“Man, isn’t this principal’s speech boring?”

The boy sitting next to me at the entrance ceremony leaned over and whispered.

I gave him an awkward smile.

“Yeah, kind of.”

“I’m Takeru Aoki. I came from Third Junior High. What about you?”

He kept his voice low so the principal wouldn’t hear him.

“I’m Kaname Akagi. I came from First Junior High.”

I found myself whispering back.

“Hey, I heard there are Omegas at this school.”

My heart gave a sudden, heavy thump.

“What?”

My voice nearly cracked.

“I don’t have anything against any of the secondary genders or anything. I’ve just never met an Omega before. Makes me wonder if there really are any around, you know? I know a few Alphas, though.”

A cold sweat broke out over me.

What should I do?

It wasn’t as if I intended to hide it, but... should I tell him that I was one?

While I was still wondering what to say, Aoki answered his own question.

“Well, I’m a Beta, so I guess it doesn’t really matter to me.”

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“Anyway, I hope we get along this year.”

“Yeah. Hey, I’ve got a question. Are you mixed?”

There really was no hesitation with this guy.

Still, people like him were actually easier for me to talk to. At least you knew exactly what they were thinking.

That didn’t mean I wanted him knowing too much about my private life, though.

“No. I’m one hundred percent Japanese.”

I gave him the safest answer I could.

“Huh. You’ve got really light coloring.”

Aoki stared openly at my face.

“You’re kind of cute. Like a girl.”

My shoulders dropped.

“I get mistaken for a tomboyish girl all the time. But I’m a boy!”

I pulled myself together and protested.

“Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad by it. My parents and friends are always telling me I need to think before I open my mouth. Seriously, I didn’t mean anything by it. It was supposed to be a compliment.”

“Well... I guess I’ll say thank you, then.”

I gave him a wry smile.

“Man, this principal can really talk.”

Aoki turned toward the stage again, looking thoroughly bored.

“He really can.”

“Hey, have you decided which club you’re joining?”

“Have you?”

“Of course! Volleyball. I’ve been playing since junior high.”

He proudly gave me a thumbs-up.

“Oh, you play volleyball.”

Sports had never been my strong point, so athletic clubs were pretty far outside my world.

“You seriously don’t know? This school’s volleyball team is really good. Especially Captain Sasaki. He’s an Alpha, good-looking, student council president, his dad’s a politician... He’s always showing up in the sports papers, and apparently he even has fans. He’s the guy I look up to.”

Aoki talked about him as proudly as if he were bragging about himself.

“I see. Sorry, I really don’t know much about sports.”

I scratched my head.

“Yeah, you kinda look like you wouldn’t.”

Apparently, I was that easy to read.

“Oh, but speaking of the student council president... I think the senior at reception this morning said he was childhood friends with him.”

I thought back to my conversation with Yano-senpai.

“Oh, you mean Yano-senpai?”

“You know him?”

I turned to Aoki in surprise.

“Yeah. I went to the same junior high as both of them.”

That explained it.

No wonder he knew so much about them.

“I see.”

“Yano-senpai’s really pretty, too, isn’t he?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

I nodded without thinking.

“He invited me to join his club today.”

“Art Club?”

The answer came immediately.

“How did you know?”

Now I was surprised all over again.

“Of course I know. He won all kinds of art awards back in junior high. I think his dad runs a film art production company and is a pretty famous production designer or something... and I’m pretty sure his mom’s an art dealer. Basically, he’s got art in his blood.”

A production designer...

Maybe his father knew mine.

I was still thinking about it when the principal finally finished his speech.

“Finally! Man, my shoulders are stiff.”

Aoki stretched his arms high above his head.

“Well, I’m going home with my parents, so I’ll see you—”

I was about to say goodbye when he stopped me.

“Hey, wait. Let me say hi to your parents. Mine are both working, so they couldn’t come today.”

“What?”

Before I knew it, Aoki had grabbed my arm and was following me.

“Wait... Aoki, you can’t—!”

I was starting to panic when I heard a familiar voice.

“Kanaaaame! Over here! Over here!”

Dad was waving both arms at me with a huge grin on his face.

...Dad, please stop.

You’re drawing attention to yourself.

Aoki stared at him, wide-eyed.

“...Your dad’s hilarious. Does he always dress like that?”

“Uh...”

“Ohhh, I get it. You didn’t want to introduce me to him, did you? Yeah, I can see why you’d be a little embarrassed.”

He had completely misunderstood the situation.

...Well, maybe I should just let him keep thinking that.

Then his eyes shifted to the person standing beside Dad.

He froze.

“Hey... I’m pretty sure I already know the answer, but...”

“What?”

“That model-looking person standing next to your dad... that’s your mom?”

...Yeah.

I knew that was coming.

Resigning myself to the inevitable, I walked over to my parents.

“Dad, Mom, this is Takeru Aoki. He’s in my class.”

Then I turned to Aoki.

“Aoki, these are my parents.”

“Ohhh, Kaname! You already made a friend! Wahaha!”

Dad laughed happily.

“Aoki-kun, please take good care of Kaname from now on.”

Mom smiled warmly at him.

“Y-Yes! Of course!”

All of Aoki’s easygoing confidence suddenly vanished.

His face lit up, and he looked completely smitten.

Watching him, I let out a small sigh.

...Great.

Mom had gained another devoted admirer.