First Day as a High School Girl
A one-room studio apartment, just the right size for one person to live in.
The sun rising beyond the window washed the room in morning light. It was a home furnished with only the essentials, and the mostly monochrome furniture lent the place an air of quiet stillness — into which a head of blue hair bustled about in a flurry.
"This is insane, seriously."
Her school uniform skirt fluttered along with her rapidly moving legs.
The girl in her white blouse clutched her blazer in one hand.
Slipping on the blazer as she moved, she suddenly stopped mid-stride. She'd come to a halt in front of the full-length mirror she'd received as a housewarming gift.
"I put it on straight... right?"
Muttering to herself, as though the silence pressing in around her made her uncomfortable.
Finally free of the chaos, the girl smoothed out her clothes. Feeling awkward, one hand tugged unnecessarily at the hem of her skirt, pulling it down, while the other ran through her hair.
"It's been over a month now... and I still haven't gotten used to it."
The first thing she noticed was the height difference from before. Rising onto her tiptoes did absolutely nothing, she realized, and with a small sigh she lowered her heels back to the floor.
Sky-blue hair and eyes that seemed to hold the sky itself. A petite face so small it looked like it could barely fit her eyes, nose, and mouth. And on top of that, looks that would rank near the top even among every face she'd seen in her short life.
All of it was the new "me." And yet, the figure in the mirror still felt a world away.
The girl turned her head at the sound of her smartphone. Not an alarm — a phone call. She answered in a rush, explained the situation, and let out another sigh. This one a little longer than the last.
Before heading out, the girl grabbed her still-empty bag and met her own eyes in the mirror one last time.
"Ha..."
Her mouth, about to speak the name she'd always gone by, hesitated. After a beat, she said her unfamiliar new name out loud.
"Ha Yeoncheong... It's a school full of people my age anyway. Let's not be nervous."
She gave her cheeks two light pats with both hands and stepped out of the apartment.
One month into being a girl, Ha Yeoncheong was now, at last, on her first day as a high school girl.