I Don't Want to Go to School
"I don't want to go."
Amy gave a bitter smile at my reply. Rain, standing right beside me, chimed in with her agreement.
"I don't want to go either! I've already graduated!"
"Why don't you want to go?" Amy asked, gently pulling the bouncing Rain into a hug.
Rain, who had been flailing her arms and legs in protest against school, instantly grew quiet in Amy's embrace.
"First of all, I don't see any reason why I should."
"And?"
"Uh... I feel like the other kids will be way below my level." I spoke cautiously, keeping an eye on Amy's reaction.
It wasn't like I was thinking this for no reason. Over the past week, every single kid I'd met at the park had been incredibly childish. Way too childish. If the school was going to be packed with kids like that, there didn't seem to be any point in going.
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes. I really do." I nodded in response to Amy's question.
Shine, clicking her mouse furiously, backed me up. "Exactly. Kids are so childish."
"But aren't you two kids as well?"
"Jeff and I are different."
Amy let out a soft chuckle at Shine's response. Pfft. At that quiet laugh, Shine snapped her head away.
"Amy, besides, it's dangerous outside. I don't think there's any need to take unnecessary risks just to attend a school that won't even help us." I nodded, thoroughly impressed by my own logical argument. Surely, after hearing this, Amy would give up on the idea of sending us to school, right?
"It's not dangerous at all. The Academy is run by Grandfather Ferman's foundation."
But she still seemed determined to send me, Shine, and even Rain to school. Seriously, this was exhausting. I let out a quiet sigh.
At the sound of my soft sigh, Amy reached out and pinched my cheeks. I shook my head to shake off her hand, my squished, soft cheeks stretching this way and that.
"Amy, we don't have time for school."
"Really?"
"Yes. We have to carry out missions and train. Our schedule is packed. We don't have free time to waste like normal kids."
Amy didn't say a word to my response, instead staring blankly at the computer screen. On it, Rain's character was currently casting a massive spell, slaughtering monsters left and right.
"T-This is only for one hour a day."
"Jeff, you don't have to go to school every day."
"Huh? Really?"
"Of course. Do you know who your grandfather is?"
"An incredibly awesome grandfather."
Amy burst into laughter at my reply. At her sudden burst of giggles, Rain flinched slightly. Still held in Amy's arms like a doll, Rain eventually just closed her eyes.
"Right. Grandfather will take care of your attendance, so you only need to go twice a week."
"Twice a week?"
"Yes."
After pondering for a moment, I shook my head again. "I still don't want to. There's no reason to go."
Rain and Amy were already teaching us everything we needed to know, so studying wasn't an issue. At least, that was what I thought. Surely Shine felt the same way?
"School is a good place. It's where you can develop your social skills."
"Do I look like I lack social skills?"
"You're fine, Jeff, but Shine is a bit..."
I turned my head to look at Shine at Amy's words. I had to admit, I agreed that Shine lacked social skills. Hmm... Should we really go to school for Shine's sake? But still, wasting two days a week at school felt like a complete waste of time.
"It's a waste of time," I replied.
When I said that, Amy picked Rain up. Lifted high like a doll, Rain swayed back and forth wherever Amy moved her hands.
"Rain! You want to go to school, don't you?"
"Aaaahhh~" Rain screamed. Though she looked incredibly happy while doing so. When I narrowed my eyes and looked up at her, she subtly avoided my gaze and shut her mouth.
"Why does Rain have to go with us anyway?"
"You need someone by your side to protect you."
Well, I wondered if Rain could actually protect us. It wasn't that I doubted her abilities, but it was true that I was worried. I absolutely wasn't doubting her. I was just genuinely concerned for her.
While I was lost in thought, Amy shook Rain gently, pressing for an answer. "Rain! You'll go with the kids, right? You'll help me, won't you?"
"Help...? Help Amy?"
"Yes."
"Uh... Okay! I will!"
After a brief hesitation, Rain answered energetically, prompting Amy to beam and pull her into a tight hug. Rain's face flushed red as she wore a blissful smile.
"But we're still not going. If you want to send someone so badly, just send Rain by herself."
My stance remained unchanged. As I spun my swivel chair around, Amy spoke with a trace of disappointment.
"Are you really not going? You'll be able to see Grandfather Ferman there, too."
My hand twitched at Amy's words. We can see Grandfather? Really? But I couldn't just believe her so easily. I calmed my restless body and gripped my mouse.
"If you go, I might even be able to increase your gaming time."
Amy underhandedly tried to negotiate with Shine. Currently, Shine was completely obsessed with computer games. One hour a day was nowhere near enough to enjoy all the content.
The moment Amy finished speaking, Shine's chair whipped around. "Really?"
