English with their home room teacher was a pleasant change of pace from mathematics the previous class.

While Kondo-sensei hammered down grammatical rules and vocabulary just like their middle school teacher had done, she still made attempts to make the language come to life. She even tried to have the occasional conversation with the students in 3:1, including Kuri-chan.

That was as far as Kyoko was concerned the sign of a great heart. Kondo-sensei might not care all that much for Kuri-chan. After all the teacher's fiancée had shown too open a fascination with the foreign beauty, but when it came to the subject she taught she was adamant. The best students were used mercilessly as examples to the rest of them, and Kuri-chan was arguably the best student when it came to English.

If it hadn't been for her grammar, or spelling.

In short Kuri-chan was outright awful until she actually spoke the language. Then she shone, sing song pronunciation and all. And she made the rest of them shine with her. Oblivious to the fact that the teacher should be the one who made corrections Kuri-chan switched to her poor Japanese and tried to explain where and how a mistake had occurred during the course of the conversation.

Kondo-sensei just followed along and only interrupted when Kuri-chan's Japanese was insufficient to the task.

So in short, Kyoko really liked their English lessons.

The English teacher in the left wing was, if what she heard from some of the hang-arounds was true, a different matter.

“Heard the geek from 6:1 got into a fight with his teacher?” That was Ryu-kun's voice from a few desks behind her.

Now, that registered. Geek, 6:1 and fight were all words that made her flustered. Especially geek and 6:1. Kuri-chan, why did you interfere? Kyoko made an effort not to turn and look for Noriko-chan's reaction.

But fight? Kyoko looked at the teacher and leaned her head. That way she would have an easier time hearing whatever was said in the middle of the classroom.

Kondo-sensei pretended nothing had been said and continued scribbling synonyms on the blackboard.

“Heard he grew up an English snob. Got real angry Queens English wasn't good enough.”

Kondo-sensei turned. She was strange that way. The illicit conversation behind her back had accidentally turned on topic, and she wasn't about to miss that chance.

“RP, or BBC English. That's what we call neutral British pronunciation. It differs from what we teach in Japan which is General American.”

“You do nothing of the sort,” Kyoko heard from the desk in front of her, in English. Kuri-chan, please keep that mouth of yours shut!

“Please Ageruman-san, enlighten us,” Kondo-sensei said also in English. The thrown gauntlet hadn't been allowed to stay on the ground for more than a moment.

Kuri-chan blushed.

Now you've done it!

Then she stood up and drew a breath. “With your permission, if I may, Miss Kondo.” Her voice was rounded, full of self-confidence and rich with experience. “While I would prefer not to sully the dear memory of my esteemed, albeit conservative, teacher...” It was an English Kyoko had never heard before. It carried a global empire on its shoulders as if that was the most natural thing in the world. “… in order to give an example I might lend myself to make an exception.” And it changed into a perfect rendering of what Kyoko had learned as the English of the well-educated. “The way fortunes of power may have shifted I also change my English from what was to what is.”

It was well educated, but it wasn't… Kyoko sought for a word. It wasn't elegant. It lacked… pedigree.

Kondo-sensei stood open mouthed. Then she smiled, and then she grinned and looked more like an unruly high school student than the teacher she was. “That was well played, Ageruman-san. Very well played.”

A few seconds later the rest of the class joined the applause their teacher had started.

“Kuri-chan, why don't you speak like that, like always?”

“Bother!” And Kuri-chan sat down with a thump as ungraceful as she had been ladylike just a few moments earlier.

You're crazy. Kyoko knew the episode would give birth to more rumours. 3:1, where things happened. A monopoly on rumours. But that was no longer true. A piece of hearsay had trickled all the way here from the other wing.

Still, Kuri-chan had just countered that one beautifully. And on that thought class ended. Students and teacher streamed through the door. One of their classmates, Sakurai-san quickly returned with a knowing smile and looked for Kuri-chan.

***

“Ageruman-san, you have a visitor.”

You could as well have said yet another visitor if you're thinking it so clearly. Christina rose and looked for the face that was about to appear.

