Red Data Girl - Series 1 & 2

The First Makeup - 3

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

Notes on this week’s translation:

In Japan, high school grades don’t run from 9th to 12th grade, nor do they use the terms freshman, sophomore, etc. Instead, they use the term first, second, and third year. Students only go to high school for three years. They attend elementary school for six years and then both middle school and high school are three years long.

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

Izumiko didn’t sleep much the first night.

She had spent a long time worrying in front of the bunk bed before finally choosing the bottom bunk to sleep in. However, she had continued to fret over her decision long after making it. She had no idea if Mayura Souda was the sort of girl who would be upset about not getting the first pick of the beds.

Eating in the cafeteria was also a stressful experience. Izumiko didn’t know what to do in the light green room dining room. Most of the seats were empty, but the ones that were taken here and there were clearly occupied by upperclassmen. An older girl was nice enough to show Izumiko how to get her food. However, she seemed to notice how uncomfortable Izumiko was and didn’t speak any more than was necessary. As soon as she left Izumiko on her own though, Izumiko felt like she was drifting from place to place with no purpose.

She was grateful that she wasn’t being forced to talk to anyone. At the same time though, she couldn’t say she enjoyed eating alone. Halfway through swallowing a bite of toast, it occurred to her that people might think she was unfriendly because of it. The toast seemed to stop in her throat.

She began to think that Miyuki had been awfully nice to extend his invitation to join him in the library. It was the only activity she could do to make the day a little shorter. She knew that they would have hours to talk if she met him there. But she was also very much aware that Miyuki’s invitation had come from pure obligation. That fact had been in her thoughts all morning.

When Izumiko looked at the campus map, she saw that the library was a large standalone building between the riding grounds and the sports fields. The first floor was made up of open stacks and a reading room with books and magazines displayed around it. The second floor appeared to boast a computer room. Izumiko arrived early and sadly learned that the doors didn’t open until nine. She sat down to wait on the edge of a flower bed.

Miyuki appeared exactly at the agreed upon time.

“Good morning.”

“…Ah…”

Miyuki wasn’t smiling at all.

“If you didn’t know how to get here, I thought you might not show up.”

He really is blunt…

Izumiko might have been discouraged, but she wasn’t going anywhere. She had grown used to this sort of treatment the year before.

“Did you eat breakfast?” she asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I didn’t see you.”

Miyuki’s attitude seemed to loosen a bit.

“You went to the high school cafeteria probably. You moved right into the high school dorms, so it makes sense. But I’m still using the middle school cafeteria. I don’t feel like going to the high school one until we have the high school entrance ceremony.”

Izumiko supposed that he didn’t see himself as a high school student yet. She hadn’t realized that there were two cafeterias.

“There’s that much of a difference between the middle and high schools?”