped, floral paper. The space was small, but it was still suitable for two girls.

After looking around, Sawa asked, “What do you think, Izumiko? Does this look like a place you could live in?”

“I guess I don’t want to go home at least…”

“Well, you’ll get used to it. See how you like it for a while. But if you think you can’t manage for any reason, you’re always welcome to come home.”