"Really."
"How much will you increase it by?"
At Shine's question, Amy held up one finger.
"One hour?"
Shine silently began to turn her chair back. Panicking at the sight, Amy quickly held up two fingers.
"T-Two hours!"
Shine's chair spun back to face Amy. She was seriously contemplating it. "Two hours... Two hours? So combined with the original hour, that makes three hours total?"
"Y-Yes, right?"
"Hmm... Hmm... Hmm..."
Shine's head tilted side to side. Fearing she would accept if I waited any longer, I reached out and pulled Shine into my arms.
"Jeff?"
"Don't try to tempt Shine!"
With Shine held tightly in my embrace, I spun the chair around, kicked the wall, and pushed off. The chair slid smoothly across the floor, heading straight toward our playhouse.
That was a close call. If Shine had succumbed to temptation and agreed to Amy's offer, I would have naturally been dragged to school too. Shine and I always had to be together, after all.
"Shine. You can't let yourself be tempted."
Dragging Shine inside the playhouse, I sat her down and gave her a stern warning. Shine nodded at my words.
"But, Jeff. If we don't go to school, we barely have any time to play games."
I agreed with Shine that one hour was too short, but I still couldn't back down. I poked my head out of the playhouse's tiny window to check on Amy. She was looking toward the playhouse and waving her hand. Instinctively, I reached out and waved back.
"Ah!"
But I shouldn't be doing this. I quickly pulled my hand back and turned away. I was absolutely not going.
"Jeff, why do you hate school so much?" Shine asked. I turned around to sit down and replied, "Me? Hate school?"
"Yeah. Listening to you, it just sounds like you're throwing a tantrum to avoid going to school, using whatever excuse you can find."
"Throwing a tantrum? Me?"
"Yeah."
I stared blankly at Shine, my mouth slightly agape. Did it really look like that? Did my logical arguments just sound like a child's whining? I felt the strength drain from my shoulders.
"I think it wouldn't hurt to try going once."
Shine sat down next to me and took my hand. Come to think of it, she had a point. Why was I resisting going to school so much? Surely, something must have happened in the past...
"Right?"
"Uh... Yeah."
Let's think about this. I nodded, trying to recall my hazy memories. However, those faded memories from so long ago were buried too deep to be easily retrieved.
"Jeff. Let's give it a try, okay?"
"Shine, you just want to play games, don't you?"
I let go of her hand and stood up. For once, a flustered expression crossed her face.
"N-No, I don't!"
"Yes, you do."
When I spoke with absolute certainty, Shine nodded and confessed, "Actually, yeah..."
She admitted it so easily. I looked down at the small girl in silence. She, who had always accommodated my every whim, was now asking to go to school just because she wanted to play games. She was carefully reading my expression, making sure she hadn't upset me.
I stared blankly, lost in thought. Am I being too selfish? Shine always adjusted to me. I realized I had been taking her compliance completely for granted.
I walked over to the sitting Shine and took her hand. "Shine. Do you really want to go?"
"To be honest, it sounds a bit troublesome, but I think trying it out once wouldn't be bad. And the school uniforms I saw in comic books looked really pretty."
"So you want to wear a uniform?"
"No, rather than wearing it myself, I want to see Jeff wearing it..."
Her honest answer swayed my heart. I poked my head out of the window once more. Outside, Amy was holding Rain's arms, making her punch the air. Rain, completely reduced to a doll in her embrace, still looked incredibly happy.
"Alright. Let's go."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Since you want to go, Shine."
At my answer, Shine lunged forward and wrapped her arms around my waist. It wasn't a bad feeling.
As we stepped out of the playhouse, Rain and Amy's eyes locked onto us. I cleared my throat and gave Amy my answer. "Fine. We'll go."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"That's wonderful! Grandfather will be absolutely thrilled."
Amy clapped Rain's hands together for us. Clap, clap, clap. Rain's tiny hands collided repeatedly, making soft clapping sounds.
"When do we start?"
"Next week!"
Well, at least she was giving us some time to prepare.
Time flew by incredibly fast. In fact, it would be more accurate to say I had completely forgotten about school. Or rather, to be precise, I didn't even have the luxury of time to think about it.
Over the course of several days, we compiled the information gathered from our recent mission to draft a new report. Although Amy and Victor handled most of the heavy lifting, I was kept quite busy in my own right.
Shine and I also ramped up the intensity of our training. One day, amidst those physically and mentally exhausting days, Amy placed a pair of beautiful school uniforms in front of us.
"What is this...?"
"It's your school uniform."
The uniform was a tasteful blend of black and white, adorned with a large, adorable red ribbon right on the chest. The thought of actually wearing it made me feel a little self-conscious.