A second year this time. She walked to the classroom entrance. The convoluted dating game here required her to follow him somewhere less crowded where he could make a verbal pass at her and she could decline without too much of an audience. Stupid rules! But those were the rules, so she tagged along after him down the stairs and across the school yard to the bike stand where they could share a modicum of privacy.

A bike stand by a shabby, concrete school building from the 60s or 70s as a refuge for love-struck youths. Yikes! This is where they want to hide their feelings from others.

An illusion of course. By now dozens of eyes were following them through windows on all three floors, and she felt just like the prize her suitor most likely wanted to win.

I really didn't need to risk missing class for this crap.

A second year. Last time it had been a third year, and he had yelled an insult after her when she returned after turning him down. At least the freshmen only gulped silently and studied their shoes. Older students were more comfortable with the school, and they were also a year or two more experienced when it came to the confession game.

“What do you want?” Christina deliberately made her voice as haughty as possible. With a bit of luck he would understand that he wasn't wanted before she was forced to explicitly tell him so.

No such luck. He stared directly into her eyes.

Good looking. A player most likely. He probably thinks I should feel happy to catch his attention.

“I like you. I want you to be my girlfriend.”

About as subtle as a rhino.

“I'm sorry, but I don't want a boyfriend.”

“I'm a lot better than that Wakayama guy. Please reconsider!”

Some guys just didn't understand a 'no'. But this was a new development. It was the first time anyone had made a direct reference to Ryu.

“I'm not going out with him. I said I don't want a boyfriend. That includes him.”

She wasn't surprised to see her suitor's face turn disappointed, but there was an ugly glint to his expression.

“You sure spend a lot of time with someone you're not seeing.”

“Still not my boyfriend,” Christina answered. She knew her voice had gone defensive and hated it. Ryu was a fun friend, along with his sister and the combined forces of their respective admirers. It was just a large gang of freshmen who silently agreed not to show their affections too clearly.

Even though things would have been simpler if Ryu and she did pair up. She knew that would have been accepted.

“Bitch! You think your foreign looks make you special, don't you?”

“Whatever.” She didn't have to accept any more insults.

Christina turned and walked back towards the school building.

She heard his parting words from behind: “I won't forget this, you know.”

She threw her hands into the air in a gesture of raw irritation. Then she turned. “Queen Victoria called and wanted her gender values back.” Idiot!

On her way back across the school yard she met Ko-chan. A worried Ko-chan. Something was definitely amiss. Christina studied her friend's somewhat stocky frame before accepting her hands.

Ko-chan pulled her aside and pretended not to look at the windows. “You're in trouble. We can handle the freshmen, but some second years are targeting you now.”

“Second years? Why?” Christina asked pretending to have forgotten what had just happened.

“Are you an idiot?” Anger passed Ko-chan's face, but Christina could see something else as well.

Fear? Is she afraid? Of what? “I don't understand.” I really don't understand, and I wish Ko-chan was better at English. Or that my Japanese had improved more.

“Moron, did you have to replace all of your brains with that beautiful face!”

Christina thought frantically but nothing came to her mind. “I don't understand.”

Ko-chan led them in the direction of the entrance. She was kicking up sand with every few steps. “Look,” she said. “You were confessed to the same week you came here. Several times.”

Confessions. It still felt like elementary school. They did everything backwards here in Japan. A hug and a kiss should come before anything as embarrassing as being dragged away and listening to someone expressing their feelings in words. But not here. Here you were supposed to play the confession game before finding out if you really shared any mutual feelings.

But targeted?

“Are you listening?”

Christina shrugged. She hadn't.

“If you're called out by upper-class men you become a direct rival to the older girls.”

“Not my fault,” Christina said. Yes, she was being stubborn now, and Ko-chan didn't deserve being treated that way. “I'm sorry.”

“It doesn't work that way. I can't protect you if you're ganged up on.”

Ko-chan in difference from that idiot second year really was adorable. Protected by a child. With most of the teaching staff here being substantially younger than herself Christina found it more than a little amusing that Ko-chan felt a need to protect her.

And Ko-chan knew. Ko-chan alone knew that the reason Christina lived alone was that she had done so for over thirty years. In a world almost like this one. Not this world, where Christina Agerman had never been born fifty years earlier.