A Mysterious ‘Shiro-Gyaru’?

That day my lecture was canceled right before the exam period. It was my only class that afternoon, so I decided to head home. Ishida, who usually went back with me, had been called in to rework a report, so I was on my own. I hopped on my bicycle at JR Makuhari Station.

…Come to think of it, there wasn’t anything for lunch at home…

So I pedaled a bit farther toward Kaihin-Makuhari Station, an area that’s pretty developed with an outlet mall and various facilities.

After weighing options, I went into the McDonald’s on the first floor of the biggest office building. Even though the lunch rush had passed, most nearby restaurants still looked crowded—and McDonald’s wasn’t exactly empty either. I ordered a burger, fries, and a Coke with no ice, then sat at a table near the back. Except in summer, I always skip the ice; a friend who used to work there told me you get more actual drink without it.

…Should I get some studying in for the tests?

I spread out the handouts from the canceled lecture. Dammit — it’s all in English. I was unwrapping the first of my two burgers when…

“Is this seat taken?”

A cute voice reached me; I looked up to see a tall girl standing by my table. Her uniform hung a little loose, but the style made it clear she was a high schooler.

Her long hair was dyed a striking, almost platinum blonde, one side of her bangs grown long to sweep over an eye. Her features were cute in that delicate, mixed way—she didn’t look fully Japanese, but neither were her features sharply Caucasian; the look suited her. She had an impressive figure: her blouse was unbuttoned down the chest, revealing a prominent bust, and her skin was unusually fair. She was what people called a shiro-gyaru—a fair-skinned gyaru.

I glanced around; every other table had at least one person.

“Go ahead,” I said, sliding my tray over to make space for her.

“Thanks, Big Bro!”

She smiled and sat gracefully across from me. Watching her, I felt a pang of déjà vu.

…Have I met her somewhere? Maybe a junior from middle school?

I stopped thinking about it—seeing someone who looks familiar happens all the time. Besides, I’m not good with gyaru types anyway.

“Are you a college student, Big Bro?”

She asked just as I raised the burger for another bite.

“Yeah.”

“At a university nearby?”

K-University of Foreign Studies is right in this neighborhood.

“No — one over in Tokyo.”

“Hmm, I totally thought you were from the Foreign Studies uni over there.”

She said, pointing at my English handouts.

My university is known for a tough English entrance exam, so even in the science and engineering faculty many students are strong in English. I only squeaked in thanks to my math and physics scores.

“This is just a handout from class; my uni has a lot of courses taught in English.”

“Whoa—what university?”

“Joto University. Have you heard of it?”

Her eyes and mouth went wide.

“Eh, I know it! It’s famous for its brutal English exam, right? You’re really smart, Big Bro!”

I gave a wry smile.

“No, I’m not that great at English; it was just my math and physics scores that did the trick on the entrance exam.”

“You can do math and physics? That’s amazing~!”

She reacted with exaggerated surprise, which tickled me, then suddenly started rummaging through her bag.

“See, I have exams coming up soon. But I totally don’t get math at all. Big Bro, could you help me out a bit?”

Before I could answer she produced a math textbook and a workbook—behavior that assumed the request would be accepted. She reminded me a bit of Karen. The textbook read “Mathematics II”—so a sophomore, maybe? She opened the workbook and pointed to a problem.

“This one, right here. Problem number 235.”

I glanced—trigonometry. At that level it was a piece of cake.

“For this one you use the addition theorem: cos(θ + α) becomes…”

I answered several of her questions like that, and before I knew it thirty minutes had passed and my fries were stone cold.

“Thanks, Big Bro! You really saved me!”

She said with a bright smile.

…She might be a shiro-gyaru, but she actually seemed like a good kid…

I was starting to think that way.

“You’re a great teacher, Big Bro. It was so easy to understand!”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, definitely! Could you teach me again if I don’t get something? Give me your contact info—let’s exchange emails and social media!”

I hesitated. She was a shiro-gyaru and undeniably cute—any normal guy would jump at exchanging contact info.

But I’d just started dating someone—she’s pretty strait-laced—and we hadn’t even defined the line between what’s acceptable and what counts as cheating.

…Sorry, but I should avoid getting involved with this girl.

I watched her dig through her bag and made up my mind.

“Huh? Wait, wait, wait!”

She let out a panicked sound.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked; she looked up.

“My phone is gone…”

she said, anxious.

“Is it in your uniform pockets or your bag?”

“I thought so, but I’ve checked and it’s not there…”

Her face grew more worried.

“How about going home and searching for it using location tracking?”

“But my commuter pass is inside my phone. I can’t get home without it.”

“Where do you live?”

“Between Kemigawa and Inage.”

That’s pretty far—a long walk.

“Do you know around where you might have dropped it?”

“It was there when I was in the park on the other side of the outlet earlier, so if I dropped it, it’s probably at the park…”

She looked on the verge of tears. I had no choice.

“Let’s go look for it at the park right now. I’ll help you search.”

It wasn’t even 2:00 p.m.—I had plenty of time.

“Thank you, Big Bro,” she said, visibly relieved.